AWFJ Set to Present EDA Awards at Whistler Film Festival 2018 – Jennifer Merin reports
This is the sixth consecutive year in which the Alliance of Women Film Journalists has the honor to partner with Whistler Film Festival to recognize women filmmakers with presentation of EDA Awards for Best Female-Directed Feature Film and Best Female-Directed Short at this year’s festival, held in Whistler from November 28 to December 2, 2018.
Under the guidance of Executive Director Shauna Hardy Mishaw, Whistler Film Festival has consistently opened the doors of opportunity for female filmmakers through its programming of films and various mentoring programs.
This year’s program of 85 films includes 50 features and 35 shorts representing 12 countries. 46% of the scheduled films are directed by women. The festival nominates the films to be considered for EDA Awards. The EDA Award jurors are members of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists. The EDA Award winners will be announced on December 2, at the Whistler Film Festival Awards Ceremony.
NOMINEES FOR BEST FEMALE-DIRECTED FEATURE AND AWFJ JURY
For 2018, the festival nominated eight films for the EDA Award for Best Female-Directed Narrative Feature. In alphabetical order, the titles are:
- A Colony (Une Colonie) – Directed by Geneviève Dulude De Celles
- Birds Without Feathers – Directed by Wendy McColm
- Circle of Steel – Directed by Gillian McKercher
- Family First – Directed by Sophie Dupuis
- Girls of the Sun — Directed by Eva Husson
- Honey Bee – Directed by Rama Rau
- In God I Trust – Directed by Maja Zdanowski
- Sashinka – Directed by Kristina Wagenbauer
The EDA Awards jury for narrative films includes
- Sandie Angulo Chen
- Marilyn Ferdinand
- Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
- Jennifer Merin (Chair)
- Rebecca Murray
NOMINEES FOR THE BEST FEMALE-DIRECTED SHORT AND JURY
The festival has nominated ten female-directed shorts for the EDA Award. In alphabetical order,they are:
- Brotherhood – Directed by Meryam Joobeur
- Cedar Tree of Life – Directed by Odessa Shuquaya
- Egg – Directed by Martina Scarpelli
- Emptying the Tank – Directed by Caroline Monnet
- Hunting Season – Directed by Shannon Kholi
- Little Waves – Directed by Ariane Louis-Seize
- Lunar Orbit Rendezvous – Directed by Mélanie Charbonneau
- Miss World – Directed by Georgia Fu
- The Field – Directed by Sandhya Suri
- Three Centimeters – Directed by Lara Zeidan</li>
The EDA Awards jury for shorts includes
For full descriptions of the nominated films and an overview of Whistler Film Festival’s program, visit the Whistler Film Festival Website.
ABOUT THE AWFJ EDA AWARDS FESTIVAL PROGRAM
AWFJ’s EDA Awards festival program for 2016 included presentation of the Best Female-Directed Documentary Feature and Best Female-Directed Documentary Short at DOXA Film Festival in Vancouver in May and IDFA in November. AWFJ has presented EDA Awards at Edinburgh International Film Festival, Salem Film Fest, Sheffield Doc/Fest and St. Louis International Film Festival, among others. EDA Awards were also presented for POVs Twentieth Anniversary Celebration at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. For more information about AWFJ and/or the EDA Awards, contact Jennifer Merin at awfjinc@gmail.com.