Creative Women Workshops Association (CWWA)

CWWA is a national non-profit society incorporated in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The purposes of the Society are to:

  • CWWA logoProvide and/or assist in providing educational opportunities that will help to bring Canadian women and non-binary persons into leadership/decision-making positions in film, television and digital media productions;
  • Help to promote more Canadian women’s and non-binary persons’ stories into Canadian and global communities; and to
  • Offer artistic development opportunities that help to build the Canadian talent pool in film, television and digital media production;

which shall be carried out on an exclusively charitable basis.

Mission

CWWA strives towards gender equity by supporting, celebrating, promoting, and developing the talents and skills of women and non-binary storytellers for screen, in particular directors, and writer/directors, along with actors, crafts people and technicians, and mindful of being inclusive of individuals from further under-represented racial communities, LGBTQ2SAI+ communities and those with disabilities. Overall, the society encourages excellence, creativity, and collaboration in storytelling for screen.

Main Activities

CWWA’s main activity is the Women In the Director’s Chair (WIDC) program, an internationally respected professional development initiative, specially designed to advance the skills, careers and fiction screen projects of mid-career women and non-binary directors through master classes, industry immersions, mentorships, annual workshops, and production awards to help women and non-binary directors complete their fiction narrative screen projects.

Policies

CWWA gratefully acknowledges that our work originates from the traditional and unceded lands of the Coast Salish people, including the xmkym (Musqueam), Swxwu7mesh (Squamish), and slilwta (Tseil-wau-tuth) Nations. We also acknowledge the Indigenous Nations on whose traditional lands our guests, participants, and colleagues live, work and create. We commit to working together in the spirit of collaboration and respect for the generations that came before, those living now, and the generations to come.

We further recognize that the term women/women is in an evolution of language and note that our intention in our use is to be fully inclusive of under-represented persons who may identify as she / her and or they / them and share the goals and values of WIDC to promote these marginalized voices and stories.

CWWA is committed to maintaining a safe space and collegial learning and working environment that encourages creativity, exploration, and professional development; a space where internal confidence can grow for all participants. It is also our goal to demonstrate respect and appreciation for the value we each bring to the work we are undertaking together; generating a forum for external confidence to grow for all personnel engaged in CWWA activities.

WIDC Health & Safety Policy

CWWA Membership

Since its inception, over the 330 Canadian women and non-binary screen directors have participated in CWWA’s WIDC programs. Approximately 98% of CWWA’s current leaders, mentors, and participants identify as women or non-binary individuals. Over 40% of CWWA leaders, program participants also self-identify as being from other under-represented communities (Indigenous, Black, Persons of Colour, LGBTQ2SAI+, or persons with disabilities). With the increased skills, capacity, and public profile that WIDC offers, these program alumnae have gone on to create 1000’s of hours of screen content (films, television, digital media) that has reached and impacted millions of audiences around the globe. The society is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors made up of 100% women and non-binary persons.

Upon completing one of the WIDC programs, director participants are eligible to become members of the society. They must declare their desire to become a voting member of the society; no membership fees required. Others interested in becoming a member must submit an application for review by the CWWA Board of Directors. There are currently 65 registered voting members of CWWA.