June 14th, 2005, Banff, AB – Three Canadian women filmmakers are being honored June 14th during the 10th Annual Launch Event for Canada’s one-of-a-kind Women In the Director’s Chair Workshop (WIDC) at the 2005 Banff World Television Festival.

Annie Bradley whose latest award-winning film ‘Tongue Bully’ screened at over 20 festivals around the world including the 2005 Sundance Festival, and Sarah Michelle Brown a WIDC 2005 grad, are co-winners of the 3rd Annual @Wallace Studios WIDC Alumnae Award and Carole Ducharme is the recipient of the 3rd Annual WIDC Banff World Television Festival Fellowship.

Bradley and Brown will split a prize valued at $10,000 in kind towards @Wallace Studio rental fees. Within the next 12 months Bradley plans to direct her original short film ‘Fran, Henry and Table and a Gun’ and Brown will lens her first sci-fi short ‘Mocha Latte’ at the Toronto-based studios.

“This is a wonderful reminder of the ever present “tool box” that both the WIDC and @Wallace Studios provide for women in assembling their own ‘director’s chair’!” states Bradley.

“One fantastic aspect of this directing program (WIDC) is the follow through of thevadministrators and of the gathered creative teams once the filmmakers leave The Banff Centre. This prize will help bring me that much closer to my filmmaking goals.” adds Brown.

”I am thrilled that through the @Wallace Studios WIDC Alumnae Award we are able to help advance the careers of these talented female directors. @Wallace Studios has always prided itself in leading the path of recognizing and fostering diversity in emerging Canadian talent.” says Lillyann Goldstein, CEO @Wallace Studios, North America’s only Studio facility owned and operated by women.

Since her time at WIDC 2004, Carole Ducharme, also selected for this year’s BWTVF Pitcher’s Paradise for her comedy series ‘Over the Rainbows’ based on her award-winning short ‘Straight From the Suburbs’, produced the French version of the CBC / RDS hockey reality series ‘Making the Cut’, and has developed a dramatic 13 x one hour series ‘ICE’ and two documentary projects: ‘My Queer Family’ and ‘Restorative Justice’.

“The Banff World Television Festival has had a 10-year association with Creative Women Workshops and the WIDC program and is pleased to present this Annual Fellowship in recognition of what WIDC brings to the community and the added value that WIDC alumnae bring to the festival.” states Robert Montgomery, CEO, Banff World Television Festival and Achilles Media.

“The WIDC workshop was an invaluable experience. What I learned, the incredible women I met there and now this fellowship award, have really helped me in my career.” says Ducharme. She adds, “As women filmmakers, we rarely have the opportunity to perfect our craft in a safe and supportive environment like the WIDC workshop. The innovative approach to character development and script analysis, the access to professional cast and crew, and the opportunity to try things out and challenge oneself are some of the many benefits the WIDC workshop offers.”

The 10th annual session of WIDC is also being kicked off at the Annual Launch Event where organizers will announce plans for WIDC 2006 which will be lead by internationally acclaimed Canadian writer/director/producer Deepa Mehta. Mehta’s body of work spans both television (Young Indiana Jones Chronicles) and feature films (‘Bollywood/Hollywood’, ‘Earth’, ‘Fire’, and the soon to be released ‘Water’).

The Women In the Director’s Chair Workshop which takes place at the world-class Banff Centre is presented in partnership by Creative Women Workshops Association, The Banff Centre and ACTRA with the participation of a variety of film and television industry organizations including Telefilm Canada, CBC Television, CTV Inc, William F. White Ltd, Union of BC Performers / ACTRA, IATSE, Director’s Guild of Canada, and the Independent Production Fund.

For more information

For more information about the WIDC Program or the Annual Launch Event contact program producer Carol Whiteman (1.604.913.0747 or carol@creativewomenworkshops.com) or go to www.creativewomenworkshops.com, www.banffcentre.ca/bnmi or www.actra.ca.