FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 2026, Vancouver, BC. – Women In the Director’s Chair (WIDC) organizers are pleased to announce that award-winning Alberta-based showrunner, writer, director, Paige K. Boudreau is the 2026 recipient of the WIDC BANFF Fellowship Award. Made possible through a long-standing partnership, the fellowship is designed to provide one WIDC alum with the opportunity to network and [...]
The organizers of Canada’s acclaimed Women In the Director’s Chair (WIDC) program are delighted to announce that recent WIDC alum, Tricia Black is the recipient of the 2026 WIDC Advantage Award for her debut feature film, The B-Side: Dusk. The prize includes a one-year mentorship for Black, a director spot in WIDC’s flagship program Story & Leadership and WIDC’s [...]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (February 2026) – Ahead of its world premiere at the prestigious Cinequest in San Jose, California, award-winning, Toronto-based Iranian Canadian director, Marjan Hashemi’s debut feature film After Love has been picked up for international distribution by Madakto Pictures. “We’re excited to be partnering with Madkato Pictures and premiering After Love at the Cinequest festival – both [...]
Award includes $250,000 in in-kind sponsorship for her feature project, JUDAS TREE (December 2025) – Women In the Director’s Chair (WIDC) is proud to announce that Toronto-based filmmaker Susan Bayani, Anahita Films, is receiving the 2025 WIDC Feature Film Award, which includes an impressive $250,000 of in-kind production and post-production services. This award is being presented to Susan on [...]
Women In the Director’s Chair (WIDC) is proud to announce that Cjay Boisclair of Kamloops, BC is the recipient of the 2025 WIDC Advantage Award, for her debut feature film MARY, based on her concept short, The Bench. The award supports the development and packaging of her emotionally charged and deeply personal script about a teenage girl navigating homelessness, [...]
Vancouver, B.C. - Women In the Director’s Chair (WIDC) is proud to announce Teresa Alfeld as the recipient of the 2025 WIDC BANFF Fellowship, an annual honour recognizing a Canadian woman or non-binary director whose creative vision and professional promise stand out among WIDC alumni. Based in Vancouver, Alfeld is known for her acclaimed documentary features, Doug and the [...]
Vancouver, Canada (December 2024) – Women In the Director’s Chair (WIDC) organizers are delighted to announce that Toronto-based filmmaker, Lu Asfaha will receive the 2024 WIDC Feature Film Award, which includes an impressive $350,000 worth of in-kind services. Lu’s feature-length screenplay, They Echo, is a psychological horror about a young woman, Trevi who returns to her childhood home to [...]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 2024 – The organizers of Canada’s acclaimed Women In the Director’s Chair (WIDC) program are delighted to announce that recent Story & Leadership alum, Jenny Lee-Gilmore is the recipient of the 2024 WIDC Advantage Award for her debut feature film, Dormant. The prize includes a one-year mentorship for Lee-Gilmore, a spot at an upcoming WIDC Career Advancement [...]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 6, 2024, Vancouver, BC.) – Women In the Director’s Chair (WIDC) organizers are pleased to announce the award-winning writer/directors Virginia Abramovich (Between Waves) and Kate Green (NarcoLeap) are the 2024 recipients of the WIDC BANFF Fellowship Award. Made possible through a long-standing partnership with the BANFF World Media Festival which [...]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Vancouver, Canada (November 2023) – Women In the Director’s Chair (WIDC) organizers are delighted to announce that award-winning Iranian-Canadian filmmaker, Marjan Hashemi will take home the 2023 WIDC Feature Film Award, for her dark comedy debut feature, After Love about an Iranian-Canadian immigrant wife who learns from her defiant daughter and her murderously amorous husband how to [...]
