Women in Film + Television Spotlight Award Winners 2013

Women in Film and Television have announced the Spotlight Award Winners for 2013. The awards bring together the BC film community to celebrate the outstanding achievements of BC women in screen-based media and will be presented at a gala evening that opens the Vancouver International Women In Film Festival on March 7, at the Vancity Theatre.

This year's recipients are:

Woman of the Year Award - Tracey Friesen. Presented to a woman who has achieved significant success in the field of film or television, and who is recognized for mentoring other women in the industry. 

WIFTV Artistic Achievement Award - Lara Mazur. Honours a woman who demonstrates filmmaking excellence in the telling of women's stories. 

Artistic Innovation Award - Karen Lam. Honours a woman who demonstrates vision, experimentation and innovation in the telling of women's stories in screen based media. 

Wayne Black Service Award - Robyn Wiener of Synergy Cinema Inc.

Honoured Friend Award - Bill Hurst, former Content Analyst for Telefilm.

Sharon Gibbon Lifetime Member Award - Roslyn Muir, Past Secretary, President and Chair of WIFTV.

Leadership in Education Award - Michele Lonsdale Smith is the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the renowned Lyric School of Acting.

The Image Award honours a female director or DOP for excellence in a recent short work. This year, the Image Award will be given to three outstanding filmmakers:

• Elle-Maija Tailfeathers is a young filmmaker who wrote and directed A Red Girl's Reasoning, a short film produced through Crazy8s.
• Jenn Strom wrote, directed and animated Assembly, an experimental short film that pays homage to the women filmmakers of NFB's iconic Studio D.
• Siobhan Devine directed the short film OMG, a 10-min comedy about a teenager, a grandma and a cellphone.

The inaugural Spotlight Lifetime Achievement Award recipient is Haida Paul (My American Cousin, Life and Times of Evelyn Hart). Haida is best known as a Genie Award winning film and sound editor for dramatic and documentary films, and also a teacher and mentor. 

The Spotlight Awards will also recognize the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media with the Please Adjust Your Set Award, presented by the WIFTV Advocacy committee and the team at www.pleaseadjustyourset.com. The award honours a person or organization who has made a major contribution to promote gender equity in film, television or screen based media. The Geena Davis Institute is the only research-based organization working in the entertainment industry to educate and influence the need for gender balance and reduce stereotyping.

For full details on the awards and recipients, visit the Women in Film + Television Vancouver Spotlight Awards page. 

Other Festival events include film screenings, an industry panel on building audience, a workshop on directing Horror, guest filmmakers, and post screening discussions.

Celebrate the Spotlight Awards Gala on Opening Night of the Vancouver International Women In Film Festival.

Date: March 7 - 10
Location: Vancity Theatre, 1181 Seymour Street
Tickets on sale starting NOW!
More info: www.womeninfilm.ca, www.facebook.com/Womeninfilm or Twitter: @WIFTV, and @VWIFF2013

Check out the awesome 8th Annual Women in Film Festival line-up.