Vancouver, Canada (April 13, 2010) – Award-winning filmmaker Lulu Keating is the 2010 recipient of the Women In the Director’s Chair Feature Film Award to be presented by Creative Women Workshops Association April 17 at the Opening Gala the 2010 Women In Film Festival in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The WIDC Feature Film Award represents industry leadership and support from some of the most significant companies in western Canada. Valued at nearly $100,000, the prestigious prize includes: in-kind rentals for one week at North Shore Studios or The Bridge Studios; production equipment rentals from William F. White Intl.; and post production support from Post Modern Sound and Deluxe Vancouver. The award will support Keating’s romantic adventure comedy feature film Based On A True Fantasy.
“The whole design of this film was developed with this award in mind – a studio shoot to create a high concept, low-budget film. It will incorporate creative animation techniques with live action,” says Keating, “This award is absolutely the most thrilling thing that could have happened!“
“William F White Int. Inc. Vancouver is excited to be sponsors of the annual WIDC Feature Film Award. We are fortunate enough to be able to help a worthwhile project receive the support it needs by ensuring quality gear and service,” say Ed Brando Project Manager and Nav Degun Rentals Manager Of William F White International Inc. “We are meeting these deserving filmmakers at a crucial time in their developing careers and are glad to be able to help them achieve their dreams. It`s a win-win for all involved.”
“It was a pleasure working with 2009 winner Katrin Bowen and we congratulate 2010 winner Lulu Keating,” adds Suzanne Thompson, Director of Sales and Marketing, Deluxe Vancouver. “The current environment for making feature films in Canada is grim which makes it more important than ever to support domestic production in whatever ways we can.”
“Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar win and the accolades Canadian women directors like Norma Bailey, Holly Dale and Kari Skogland have received at this year’s Gemini and Genie Awards are significant milestones,” states Carol Whiteman, award-winning producer of the WIDC program, “However, women directors still have a long way to go to reach gender parity. That’s why this award is so vital.”
Creative Women Workshops Association works in partnership with a host of companies, individuals and agencies like The Banff Centre, ACTRA, Telefilm Canada, CTV, the Quebecor Fund, Actra Fraternal Benefit Society, the Independent Production Fund, IATSE 669, IATSE 891, and the Directors Guild of Canada, BC District among others, to help level the playing field for women screen directors in Canada through the acclaimed training program Women In the Director’s Chair and other WIDC initiatives.
The award presentation will take place April 17 at 7:00 pm at the Vancity Theatre, 1181 Seymour Street, Vancouver. Following the award presentation the Women In Film Festival opens with a Vancouver premiere screening of WIDC alumna Penelope Buitenhuis’ innovative improv-feature film, A Wake. Opening Gala and festival tickets are available through Women In Film and Television Vancouver online at www.womeninfilm.ca or at 604-685-1152.
Media Contact and for more information
Carol Whiteman, President and CEO, CWWA / Producer, WIDC; Tel: 1.604.913.0747; Email: carol@creativewomenworkshops.com
Web: www.creativewomenworkshops.com
Or In Toronto, Michelle Daides, MD Media Inc.; Tel: 1.416.573.3960 ; Email: michelle@mdmediainc.com
WIDC Feature Film Award 2010 recipient
Lulu Keating knew at a young age she was destined for the limelight. At Saint Francis Xavier University in her hometown (Antigonish, Nova Scotia) she studied theatre, acted and won a directing award. She pursued her creative interests at Vancouver School of Art where she discovered her passion and transferred to Ryerson to study film. Keating’s filmmaking career began when she returned to Nova Scotia and became a key figure at the Atlantic Filmmakers Co-operative. Her first animation won awards and accolades that led her to write and direct dramas, animations and documentaries, averaging a film a year. In 1985 she incorporated her company, Red Snapper Films Limited, and directed a documentary in Japan. Her debut feature film, The Midday Sun, which she wrote and directed, was shot in Zimbabwe and released in 1989. The Moody Brood is an animated documentary that won international awards and acclaim. A major figure in the Atlantic film community for twenty years, chairing boards and contributing to the development of the industry, Keating moved to Vancouver in 2000 to work in television. Now in Dawson City, Yukon, Lulu Keating is in development on two feature films. She also continues to create short films and tours extensively with them to festivals across Canada and internationally. She is a 2008 alumna of the Women In the Director’s Chair program and recently won the Best New Voice Award for her feature film script Klondike Kalahari at the 2010 Female Eye Film Festival.
Based On A True Fantasy is a feature comedy-drama set at the tail-end of the free love era. It tells the story of how Catholic girl Lucille’s introduction to sex at an early age triggers her wild sexual adventures. Driven by a desire to be a famous musician, Lucille becomes entangled with a diverse assortment of lovers: women and men, straight and gay, in Canada and in foreign lands. For Lucille, settling down is for squares until, saturated by her sexual escapades, another irrepressible urge sets Lucille on a quest for a man to father her child. An unorthodox resolution brings Lucille full circle, from sexual miscreant to mother without a guidebook and Lucille discovers what she has truly been chasing all these years.
Creative Women Workshops Association (CWWA) is a national non-profit organization whose main activity, The Women In the Director’s Chair Workshop (WIDC) is a one-of-a-kind annual professional development program specially designed to advance the leadership and creative capacities of mid-career women screen directors of fiction, presented in partnership with The Banff Centre, ACTRA with major support from Telefilm Canada, William F White Intl, CTV through the CTVglobemedia-CHUM Benefits, Quebecor Fund, IATSE 669, IATSE 891, Directors Guild of Canada, BC, Actra Fraternal Benefit Society, Independent Production Fund and the participation of many others. CWWA also offers additional programs, annual awards, bursaries and fellowships to Canadian female directors including the CTV WIDC Career Advancement Module, The CTV Director Development Award ($10,000 cash prize to develop a project to be directed by a Canadian woman) and the WIDC BANFF Fellowship and full festival pass to attend the Banff World Television Festival. www.creativewomenworkshops.com
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