The Vancouver International Women in Film Festival is thrilled to have so many BC filmmakers screening in the upcoming festival!
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
7:00 PM Opening Night Screening
Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes) Directed by Amanda Strong — Accompanied by 10,000-year-old shapeshifter and friend known as Sabe, Biidaaban sets out on a mission to reclaim the ceremonial harvesting of sap from maple trees in an unwelcoming suburban neighbourhood of Ontario. Driven by the words of Anishinaabe writer Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Amanda Strong’s mesmerizing stop motion animation intricately weaves together multiple worlds through time and space, calling for a rebellion.
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
8:30 PM Screening: A Fighting Chance – shorts block followed by a Q&A
Nîsowak – Directed by Petie Chalifoux – Canadian Premiere — After the sudden and mysterious death of her father, Mêkwan, a young Indigenous woman, discovers that the ancient power of shapeshifting has been transferred to her. She must master it in order to save her bloodline from “The Whip Man” a creepy hunter whose ultimate goal is to eliminate her kind. New to shapeshifting, Mêkwan must choose – Fight or Flight! Nîsowak is a drama full of action and elements of a graphic novel style.
Statistics – Directed by Tristin Greyeyes – BC Premiere — Two unsuspecting Indigenous women are harassed by two men who fetishize them based on stereotypes and cultural appropriation. They manage to escape but the justice system fails them. Months later, when one of the women decides to take justice into her own hands, she turns up missing and becomes another number in the Missing and Murdered Indigenous women crisis. 
Carving Landscapes – Directed by Agathe Bernard – Vancouver Premiere — Atypical for her time, Mary Vaux defies gender roles, mountain weather and traditions to spark the first glaciological study in North America. Re-visiting the glacier over five decades, the documentary portrays her strength perseverance as well as the beauty of the Illecillewaet Glacier, here in our own backyard.
Thursday, March 7, 2019
3:30 PM Screening: Inflection Points – shorts block followed by a Q&A
Good Girls Don’t – Directed by Ana De Lara — A comedic short film about a Filipina-Canadian girl who defies her mother’s warning that she will turn into a boy if she plays basketball. (Spoiler Alter: She doesn’t!)
Media Luna – Directed by Ana Carrizales – World Premiere — A woman narrates a mythical story of abuse. As she describes the romance between the Sun and the Moon and its violent turn, she recounts the tragic fate of countless women around the world. 
Clinch – Directed by Tricia Collins – North American Premiere — Clinch explores the connection between Shawna and Rudy, two professional boxers. As they train together, they fall in love and develop a tender romance that forms a sharp contrast to their competitive relationship in the ring. Will the sport that brought them together be their demise?
Sonder – Directed by Mia Fiona Kut — Aveline, a young competitive aerial silk artist, struggles to return to her sport and everyday life after a devastating freak accident. Longing for companionship, she turns to an online dating app, methodically tracking her chemistry with each candidate. She meets an equally lonely stranger, and an unexpected journey begins.
Girl in the Galactic Sun – Directed by Heather Perluzzo – Vancouver Premiere — The Gemini are a genderless alien species who have discovered they’ll become extinct if they don’t find a way to reproduce. After years of searching, they encounter humans and their reproductive method. This, in addition to their Gemini similarities, has brought them hope. However, the female metamorphosis from Gemini to human causes an unexpected difficulty.
6:00 PM Screening
Once There Was A Winter – Directed by Ana Valine — This dramatic thriller portrays a young woman, Lady, dangerously treading the delicate line between defiance and disappearance. Working in the frigid and desolate North has its challenges so when an invitation for drinks with new friends in a cozy cabin is presented, Lady readily accepts. Unknowingly she becomes the pawn in a game fueled by isolation, loss and jealousy. Followed by a filmmaker with Ana and the film’s producer Seanna McPhearson.
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8:30 PM Screening
A Perfect 14 – Directed by Giovanna Morales Vargas — A Perfect 14 explores the world of plus-size models fighting to reshape the fashion industry and the beauty standards of society. The film follows the journeys of models Elly Mayday (Canada), Kerosene Deluxe (Netherlands) and Laura Wells (Australia) as they struggle against our culture’s distorted perception of body image. A Perfect 14 questions fashion industry leaders and pioneers and holds them accountable for their responsibility in size-based segregation. Followed by a post-screening Q&A with Giovanna, the film’s producer James O’Brien, and subject, Kerosene Deluxe. 
Friday, March 8, 2019 – INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
8:30 PM Screening: Perseverance Furthers – shorts block followed by a Q&A
Fat Hiking Club – Directed by Layla Cameron — A woman seeks to make the outdoors more accessible for fat people – just as they are and without shame. Armed with her slogan “Trails Not Scales”, she soon finds herself hosting events all over North America. 
Dust in the Sky – Directed by Iris Moore – North American Premiere — A short animation about Life, who crafts beautiful creations with love and care, and Death, who repeatedly takes them away. When Life convinces Death to leave, she discovers an important truth.
Check – Directed by Meeshelle Neal – Canadian Premiere — A woman’s thoughts become obsessive, dark, and all-consuming, threatening to overtake her unless she can find a way to accept them.
Saturday, March 9, 2019
3:30 PM Screening
Tayybeh – Directed by Eva Brownstein — “Tayybeh” is an Arabic word meaning both ‘kind’ and ‘delicious’. The word embodies the spirit of the Tayybeh catering company – a group of female Syrian refugees who support their new lives in Vancouver by cooking Syrian food for the community. This short documentary is an intimate portrait of the struggles and triumphs of the women of Tayybeh, as they learn to navigate life in Canada while grappling with the grief and loss of leaving their homeland.
6:45 PM Screening: Dreams and Unveilings shorts block followed by a Q&A
Ochiswachoo – Directed by Jules – BC Premiere — Ochiskwacho is a sacred being, known to many Indigenous people as a spiritual messenger. Kokoom, an elderly (spiritually ailing) two-spirit woman has to decide whether to stay with her grandchildren or follow the Ochiskwacho. 
Bunny Man – Directed by Athena Han — Over a meal at a Chinese restaurant, four Taiwanese friends discuss the differences between FOB (fresh off the boat) and CBC (Canadian born Chinese). The conversation takes a bizarre turn when a mysterious Bunny mascot enters. 
9:30 PM Screening
La Quinceañera – Directed by Gigi Saul Guerrero – BC Premiere — Alejandra’s life is about to change forever on the night of her quinceañera, a coming of age ceremony held on a girl’s fifteenth birthday. In this daring revenge tale, a young girl will learn the limits of resilience and strength as she is thrust into the most extraordinary of situations over the course of 24 hours. The director has been praised for innovative work in the horror genre and this work reflects her recognizable style of Tex-Mex grit with a touch of grindhouse and gore.
Gigi Saul Guerrero will be hosting a discussion on the making of La Quinceañera at 3:00 PM on Sunday, March 10th at VIFF Vancity Theatre. No
