How Eunice Got Her Baby was nominated for “Best Short Drama” and “Best Direction” at the Leo Awards in Vancouver, BC, bringing home the award for “Best Direction”!

The Cultural Post

Sunday, 6 June, 2010

Winners of the 12th Annual Leo Awards

To those of you who have been following the Leo Awards, the winners have been announced. The announcement was made over an event that lasted for two days (June 4-5, 2010). For those who don’t know, the Leo Awards aim to recognize outstanding achievements in the film and television industry of British Columbia, a Canadian province on the West Coast.

So, without further ado, here are the winners as revealed during the award ceremony held at the Westin Bayshore Hotel in Vancouver.

Straight.com

Leo Awards 2010: Celebration Awards winners list

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By Craig Takeuchi, June 5, 2010

Here’s a list of the winner of awards given out at the Leo Celebration Awards on Friday, June 4.

The second set of awards, which include acting and best picture awards, as well as a red carpet, will be given out at the Gala Awards on Saturday, June 5.

BEST DIRECTION

Animation program or series
Johnny Darrell, Rob Hoegee, Steve Ball, League of Super Evil , “One Zillion”

Music, comedy, or variety program or series
Allan Harmon, Wolf Canyon , “Hairy Lawman”

Documentary program or series
Pete McCormack, Facing Ali

Information or lifestyle series
Jennifer Little, Anna & Kristina’s Grocery Bag , “Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking”

Youth or children’s program or series
J.B. Sugar, The Troop , “Wrath of the Wraith”

Short drama
Ana Valine, “How Eunice Got Her Baby”

Dramatic series
Brenton Spencer, Sanctuary , “Pavor Nocturnus”

Feature-length drama
Bruce Sweeney, Excited

Guest Post: A Look at the Female Eye Film Festival by Angela Combs

by Women & Hollywood on 06 ఏప్రిల్ 2010 ‌న 06:14 ‌క

The Eighth Annual Female Eye Film Festival took place in Toronto from March 24-28, 2010. This intimate festival, that is devoted exclusively to films directed by women, presented a unique opportunity to enjoy touching, gritty, complicated and sublime female film-making, and to spend quality time with an inspiring group of powerful, successful, and creative women with strong, vital voices.

The films presented a wide variety of themes that ultimately circled around the complicated process of forming healthy female identity amidst the cultural and societal challenges we all face. If there was a central theme to be found, it was that women have a lot to say and they will say it in a variety of ways. This resonates particularly in the year of the first female directed Oscar win, in an unexpected genre with a strong female eye.

My stand-outs from the festival included: “Mall Girls”, by Katarzyna Roslaniec, which examines the degenerating effects of capitalism and raunch-culture on the psyche of young girls in modern Poland. The film opens jarringly with a 13-year-old giving a blow job to a boy in the local mall in return for a pair of jeans.

“Crackie” by Sherry White is a meditation on the repeating cycle of teen pregnancy and abuse in three generations of sexually exploited women, set among the bleak landfills and breathtaking seascapes of Newfoundland.

“How Eunice Got Her Baby” by Ana Valine (winner, Best Short Film) is a poignant and stunning cinematic tale of how a wallflower girl ends up inheriting the love-child of her Bonnie-and-Clyde-esque wild-living sister who is shot in the heart by her outlaw lover.

“16 to Life” by Becky Smith (winner, Best Foreign Feature) is a touching comedy about healthy sexual curiosity in a Middle American lakeside resort town, as lifelong best friends explore their options for the future and discover that their own divergent points of view are a powerful strength in their friendship.

I was delighted to receive the Best Debut Feature Award for my own film, “Nothing Special”, a coming of age tale about a young woman at a crucial turning point in her career and her relationship with her bipolar mother, played by the great Karen Black, who won Best Actress for her stunning performance.

Alongside the movie presentations, the Female Eye hosted a round of stimulating discussions in a variety of forums that were at once encouraging and sobering. Topics covered included the state of the market; career advancement; “female filmmakers and success”. In addition was a “Best In The Biz” tribute to the formidable Kit Redmond, CEO of RTR Media Inc, which examined the trajectory of a truly successful career on both a commercial and artistic level. The program concluded with a masterclass with Catherine Hardwicke (“Thirteen”, “Lords of Dogtown”, “Twilight”), who very generously invited us to explore her process, with encouraging exhortations to be forever diligent, prepared and pay unstinting attention to detail. The consensus among the panel discussions was that women must strive for excellence and accrue successes in exponential ratios to their male counterparts, in order to realize more financial backing and more artistic freedom in their careers. Nothing new there, since we’ve always had to do twice a much to be thought half as good.

Despite the facts, which clearly suggest that women are as skilled and profitable in their film making endeavors as their male counterparts, we still have a long way to go, baby. But, if energy and enthusiasm can be measured, I’m sure it was off the charts in Toronto, as the women involved brought an encouraging perspective to the discussion regarding the male dominated business of film making and the road more or less traveled.

How Eunice Got Her Baby was nominated for “Best Short Drama” at the Yorkton International Short Film Festival

FEMALE EYE FILM FESTIVAL WRAPS ITS 8TH SUCCESSFUL YEAR & ANNOUNCES AWARD RECIPIENTS

by Female Eye Film Festival on Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at 10:56pm

For Immediate Release (Toronto, ON – March 31, 2010): The 8th Annual Female Eye Film Festival concluded on Sunday with unprecedented attendance and success. Celebrating women in film, the festival attracted notable talent from around the world including Twilight Director Catherine Hardwicke, Style Icon Carson Kressley, Screen legend Karen Black, actors Hallee Hirsh and Julia Garcia Combs, Oscar Nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo, as well as Canada’s own Wendy Crewson, and Kit Redmond. The Female Eye is a competitive festival that presents various awards to talented filmmakers and screenwriters.

The Festival held well-attended awards gala at sponsoring hotel, Novotel Toronto Centre, 45 The Esplanade on Sunday evening. The gala ceremonies welcomed filmmakers, screen writers, actors, industry guests and film fans.

The Female Eye Film Festival is proud to announce this year’s award recipients for their outstanding achievements:

FEMALE EYE FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS
The Female Eye thanks Willie Anicic, designer and sculpture of the Female Eye Award Statuettes.
2010 Female Eye Film Festival Honourary Director Award – Catherine Hardwicke (Texas, USA)
2010 Female Eye Maverick Award – Kit Redmond (Toronto, ON, CAN)
2010 Honourary Actress Award – Karen Black (USA)
2010 Honourary Award of Distinction for Best Experimental Films – Peggy Anne Berton (CAN)
Best of Show – A WAKE, Dir. Penelope Buitenhuis (BC, CAN) – Also the Recipient of Centennial College at Wallace Studios Production Award ($5000.00 Production Grant)
Best Debut Feature – NOTHING SPECIAL, Dir. Angela Garcia Combs (USA)
Best Foreign Feature Film – 16 TO LIFE, Dir. Becky Smith (USA)
Best Canadian Feature – BLACK FIELD, Dir. Danishka Esterhazy (Manitoba, CAN)
Best Documentary – LOVE AT THE TWILIGHT MOTEL, Dir. Alison Rose (CAN)
Best Experimental Drama – PAGES OF WINGS, Dir. Min Jeong Cha (Chicago, USA)
Best Short Film – HOW EUNICE GOT HER BABY, Dir. Ana Valine (Vancouver, BC, CAN)
Best Animation – UNWEARABLE FUNCTIONAL GARMENTS II, Dir. Heejo Kim (IL, USA)

FeFFAwards- Ana Valine: Best Short Film for "How Eunice Got Her Baby", presented by Gail Harvey, right.

How Eunice Got Her Baby has won ‘Best Short Film’ at the Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto, Ontario!

Julia Garcia Combs - Ana Valine - Carol Whiteman - Deb Green

FeFF award winners

a love poem was nominated for “Best Experimental” at the Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto!

alice & bastard was involved in the “Best of the Northwest Tour” at the Northwest International Film Festival in Portland, OR.

alice & bastard brought home the “People’s Choice Award” at the Mas Sorrer Short Film Festival in Spain!