Banff, Canada (June 2014)– Creative Women Workshops Association (CWWA) is pleased to announce that Kathleen Hepburn is the recipient of the 2014 WIDC Feature Film Award, a $120,000 in kind prize designed to encourage more feature films directed by women in Canada and supported by some of Canada’s most influential western screen-industry companies.

Administered by CWWA, the award will help Hepburn complete her feature film directorial debut, Never Steady, Never Still, a heart-rending family drama about a woman and her family finding beauty and belonging through her struggle with Parkinson’s Disease. The prestigious prize includes a tailored combination of in-kind rentals and services from some of Canada’s most influential companies that may include William F. White Intl., North Shore Studios, The Bridge Studios, Vancouver Film Studios, Panavision Canada, SIM Digtal, Clairmont Camera Film and Digital; Encore / Deluxe Entertainment Group, and Front Row Insurance.

“This will be my first feature as a writer / director and getting this far has been extremely daunting, but with this generous award and the WIDC by my side, it suddenly all feels very real and very achievable and I really can’t wait to get down to work,” shares Kathleen Hepburn.

“William F. White International is pleased to be backing the talented women directors and projects this award attracts,” says Ed Brando, Manager Client Services, William F. White International. “It’s also a great catalyst for developing meaningful relationships which is such a key part of this business.”

“Having worked with Kathleen at our pilot SIM 2.0, it is clear that she has a deep understanding of the emotional truth of her characters. It is going to be a compelling film for audiences,” says multiple industry award-winner, Carol Whiteman, CWWA President and CEO, WIDC Producer who provides executive producing services as part of the award.

Previous winners well acquitting themselves with the award include, Katrin Bowen whose debut feature Amazon Falls won multiple awards (Bowen has since directed her second feature, Random Acts of Romance); Lulu Keating’s musical comedy Lucille’s Ball, currently screening at festivals and has aired on Super Channel; Ana Valine, 2011 winner who recently took home a Best Direction Leo for her feature film directorial debut Sitting on the Edge of Marlene; Siobhan Devine wrapped production on The Birdwatcher in April 2014, and Marie Clements plans to go to camera this winter with her debut feature Red Snow, produced by Elizabeth Yake, True West Films.

Research shows that women still significantly trail their male counterparts as directors on feature film projects in Canada. The WIDC Feature Film Award represents industry leadership and support from some of the most significant industry members in Canada to help change that statistic.

For More Information Contact

Carol Whiteman, CWWA / WIDC | 1-604-837-8774 | carol@creativewomenworkshops.com | @CarolWhiteman

About The WIDC Feature Film Award 2014 Recipient

Kathleen Hepburn

Her debut feature film, Never Steady, Never Still, explores the idea that the beauty of life is in the struggle itself. Kathleen holds an MFA in Creative Writing, and a BFA in Film Production from the Universities of Guelph and Simon Fraser University respectively. Her previous short film works, which have screened at festivals nationally and internationally, are an amalgamation of essay and narrative cinema, drawing from fragmented memories, personal histories, and a deep connection to landscape. Kathleen has recently been awarded the 2014 WIFTV Best Screenplay Award and is this year’s WIDC Feature Film Award recipient. She is interested in story above all else.

Her debut feature film, Never Steady, Never Still, explores the idea that the beauty of life is in the struggle itself. A heart-rending family drama set in a small northern town, Never Steady, Never Still celebrates the strength of character of Judy, a woman with Parkinson’s who is determined not to be defined by her limitations.

About Creative Women Workshops Association

Creative Women Workshops Association (CWWA)is a national non-profit organization whose main activity, Women In the Director’s Chair (WIDC) is a one-of-a-kind ongoing professional development program specially designed to advance and enhance the skills, careers and projects of mid-career women screen directors of fiction, presented in partnership with The Banff Centre, and ACTRA, with major support from Telefilm Canada, NBCUniversal, William F. White Intl, Panavision Canada, IATSE 669, IATSE 212, Actra Fraternal Benefit Society, UBCP/ACTRA, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the participation of many additional organizations, companies and individuals. The WIDC program includes professional development workshops, awards (see sponsors listed in media release) and mentorships to help advance the skills, careers and fiction projects of women directors in screen-based media. For more details, please visit our new online space widc.ca/.

CWWA would like to thank all the companies and organizations that have stepped up to support women filmmakers through the WIDC Feature Film Award since its inception in 2008, including, William F. White Intl., MPPIA, Creative BC (as BC Film), North Shore Studios, The Bridge Studios, Vancouver Film Studios, Clairmont Camera Film and Digital, SIM Digital, Panavision Canada, Encore / Deluxe Entertainment Group, Post Modern Sound, Sharpe Sound Studios, The Banff Centre, Vision Globale, Front Row Insurance, Women In Film and Television Vancouver and Wendy D. Photography.

Contact

Carol Whiteman, CWWA / WIDC | 1-604-987-0747| carol@creativewomenworkshops.com | @CarolWhiteman