THE STORIES WOMEN TELL Bold. Powerful. Inspiring. 36 films directed by women.
Celebrating 100 years of Women’s Voting Rights 2 3 Welcome 4 Festival Donors 5-6 Centennial Circle Donors 7-10 Feature Films 11 2020 Sponsers CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 TABLE OF 12-30 Short Films 32-36 Student Films CONTENTS 38-39 Director Bios - Features 40-44 Director Bios - Shorts 45-46 Director Bios - Student 47 UniFrance Film Event 49-51 Interviews and Panels
WELCOME 3 FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CHERYL CROOKS
Welcome to CASCADIA’s first ever Online Film Festival! This was not howwe intended to present our Official 2020 Selections of films directed by women. Upon canceling the ”live” April festival due to COVID-19, CASCADIA’s board re- envisioned the festival to come up with a way we could still present the fine exceptional films that were chosen for this year and honor our commitment to our directors.
While we don’t expect the online version festival to replace the festival experience of people coming together as a community to exchange ideas, discuss films, socialize and network, it is the best way for us to fulfill our mission in these challenging times and to showcase the stories that women tell in these films.
The filmmakers have been incredibly supportive and understanding giving us permission to bring their films to you online, in your home, instead in the theater so now anyone, anywhere can see them. We hope you enjoy the films, watch the recorded interviews, take part in the Q&As and join us in celebrating the CASCADIA’s 2020 films directed by women. FESTIVAL DONORS 4
GOLD LEVEL SILVER LEVEL BRONZE LEVEL $25 to $999
Eileen and Steve Nelson Audrey Sager and Steve Gellerman Amy McIlvaine Barbara Vz Howard Mamiko and Lee Van Horn PhD Anne Hildebrand Sheila Sondik Dan Larner Tamra Gregoire Martin and Sheila Nickerson Deborah Loober Shellea Swan & Richards Rebecca O’Brine-Wilson CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 Barry Meyers Jill Bernstein John and Patti Fairbanks Barbara Howard Teresa Thornberg and Ken Carpenter Jessica Martin Mary and John O’Connell Michelle Judson and Barry Hembree Karen Lerner & John Moffat Cynthia Franklin Mary and John O’Connell
CENTENNIAL CIRCLE DONORS 5 The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing and protecting women’s constitutional right to vote in the United States. Centennial Circle donors honor those women who fought to win that right by supporting CASCADIA in celebration.
Carol J. Abraham-Snowball Patrice Britain Julie Fleetwood F David Harris & Grace Phelan Uzma Ahmad Marla Bronstein Cynthia Franklin Elsie Heinrick Alan and Diane Blank Family Trust Janice Butler Kenneth Fulton Anne Hildebrand Harry and Lyn Allison Jr. David Cahalan and Mary Frances Kristine Gallina Jan Huston Bonnie Arfa Brown Carolyn Gibbons Patrice Imhof CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 Tracy and Michael Askotzky Jill Clark Anthony B. and Rouxle Gioffre Kathleen Jenkis Barron Smith Daugert Carol Comeau (in honor of Bessie Gary - Norma S Goldman Itl Ilene Kass Campbell Smith) PLLC Bender & Rosenthal Goldman Family Trust Michele A. Katz, PLLC Maggie Craig LLP The Great 8: Genny Salisbury, Helene Koenig – In Honor of Valentina Davoli-Raab Elizabeth Bowman, Barbara Cuite, Jill Bernstein Audrey Sager Tanya A. English - In honor of Karen Cris Cox, Lisa Lingenfelter, Mary Jefferey and Susan Edelman LaVera Langeman Specter-Piotti Bridget Ross, Dru Parlett Bleckner Pandora Larner Judith Entwife David and Sarah Hackel Leslie Boswell & PJ& McGuire JLaubmetalworks.com CENTENNIAL CIRCLE DONORS 6 The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing and protecting women’s constitutional right to vote in the United States. Centennial Circle donors honor those women who fought to win that right by supporting CASCADIA in celebration.
Law Offices of Barry J. Fisher, P.C. Alexis Myones - In honor of her Diana Shenk and Elizabeth Joffrion Jan Levien mother, Mary Jane Wormser Beth Shirk Manson and Shing Liau-Root Sherryl Nelson Adrienne A. Simnock Michael and Virginia Macbride Patrick J. Nestor Orphalee Smith Jennifer & Peter Magnone Arlan D and Diane E Norman Fund CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 Gail and Alan Maltun Sheryl Parker Mark & Terrie Marino Lynn Paul Barbara Matilsky Lauren Phillips Mi Young In honor of her mother John and Renee Remeny Wang Mar Bok Mativi Audrey Sager and Steve Gellerman Chris Monhern David and Cynthia Schmidt Craig and Nancy Moore Dru Schoenborn in honor of sister Amy McIlvaine 7
RUNTIME: 1:16:31 COUNTRY: CANADA LANGUAGE: ENGLISH GUARDIAN Directed by: Courtney Quirin Sponsored by Sheila and Bob Goodwin. CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17
“Guardian” chronicles the work of wildlife stewards amid sweeping legislative rollbacks of environmental protections in Canada. Part hermit, part biologist, Guardians live on boats, fulltime, in one of the last pristine frontiers of the world to monitor salmon, the backbone of the ecosystem, economy, and culture along British Columbia’s coast. 8
RUNTIME: 1:14:59 COUNTRY: USA LANGUAGE: ENGLISH Queen of
Hearts: Audrey CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 Flack Directed by: Deborah Shaffer; Co-director, Editor: Rachel Reichman Sponsored by Anonymous in tribute to women artists who persevere and find their voice. At 88, trailblazing artist Audrey Flack is a provocateur and a rebel, an example and an inspiration. Now, she returns to her canvas for the first time in decades, revealing her longtime struggles as an artist and mother to find her rightful place in the art world. “Queen of Hearts” is a moving portrait of a woman who is still testing, still experimenting, still searching. 9
RUNTIME: 1:35:51 COUNTRY: CANADA LANGUAGE: PASHTO (SUBTITLED) Red Snow Directed by: Marie Clements CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17
Dylan, a Gwich’in soldier from the Canadian Arctic, is caught in an ambush in Kandahar, Afghanistan. His capture and interrogation by a Taliban Commander releases a cache of memories connected to the love and death of his Inuit cousin, Asana, and binds him closer to a Pashtun family as they escape across treacherous landscapes and through a blizzard that becomes their key to survival.
Watch the trailer 10
RUNTIME: 1:25:01 COUNTRY: FRANCE LANGUAGE: FRENCH (ENGLISH SUBTITLES) Stars by the Pound
(100 Kilos d’Etoiles) CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 Directed by: Marie-Sophie Chambon Sponsored by Megan Taylor and Kent Stoddard
Sixteen-year-old Lois has only one dream, to become an astronaut—but it looks like her weight might be an obstacle. However, friends Amélie, Stannah, and Justine—three teenagers who also know about tough breaks—just might help her overcome it. THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSERS! 11 CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 12
RUNTIME: 21 MINS 24 SECONDS COUNTRY: USA LANGUAGE: ENGLISH #3 Normandy
Lane CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 Directed by: Brenda Strong Sponsored by Debby and Barry Meyers
Army wife and young mother Sarah Winston’s life is inextricably altered when a series of visitors arrive on her doorstep. The short film “#3 Normandy Lane” is written by John Farmanesh-Bocca and is the directorial debut of Brenda Strong, whose acting credits include “Desperate Housewives,” “Supergirl,” Seinfeld,” and “13 Reasons Why.” 13
RUNTIME: 13 MINS 38 SECONDS COUNTRY: USA LANGUAGE: ENGLISH A Normal Girl Directed by: Aubree Bernier-Clarke CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17
1.5% of people are born with anatomy that doesn’t fit typical definitions of female or male. It is common practice for doctors to perform genital surgeries on intersex infants— often with disastrous results. “A Normal Girl” brings the widely unknown struggles of intersex people to light, through the story of intersex activist Pidgeon Pagonis. 14
RUNTIME: 12 MINUTES COUNTRY: USA LANGUAGE: ENGLISH Blood and Glory Directed by: Satinder Kaur CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17
“Blood and Glory” is a drama about the friendship between two homeless veterans living on the streets of Los Angeles. Jackie, a dreamer and a hustler trying to get her life back on track, takes care of her battle buddy Rosa, who suffers from debilitating PTSD. The two confront adversity, discrimination, and even Mother Nature itself in their attempt to find work and get through the day. Written and directed by Satinder Kaur, a U.S. Army veteran. 15
RUNTIME: 3 MINS 32 SECONDS COUNTRY: USA LANGUAGE: ENGLISH Chalk of
Champions CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 Directed by: Jackie Omanoff
One of the best kept secrets in the math world is … chalk. But not just any chalk: Hagoromo, a Japanese brand so smooth, so perfect that some wonder if it was made from the tears of angels. This story follows some of the brightest minds in math from top universities as they talk about hoarding this magical chalk and the hysterics once Hagoromo abruptly went out of business. 16
RUNTIME: 4 MINS 10 SECONDS COUNTRY: USA LANGUAGE: ENGLISH Chemistry Directed by: Cynthia Silver CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17
As the audition tape continues to roll, a casting director and producer are caught candidly discussing the repercussions of casting a mixed-race actress. 17
RUNTIME: 8 MINS 16 SECONDS COUNTRY: AUSTRALIA LANGUAGE: ENGLISH Control Directed by: Abby Jane Dunn CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17
Two Australian women reflect on their fight for reproductive rights in the early 1970s after receiving backyard abortions. 18
RUNTIME: 15 MINS 24 SECONDS COUNTRY: USA LANGUAGE: ENGLISH Dom Directed by: Meryl Jones Williams, Jane Stiles (co-directors) CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17
When Dom teases Beth to join her on her daily drug route, she tags along happy to spend the day biking through old New York City haunts with a long-lost sister. Drawn back to each other, they avoid going home, even if it means rupturing an unspoken truth that lies between them. 19
RUNTIME: 17 MINS COUNTRY: GREECE LANGUAGE: GREEK Fugue Directed by: Laura Neri CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17
No two losses are alike, yet grief can create its own sort of kinship. This is the story of the unlikely rapport that develops between a damaged woman recovering in a hospital and a lonely little boy. 20
RUNTIME: 17 MINS COUNTRY: USA LANGUAGE: ENGLISH & HINDI Halwa Directed by: Gayatri Bajpai, Nirav Bhakta CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17
One friend’s idle gossip shakes Sujata Chopra out of the domestic stupor in which she has felt pressured to live her adult life. After 38 years of silence, Sujata reintroduces love into her life with a halwa recipe shared with childhood friend and true love, Premila, but Sujata’s abusive husband takes notice. 21
RUNTIME: 20 MINS COUNTRY: FINLAND LANGUAGE: FINNISH Kaksi Ruumista
Rannalla CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 (Two Bodies on a Beach) Directed by: Anna Paavilainen
A woman wakes up on a beach wrapped in plastic, half- naked and in high heels. “Not again,” she sighs and decides to find out who is behind this. She persuades an older woman who has been pushed to the margins of society to accompany her on her revenge trip. During their journey through classical cinematic landscapes, the two women face their own lusts, conflicts between generations, and their fragile ideologies. 22
RUNTIME: 25 MINS 25 SECONDS COUNTRY: CANADA LANGUAGE: ENGLISH OshKiKiShiKaw:
A New Day CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 Directed by: Jules Arita Koostachin Twelve-year-old identical twins Tapwewin “Truth” and Pawaken “Totem” cut their hair for the very first time in a coming-of-age ceremony. In Cree culture, and in many Indigenous communities across Turtle Island, hair represents a sacred connection to AsKi, the Earth. Growing the hair is a manifestation of the growth of spirit. Director Jules Arita Koostachin is a documentary filmmaker and the twins’ mother. 23
RUNTIME: 12 MINS 20 SECONDS COUNTRY: ITALY LANGUAGE: ITALIAN Riccardo That
Bounced on to CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 the Stars Directed by: Lana Vlady Because of Riccardo, Lisa’s chick decided to take a flight from the fourth floor. Now Marianna will have to explain to her 7-year-old daughter that there is something in the world called “death.” 24
RUNTIME: 10 MINS 21 SECONDS COUNTRY: USA LANGUAGE: ENGLISH The Shallow End Directed by: Cynthia Silver Sponsored by The Women of Morey Avenue CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17
A group of teenaged girls jockey for power in the savage summer society of a community swimming pool during the summer of 1984 in this coming-of-age film about navigating the treacherous waters of adolescence and social pressures. Space Needle A Hidden History
Directed by BJ Bullert 25
RUNTIME: 17 MINS 30 SECONDS COUNTRY: USA LANGUAGE: ENGLISH Space Needle: A
Hidden History CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 Directed by: BJ Bullert Sponsored by Barbara Vz Howard. “Space Needle: A Hidden History” traces the creative Poetry by Jourdan Imani Keith Dance inspiration for the Needle’s shape back to a work of art. The story unfolds like a mystery to create a new origin story by Nia-Amina Minor of this icon of the Pacific Northwest region. The narrative Music by Gretchen Yanover connects dance, art and architecture, and explores the creative legacies of architect Victor Steinbrueck and Edited by Erik Dugger Seattle-born African-American dancer Syvilla Fort. Video by Joseph Hudson & Tom Speer
Best Short
© Seattle Films Hidden Histories LLC / For more information, visit www.seattlefilms.org / contact: [email protected] 26
RUNTIME: 14 MINS 52 SECONDS COUNTRY: USA LANGUAGE: ENGLISH The Spirit Seam Directed by: Ashley Gerst CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17
This film combines a mixture of animation mediums to tell the story of a little girl, Pollywog, and her Pap-Paw. Located in an Appalachian coal-mining town in the 1950s, the film takes the audience through the daily life of both characters where they experience the simple pleasures of rural Appalachian life. Pap-Paw and Pollywog inseparable until illness threatens to fracture their small family. 27
RUNTIME: 9 MINS 43 SECONDS COUNTRY: USA LANGUAGE: ENGLISH Stud Boob Directed by: Shaina Feinberg CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17
Two sisters are having it out in a bathroom. They don’t see eye to eye but they treat each other decently and they each get a chance to speak their mind. Naturalistic performances by real-life sisters, talking openly is both complicated and nuanced. 28
RUNTIME: 13 MINS 59 SECONDS COUNTRY: IRELAND LANGUAGE: ENGLISH Tumbling
Towards Home CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 Directed by: Imelda O’Reilly
An Irish immigrant moves to New York in 1989 to study acting. Actor and writer Malcolm Adams works through his grief from the passing of his mother and of his friend and fellow actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman. 29
RUNTIME: 22 MINS COUNTRY: USA AND CHINA LANGUAGE: ENGLISH Unspoken Code Directed by: Jennifer Schwerin CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17
A female Artificial Intelligence robot finds herself caught between developing her own AI to its full potential and her coding, which programs her to please, with devastating consequences. Designed for sophisticated tasks, she aspires to develop past expectations, but is thwarted by her human host, who pushes her buttons. 30
RUNTIME: 15 MINS 28 SECONDS COUNTRY: USA LANGUAGE: ENGLISH Women of Journeys: Finding our Medicine CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 Directed by: Elli Smith and Darrell Hillaire Sponsored by Amy McIlvaine
A meditative exploration of the 2019 Paddle to Lummi Canoe Journey landing and protocol as experienced by through the eyes of the women involved. A re-envisioning of America’s past and future as it pertains to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Watch the trailer 31
Composition: for video film scores, video games
Active Women’s Gateway to Bellingham Bay CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 INSTUCTION & RENTALS Sailing Kayaking Paddleboarding Time-based arts Animated multimedia Rowing Minor: Arts Enterprise Bridge to a a nonprofit resource for all & Cultural Innovation productive career CFPA.WWU.EDU 32
RUNTIME: 12 MINS COUNTRY: UNITED KINGDOM LANGUAGE: ENGLISH Concerning
Contraception CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 Directed by: Sandy Jeglum
“Concerning Contraception” is a short documentary that reveals what we know, and more importantly what we don’t, about the mood side effects of hormonal contraception. 33
RUNTIME: 13 MINS COUNTRY: USA LANGUAGE: ENGLISH F*ckboy
Manifesto CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 Directed by: Graciela García When Alex, a young woman in college, is dissed in love for the nth time, she retraces her not-so-casual hookups, one f*ckboy at a time. As she wades through cigarette smoke, tiny hats, Carhartt jackets, and false promises, Alex turns to you, her audience, to help her understand how to navigate this tricky landscape. 34
RUNTIME: 15 MINS COUNTRY: POLAND LANGUAGE: POLISH Stopover Directed by: Joanna Brodawka-Zygmunt CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17
Andrzej Szopa, one of the youngest residents of the House for retired Polish Artists in Skolimów (colloquially called the Actors House), shows us around this institution revealing the realities of its inhabitants. 35
RUNTIME: 23 MINS 30 SECONDS COUNTRY: USA LANGUAGE: BOSNIAN Variables Directed by: Sabina Vajraca CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17
In the middle of the Bosnian War, a teenage math-wiz is given a way out of the bloodshed when his math club gets an invitation to compete at the 1995 International Math Olympiad in Canada.
Watch the trailer 36
RUNTIME: 3 MINS 35 SECONDS COUNTRY: USA LANGUAGE: ENGLISH waiting by the phone CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 Directed by: Olivia Jensen
A woman grieves her dead sister keeping her memory alive by taking care of both her and herself. 37 CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
REGULAR DEADLINE APRIL 29, 2020
LATE DEADLINE MAY 27, 2020 BENDFILM.ORG DIRECTORS BIOS - FEATURE FILMS 38
Marie-Sophie Chambon Rachel Reichman STARS BY THE POUND/100 KILOS D’ETOILES; FRANCE QUEEN OF HEARTS: AUDREY FLACK, CO-DIRECTOR/EDITOR; USA
Marie-Sophie Chambon, who studied scriptwriting at the French Rachel Reichman has edited scores of prize-winning documentaries, school of cinema La fémis, writes stories about ordinary girls and including “Hitchcock / Truffaut” “A Letter to Elia” and “Women, War women with extraordinary destiny. After directing three short films, and Peace: Peace Unveiled.” She directed the independent feature
“Stars” is Chambon’s feature directorial debut and her eighth film films “Work,” which premiered at MoMA in New Directors /New CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 as screenwriter. Films in 1996, and “The Riverbed,” which premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in 1986 and was included in the Whitney Biennial in 1987.
Marie Clements Deborah Shaffer RED SNOW; CANADA QUEEN OF HEARTS: AUDREY FLACK, DIRECTOR/PRODUCER; USA
Marie Clements’ independent media production company Deborah Shaffer has been making social issue documentaries since specializes in innovative works that explore an Indigenous and the early 1970s. In the 1980s, she directed the Oscar-winning short, intercultural reality. “Red Snow” has won several awards, including “Witness to War: Dr. Charlie Clements,” and the Emmy-nominated Most Popular Canadian Feature Film at the Vancouver International “Fire from the Mountain,” which both aired on PBS. In 2001, she Film Festival, Best Canadian Feature Film at the Edmonton directed two shows for the PBS series “Art 21: Art in the 21st International Film Festival, and won Best Director of a Feature Film Century.” She also co-directed and wrote “Rwanda: Ladies First” for at the 2019 American Indian Film Festival (AIFF) in San Francisco. WNET’s “Wide Angle” and was awarded an Emmy in 2004. In 2016, she co-executive produced “Very Semi-Serious,” an HBO Emmy- award winning documentary about New Yorker cartoonists. DIRECTORS BIOS - FEATURE FILMS 39
Courtney Quirin GUARDIAN; CANADA
Courtney Quirin is a wildlife biologist turned documentary filmmaker and environmental journalist based in San Francisco. Quirin has a Master’s in Journalism and Documentary Film from the U.C. Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and has reported for the CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 Associated Press in South Africa as well as Al Jazeera, Bay Nature Magazine and Mission Local in California. DIRECTORS BIOS - SHORT FILMS 40
Gayatri Bajpai Nirav Bhakta HALWA, CO-DIRECTOR; USA HALWA, CO-DIRECTOR; USA
Gayatri Bajpai is director of the short films “Muck” (2014), Nirav Bhakta, raised as an undocumented immigrant in motels, “Housewarming” (2017) and “Rio” (2017). She is a two-time UCLA began his journey in film as an actor. As director, Bhakta’s narratives Directors’ Spotlight Winner of Best Documentary for “Muck” in focus on the immigrant experience. His first experimental short film 2014 and Best Comedy for “Housewarming” in 2016. Bajpai is also “Honor,” about honor killings, traveled the festival circuit. Bhakta is CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 co-directing a portrait documentary short with Niray Bhakta (her also co-directing a portrait documentary short with Gayatri Bajpai co-director on “Halwa”) about a Mexican trans woman who was (his co-director on “Halwa”) about a Mexican trans woman who human trafficked by a drug cartel into sex slavery. was human trafficked by a drug cartel into sex slavery.
Aubree Bernier-Clarke BJ Bullert A NORMAL GIRL; USA SPACE NEEDLE: A HIDDEN HISTORY; USA
Aubree Bernier-Clarke is a non-binary director and cinematographer BJ Bullert grew up in Seattle, attended The Evergreen State College, based in LA who began her career as a punk rocker in Kentucky. Boston University, and earned an MLitt from Oxford in politics. In 2013, she participated in AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women, Switching from academia to documentary filmmaking, she co- through which she developed her first original short, “The Night Is produced two films for PBS, and, while earning her doctorate, Ours.” She is currently in production on a feature film collaboration produced and directed “Earl Robinson: Ballad of an American” with intersex activist Pidgeon Pagonis. (1995). She taught at Muhlenberg College, the American University, and is currently on the faculty at Antioch University in Seattle. Since returning to the PNW, she has produced several documentaries with a regional focus. DIRECTORS BIOS - SHORT FILMS 41
Shaina Feinberg Darrell Hillaire STUD BOOB; USA WOMEN OF JOURNEYS: FINDING OUR MEDICINE, CO-DIRECTOR; USA
Hillaire is a member of Lummi Nation, former Lummi Nation Council Shaina Feinberg, a filmmaker from Manhattan, is currently directing Member, LIBC Chairman, founder of the Lummi Youth Academy, and the second season of her digital series “Dinette”—the first season producer, director and writer for Setting Sun Productions. His works of which played at the Tribeca Film Festival and was featured in The
include: “What About Those Promises” stage production, “It’s Good CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 New Yorker. She is developing projects for the scripted podcast to Be Home” stage production and short film, “Sonny Sixkiller Buys space, feature films, and co-writing a book for a major publisher. the Washington Redskins” stage production. Properly representing She is also a New York Times columnist and has been featured Coast Salish People is his mission. on NPR. Her award-winning feature “The Babymooners” blurred the lines between documentary and fiction to examine gender stereotypes and has played at film festivals all over the country.
Ashley Gerst Satinder Kaur THE SPIRIT SEAM; USA BLOOD AND GLORY; USA
Ashley Gerst is a 2D and 3D animator living in Brooklyn. She holds U.S. Army veteran, Satinder Kaur is a writer, director and producer. a BFA in Digital Arts from Cleveland Institute of Art and an MFA She received her MFA in film directing from the USC School of in Computer Art from School of Visual Arts. In addition to her Cinematic Arts where she was the recipient of the James Bridges professorial work at William Paterson, Gerst is a freelance animator Award for excellence in directing. In 2019, Kaur won the Grand working for a variety of production companies and clients in the Prize for her short film “Blood and Glory” in the Women in Media greater New York City area. CAMERAderie initiative sponsored by NBC Universal. Kaur grew up in Bellingham and has many friends and family here. DIRECTORS BIOS - SHORT FILMS 42
Jules Arita Koostachin Jackie Omanoff OshKiKiShiKaw: A NEW DAY; CANADA CHALK OF CHAMPIONS; USA
Born in Moose Factory. Ontario, Koostachin was raised by her Cree Jackie Omanoff, a Brooklyn-based storyteller who began as a speaking grandparents in Moosonee, and her mother in Ottawa, producer in the advertising industry, currently works at CNN’s “Great a warrior of the Canadian Residential school system. She is a Big Story.” She has received a number of awards while producing band member of Attawapiskat First Nation. She currently resides at the media company including a Silver Cannes Lion, Digital Drum in Vancouver where she is a PhD candidate with the Institute of Award, and Vimeo Staff pick. CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice at the University of British Columbia, focusing on Indigenous documentary. This is her fourth year with CASCADIA.
Laura Neri Imelda O’Reilly FUGUE; GREECE TUMBLING TOWARDS HOME; IRELAND
Laura Neri, half Greek, half Italian filmmaker born in Belgium, studied Imelda O’Reilly is an independent Irish filmmaker from Kildare. film and screenwriting at the Free University of Brussels and earned Her award-winning short films and feature screenplay have been her MFA in Film Directing at USC. Neri wrote and directed several represented at over 50 film festivals internationally around the award-winning short films including, “A Kiss on the Nose,” which world, including Cannes Film Festival, Rhode Island International screened at more than 50 festivals and received multiple awards. Film Festival, and Cinequest Film & Creativity Film Festival. She is Her first feature film “Kill the Habit” earned her a “Best Feature the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship to Morocco where her film Director” award at La Femme film festival in LA. Bricks, Beds and Sheep’s Heads was a Regional Finalist for the Student Academy Awards. O’Reilly appeared in the 2019 CASCADIA Film Festival with her short, “Eggs and Soldiers” (2016). DIRECTORS BIOS - SHORT FILMS 43
Anna Paavilainen Cynthia Silver KAKSI RUUMISTA RANNALLA: TWO BODIES ON A BEACH; FINLAND CHEMISTRY; THE SHALLOW END; USA
Anna Paavilainen is a Finnish director, writer and actor. Her Cynthia Silver is an New York City-based stage and film director breakthrough performance as an actor was in Zaida Bergroth’s and an acting teacher who was one of 10 filmmakers selected “The Good Son” (2011), of which Paavilainen was nominated with to participate in the 2019 Through Her Lens: The Tribeca Chanel
The Jussi Prize (“The Finnish Oscar”). After several prestigious Women’s Filmmaker Program. Silver trained at New York City’s CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 theater, film and TV roles, Paavilainen moved to Sweden to study Atlantic Acting School where she is now a faculty member, and at Stockholms Filmskola. Her monologue, “Play Rape,” which she earned her BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. wrote, directed and performed, gained extensive media attention.
Jen Schwerin Elli Smith UNBROKEN CODE; USA/CHINA WOMEN OF JOURNEYS: FINDING OUR MEDICINE, CO-DIRECTOR; USA
Jen Schwerin is an award-winning filmmaker working in the U.S. Smith began working as a youth mentor at the residential dorm and China. In the U.S., she won awards for her feature documentary, Lummi Youth Academy over 10 years ago. As part of the Lummi “Talking Trash,” which screened at festivals and aired on PBS. Her Youth Canoe Family, Smith created her first documentary Emmy-nominated short film, “The Vessel,” aired on PBS, screened short, “Pulling Back Together,” which premiered at the inaugural at festivals, and was curated by Laurie Anderson for a show on CASCADIA Film Festival and then went on to show at Toronto’s women’s voices. In China since 1995, Schwerin created the first Female Eye Film Festival, Harvard University, and has been used as Chinese short films for MTV. She is currently developing a pilot for an educational storytelling tool at Emerson College. She received television. her MA from Harvard and returned to work at Children of the Setting Sun Productions with its youth program. DIRECTORS BIOS - SHORT FILMS 44
Jane Stiles Lana Vlady DOM, CO-DIRECTOR; USA RICCARDO THAT BOUNCED ON TO THE STARS; ITALY
Jane Stiles is an actress and writer known for “Why Not Choose Lana Vlady is an Italian actress and director of Russian origin, born Love: A Mary Pickford Manifesto” (post-production), “Blue” (2012) in St. Petersburg who moved to Italy at the age of 7 and grew up in and “Capture the Flag” (2010). In addition to co-writing and co- the province of Pisa. As an actress she starred on television and in directing “Dom,” she has written, directed, and acted in the short films. She wrote, directed and starred in her first short film “La Lepre CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 film, “One Eye Small” (2018). (The Rabbit),” which appeared in the 2019 CASCADIA festival.
Brenda Strong Meryl Jones Williams #3 NORMANDY LANE; USA DOM, CO-DIRECTOR; USA
Brenda Strong is best known for her seminal (acting and voice) Meryl Jones Williams is a filmmaker and actress residing in Brooklyn. portrayal of Mary Alice Young on “Desperate Housewives,” but this As a filmmaker, “Biophilia,” a film she co-produced and played the two-time Emmy-nominated and SAG Award-winning actress has lead, premiered this year at Citizen Jane, Brooklyn, Northbend, had a long and endearing film and television career. In addition to Indiefest, and Middlecoast and just celebrated its online premiere acting and directing, she is also a producer, notably on the award- on Vimeo’s curated channel “Ladies with Lenses” and “Women and winning documentary “Fallen,” which looks at the human side of Hollywood.” She is currently in development for her first feature as line-of-duty police deaths. a writer/director as well as developing “Dom” the short into a sister feature to direct in 2020. DIRECTORS BIOS - STUDENT FILMS 45
Joanna Brodawka-Zygmunt Graciela García STOPOVER; POLAND F*CKBOY MANIFESTO; USA
Joanna Brodawka-Zygmunt, is a director, actress and film producer Graciela García recently graduated as a film major from Wesleyan from Rzeszów, Poland. A graduate in Film Production Organization University, receiving honors for her thesis film. She has a keen and Television in the Department of Radio and TV at the University interest in both film and theater as an actor, writer, and director. She of Silesia, she also has a degree in Directing from the Warsaw Film has studied theater and film in Greece and Prague, respectively. CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 School. After participating in the student symposium at Telluride Film Festival, Garcia is moving to New York City.
Abby Jane Dunn Sandy Jeglum CONTROL; AUSTRALIA CONCERNING CONTRACEPTION; UK
Abby Dunn is a documentary director with a master’s in Documentary Sandy Jeglum is a documentary filmmaker with over a decade of Directing from AFTRS. She has won numerous scholarships and experience editing and producing short and feature-length films. fellowships that have taken her to create films in places such as Jeglum focuses on telling stories that support gender equity, Mexico, Cambodia, Indonesia and Singapore. Recently, she won including web shorts for KIVA (2013), Foundation for Women the ACCESS prize at the Australian International Documentary (2013), and America Rise (in-production). She holds a master’s Conference. Dunn is currently in post-production for her next film with distinction in Documentary Production from the University of and is based in Italy and Australia. the West of England. “Concerning Contraception” is her directorial debut. DIRECTORS BIOS - STUDENT FILMS 46
Olivia Jensen Sabina Vajrača waiting by the phone; USA VARIABLES; USA
Olivia Jensen is an animator and illustrator from Chicago. Her aim Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sabina Vajrača immigrated to the as an artist is to tell stories that evoke raw human emotion in a U.S. in 1994 as a war refugee. She received a BFA in Theatre from visually beautiful way. University of Central Florida, and an MFA in Film and TV Production
at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where she was an Annenberg CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 Scholar and a recipient of numerous awards for her work. In 2005, she directed and produced the critically acclaimed feature documentary “Back to Bosnia.” A passionate advocate of women in film, she is a member of Film Fatales, Women in Film, WiMPS, and Lincoln Center Directors Lab. Upcoming Film Event 47
Bienvenue, UniFrance! The films are:
For more than 65 years, UniFrance has been using its experience of Mardi de 8 à 18 (Tuesday from 8 to 6) directed by Cécilia De Arce the international marketplace to support French cinema worldwide. UniFrance is based in Paris but has representatives in New York, Moutons, Loup et tasses de thé (Sheep, Wolf and cup of tea) directed Seoul, Beijing, and Tokyo. Its membership brings together more by Marion Lacourt than 1,000 French producers, filmmakers, industry executives and media agents, working together to promote French film among Plein Ouest (Due West) directed by Alice Douard CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 foreign audiences. Sous l’écorce (Under the Bark) directed by Ève-Chems de Brouwer UniFrance was created in 1949 as a nonprofit organization by French state authorities, to ensure that France’s cultural exceptionalism La Traction des Poles (Magnetic Harvest) directed by Marine Levéel would have the financial means and the tools to promote its cinema production in the world. For 70 years now, UniFrance has become For more about French cinema, visit the UniFrance website at: a brand in itself among cinema lovers and influencers from all www.unifrance.org. over the world making France’s film production the second most exported one after the United States.
CASCADIA International Women’s Film Festival selected five French short films for its 2020 Festival to highlight France’s contributions to female-directed films. These films will be presented in an upcoming special ‘live’ showcase once it is safe to do so. 48
Celebrating 4 Years! CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 A proud supporter of the Cascadia Thanks for International Women’s Film Festival! Shopping Local Visit VILLAGEBOOKS.COM for books & store updates! 1200 11th St., Bellingham, WA & 430 Front St. Lynden, WA INTERVIEWS AND PANELS 49 Learn more about our films, the directors and the stories behind the making of them in our interviews and panel discussions recorded for you to watch during the festival. These are available to you whenever you want from wherever you want. Watch the film, then watch the interview or panel discussion then watch the film again to see what you may have missed the first time!
Recorded Interviews:
Behind-the-Scenes with Brenda Strong After a successful career as an actress on “13 Reasons Why” and “Desperate Housewives,” Brenda CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 Strong talks about her directorial debut short film “#3 Normandy Lane” along with writer John Farmanesh-Boca in an interview with CASCADIA Board member Sheila Goodwin. Their conversation will be available to festival pass holders. Watch the film then watch the interview to learn about the behind-the-scenes story of the film.
Going to the ‘Heart’ of the Doc: Directors Deborah Shaffer and Rachel Reichman discuss how they built their relationship with artist Audrey Flack for the making of their documentary, “Queen of Hearts: Audrey Flack” and the insights they gained into the artist’s world. This Q&A is moderated by Barbara Matilsky, former curator at the Whatcom Museum and the Queens Museum of Art in New York City, where she exhibited one of the artist’s earliest sculptures.
Women Are Funny Why aren’t more women directing comedies? Director Shaina Feinberg and Actress-Writer Ashley Williams who made “Stud Boob” share their views about women and comedy and what it took to make their film in a bathroom with Maria Burton, director and co-chair of the Women’s Steering Committee for the Director’s Guild of America. INTERVIEWS AND PANELS 50
Recorded Panel Discussion:
The Indigenous Filmmaking Process: CASCADIA is proud to present three Indigenous films in this year’s festival. Directors Marie Clements, Jules Koostachin, Elli Smith and Darrell Hillaire discuss the challenges of making their films, how they approach the process and the impact Indigenous films can make. Panel moderator is Elizabeth Weatherford, founder and director emeritus of the Film and Video Center of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in New York. CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17 Live Interviews Open to the Public on Vimeo and Facebook Live:
A Salute to Local Filmmaker Satinder Kaur Opening Night 7 p.m. Thursday, May 14: “Blood and Glory” director Satinder Kaur, grew up in Bellingham, joined the Army, attended film school, where she was the recipient of the James Bridges Award for excellence in directing, and then wrote and directed her film about two homeless veterans. She joins Bellingham arts writer Margaret Bikman along with the film’s producer, Y.J. Meira, in a conversation about the making of the film.
Live Interview:
Telling the Story of Seattle’s Iconic Structure: 5 p.m. Friday, May 15: Director BJ Bullert who made the short documentary, “Space Needle: A Hidden History”, along with Nia-Amina Minor of Seattle’s Spectrum Dance Theater will discuss how the story behind the film was discovered and developed, how dance and design come together in her movie and how femininity is expressed in the architecture. Conducting the interview will be Linda Chiavaroli, arts writer, former Director of Communications for Los Angeles County Arts Commission and worked closely with dance companies and artists who performed at the John Anson Ford Amphitheater in Los Angeles. INTERVIEWS AND PANELS 51
Live Panel Discussion:
Behind the Scenes on Location: 5 p.m. Saturday, May 16: CASCADIA’s directors pull back the curtain to reveal how they make shooting on location work; how they make one locations to look like another, the tricks they use, what it takes from scouting to permits, the roadblocks they’ve incurred and how they got around them. Directors Cynthia Silver of “The Shallow End” and “Chemistry,” Sabina Vajrača of “Variables” and Meryl Williams and Jane Stiles of “Dom” will be our guest panelists. Stefanie Malone, Emmy-winning producer and documentary filmmaker,
will moderate. CIWFF 2020 | Online Everywhere May 14-17
Live Q&A:
Making an Impact through Environmental Film: 4 p.m. Sunday, May 17: Director Courtney Quirin lived in the wilderness for two months to direct and shoot solo the film her environmental documentary “Guardian.” “Guardian” chronicles the story of Canada’s wildlife stewards amid sweeping legislative rollbacks of environmental protections. She is herself a wildlife biologist turned documentary filmmaker and environmental journalist. She’ll discuss the challenges she faced during filming, the impact film can have on environmental issues, her pursuits as an environmentalist, journalist and filmmaker and answer your questions about the film or her work. Rachel Vasak, executive director of the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, will conduct the conversation. CASCADIA CREATES COMMUNITY Photos from our 2019 Festival Join us next year at the festival!
Celebrating 100 years of Women’s Voting Rights