Women in Film and TV Vancouver announces 2016 Spotlight Awards winners

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      Women in Film and Television Vancouver have announced this year's recipients of their annual Spotlight Awards.

      The awards will be presented at an awards ceremony on June 20 at 7 p.m. at Performance Works (Granville Island).

      Woman of the Year Award: director and UBC professor Rachel Talalay (Tank Girl, Doctor Who)

      This award is presented to an industry leader who has achieved significant success and who has created opportunities for other women in the industry. Talalay is currently in the U.K. directing Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. 

      Please Adjust Your Set Award: NFB chairperson and government film commissioner Claude Joli-Coeur

      This award honours a person or organization that has made a major contribution to promote gender equality in film, television or screen-based media.

      Joli-Coeur made the public announcement that the NFB is committed to ensuring 50 percent of its funding will go to films by women.

      Finalé Artistic Achievement Award: director Mina Shum

      This award honours a screen-based media artist (i.e. writer, director, producer, editor, director of photography or performer) who has created an outstanding recent work or a significant body of work.

      Mina has made films ranging from her first feature film, Double Happiness, to her latest, the documentary Ninth Floor.

      Wayne Black Service Award: production accountant and former Creative BC senior business analyst Christine Larsen

      The Wayne Black Service Award honours a major contributor to the screen-based media community while working behind the scenes.

      Larsenis currently working on series filmed in Vancouver and previously worked as a senior business analyst at Creative BC where she oversaw and managed development programs.

      Agentic Digital Media Innovation Award: filmmaker Gigi Saul Guerrero

      The Artistic Innovation Award honours a key creator of a recent production or body of work that exemplifies vision, experimentation and innovation.

      Guerrero is a filmmaker who created her own genre of horror, described as Tex-Mex with a touch of grindhouse-gore.

      Capilano University Film Centre Leadership in Education Award: instructor Katharine Montagu

      The Leadership in Education Award is presented to a screen industry teacher who has demonstrated a commitment to creating opportunities for and sharing expertise with female students within an academic or professional development context.

      Montagu teaches at the Vancouver Film School and UBC, and has been a faculty member at BCIT and Art Institute of Vancouver.  

      Matrix Production Services Image Award: filmmakers Spear Sisters

      The Image Award is awarded to a director, writer, editor or director of photography of an outstanding short work that shows production excellence or a unique, visionary approach.

      Kailey and Sam Spears are best known for Twilight Storytellers: The Mary Alice Brandon File, winner of the international competition Twilight Saga Prequels.

      Fusion Cine Honoured Friend Award: Walter Daroshin

      The Honorary Friend Award recognizes a person who has played a significant role in supporting women in the industry and promoting the goals of WIFTV.

      An award-winning photographer and filmmaker, Daroshin is the president of Troika Productions Inc., the Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Foundation of BC chair, and the Leo Awards president.

      Troika Sharon Gibbon Award: production coordinator and The Closet Feminist editor Emily Yakashiro

      The Sharon Gibbon Award honours a member in recognition of her volunteer work with WIFTV advancing the organization’s goals.

      Yakashiro works as a volunteer at the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival and runs the website The Closet Feminist.  

      Iris Award: writer Sabrina Furminger

      The Iris Award is given to a person who has demonstrated a commitment to the promotion of female creators and their screen-based works either through curating or programming, or through print and online media sources.

      Furminger created the column Reel People, which notes the achievements of local film industry people in front of and behind the camera.

      On Set Headsets Newcomer Award: filmmaker Mary Galloway

      The Newcomer Award recognizes a new artist or technician, including one who is shifting from one career to another whose first few works have laid the foundation for a new career.

      Galloway wrote, produced, and starred in the short film "Ariel Unraveling"

      You can follow Craig Takeuchi on Twitter at twitter.com/cinecraig

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