Katrin Bowen awarded the WIDC feature film award
February 25, 2009 – 10:03 pmWIDC FEATURE FILM AWARD WINNER ANNOUNCED
Vancouver, Canada (February 18, 2009) – Creative Women Workshops Association (CWWA) is pleased to announce the winner of a $100,000 in kind award designed to encourage more feature films directed by women in British Columbia.
Director, writer Katrin Bowen is the 2009 recipient of the WIDC Feature Film Award, set to be presented March 4 at the Opening Gala of the 2009 Women In Film Festival in cooperation with Women in Film and Television – Vancouver (WIFT-Vancouver).
The award will support the completion of Bowen’s sexy fast-paced comedy feature film Love Bites. Valued at nearly $100,000, the prestigious prize includes: in-kind rentals for one week at North Shore Studios or The Bridge Studios; production equipment rentals from William F. White Intl.; and post production support from Deluxe Vancouver and Sharpe Sound Studios.
“I felt a huge amount of support while at WIDC 2007, from the course and my fellow directors, and to still have the program behind me is a great way to make my first feature. The WIDC Feature Film Award was the missing funding link we needed to take Love Bites to camera,” says Bowen, who is also currently developing two other original feature films, the semi-autobiographical Off Course and an epic love story based on her father’s mysterious disappearance, Ellis and Louise.
”We are very pleased to support Katrin and her project,” affirms Ed Brando, a representative of William F White International. “Having produced a few features myself I know how tough it is to get films made in Canada. Love Bites is a laugh out loud ride and we are confident that Katrin and her team will really bring the story to life.”
Recent research shows that women still make up less than 10% of directors on feature film projects in Canada. The WIDC Feature Film Award represents industry leadership and support from some of the most significant companies in westernCanada to help change that statistic. For over a decade Creative Women Workshops Association has been working in partnership with these and a host of companies, individuals and agencies like The Banff Centre, ACTRA, Telefilm Canada, CBC, CTV, the Quebecor Fund, Actra Fraternal Benefit Society, the Independent Production Fund, IATSE 669, and the Directors Guild of Canada, BC District among others, to help level the playing field for women screen directors in Canada through the acclaimed training program Women In the Director’s Chair.
The award presentation will take place March 4 at 7:00 pm at the Vancity Theatre, 1181 Seymour Street, Vancouver. Following the award presentation the festival opens with a Vancouver premiere screening of WIDC alumna Alison Reid’s award-winning feature film, The Baby Formula. Opening Gala and festival tickets are available online at www.womeninfilm.ca or at 604-685-1152.
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Media Contact and for more information:
Carol Whiteman, President and CEO, CWWA / Producer, WIDC
Tel: 1.604.913.0747; Email: carol@creativewomenworkshops.com
Web: www.creativewomenworkshops.com
BACKGROUNDER
WIDC FEATURE FILM AWARD 2009 RECIPIENT
Katrin Bowen ~ From growing up in a Mennonite community in Linden, Alberta, to writing and performing stand-up comedy, to writing and directing independent films and television in Vancouver, director Katrin Bowen has led a colourful life. She recently directed six episodes of The Last 10lbs Boot Camp for the Slice Network, and episode 3.3 of The Uber Guide for the Travel Network. She is currently in preproduction on: the sexy and hilarious Love Bites and in development on two features she wrote, the semi autobiographical feature Off Course and a film about her parents Ellis and Louise. Katrin’s film career began at Berkeley. For her graduation thesis she made an award-winning documentary on rap music: Spitting Reality. At the Vancouver Video Poetry Festival her short film, Someonewon the Audience Choice Award, and Katrin was honoured to receive the Vision Award for Best Director. Almost Forgot My Bones won the Best International Film Award at the Chroma Festival in Guadajara, Mexico and the Audience Choice award at the Vancouver Video poetry Festival. Her Crazy 8s film: Sand Castle won the diversity award from Citytv, and Edna Brown received BC Arts Council support. Katrin is an alumna of the University of California, Berkeley, the Cannes Producing Intensive, Women in the Director’s Chair and theBerlinale Talent Campus. She speaks four languages and lives in Vancouver, BC.
LOVE BITES
A sexy fast-paced comedy about six intense characters in extreme relationship situations — and the crazy and obsessive behaviours that spring from this thing called love, Love Bites is an emotional roller coaster ride, punctuated by moments of uncomfortably illuminating hilarity as characters confront their fears and passions on the love curve. To be shot in Vancouver with a Canadian cast and crew, Katrin Bowen is slated to direct. Produced by Cheryl-Lee Fast of Fast Productions, to be lensed by Danny Nowak, Love Bites has been developed with the support of Telefilm Canada and Super Channel.