“What an amazing transformative experience. A pivotal point in my development as a filmmaker and an indescribable journey from euphoria through heartbreak and back again. A gift of a program. I feel blessed.”

~ Jennifer Calvert, Director Participant

The Women in the Director’s Chair Workshop is a 17-day intensive program that takes eight women directors through all the stages of traditional dramatic storytelling for screen. The workshop, led by an internationally renown woman director, provides a safe educational environment simulating all aspects of a professional production. A nationally representative jury of industry professionals selects the eight participants for the program. The workshop is designed for mid-career Canadian women who have a recognized track record either as low-budget film, video, or documentary directors or individuals with highly transferable skills and some directing experience (performers, producers, etc.).

In the first week of the workshop, participants work with professional ACTRA actors and DGC and IATSE crews under the supervision of industry mentors. They use scene studies and other exercises to explore casting, acting skills, rehearsing, and communication with actors, lenses, camera choreography, and blocking, as well as leading and communicating with a professional crew. In the second week of the workshop, each participant directs and edits her MAIN scene, developed at the Story Incubation Module (SIM). The emphasis is on process over product, and the participants receive constant feedback on their work from faculty. The participants leave the workshop with short- and long-term career plans that will be monitored and supported following the workshop, a VHS copy of their work for personal analysis, a variety of new contacts, and applied knowledge of industry practices.

Read the media release on this workshop.

“The workshop provided me with a very valuable hands-on experience that would be difficult to obtain in the “real world”. Getting to know the process of filmmaking “from behind the scenes” adds greatly to my understanding of film.”

~ Hanna Kozielska, Workstudy