Women's film festival lineup features award-winning N.L. filmmaker

There's a multi-award-winning film on deck to open this year's St. John's International Women's Film Festival, and it was maderight here in Newfoundland.

Deanne Foley's An Audience of Chairs stars Canadian actress Carolina Bartczak andis based on Joan's Clark's novel of the same name.

The film was shotin Newfoundland and Sudbury, Ont. Foley is a well-known director from the province, with titles like Relative Happiness and Beat Down under her belt.

It's about a concert pianist whose children are taken away after she has a mental breakdown.

"It's her fight to gain her children back," said Jill Knox-Gosse, who produced the film along with Lynne Wilson.

The filmpicked up four awards at the Atlantic International Film Festival this week, including Best Director and Best Feature.

'A festival fantasy'

Foley also had a hand in the festival's closing night film, Hopeless Romantic. It'san anthology-stylefeature comedydirected by six different women, four of whom are from the province: Foley, Ruth Lawrence, Martine Blue and LatoniaHartery.

"This is a fabulous experiment, it's kind of a film festivalfantasy to have a film like this," said Noreen Golfman, the festival's founder.

Hopeless Romantic was written by Newfoundlander Emily Bridger and produced by Hartery.

• She's a jolly good fellow, and the 1st woman from Newfoundland to join the club

At the festival announcement on Thursday, Harterywas also awarded the Michelle Jackson Emerging Filmmaker Award.

Women in film, women in comedy

The entire line-up of films, guests and workshops for this year's festival was announced Thursday.

The program includes feature documentaryThe Heat: A Kitchen (R)Evolution, which was the opening film at the Toronto documentary film festival Hot Docs this year and Ordinary Days, the latest feature film from Jordan Canning, a Newfoundland film and television director who has worked on The Baroness Von Sketch Show and Saving Hope.

The festival also includes a discussion about women in comedy with Susan Kent of This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

This is the 29thannual St. John's International Women's Film Festival, which was founded by Noreen Golfman in order to raise the profile of and provide opportunities for women filmmakers. All the movies shown at the festival were written or directed by women.

This year's St. John's International Women's Film Festivalruns from Oct. 17-21.

Read more articles from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador