The 13th annual Female Eye Film Festival (FeFF) runs Tuesday, June 16 to Sunday, June 21 in Toronto, with a host of screenings and special events planned.
Independent films and cinematic perspectives of women directors from around the world will be presented, as festival organizers screen 86 films from across Canada, the United States, and countries including Armenia, France, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Iran, India, Australia, Taiwan, Uganda, and the Philippines.
Throughout the six day event the Female Eye screens drama, suspense, comedy, sci-fi, action, horror, documentary, animation and experimental films each followed by an audience Q & A with directors.
“These films are rarely seen in mainstream theatres, as women directors are under represented by the industry,” said Festival Founder and Director, Leslie Ann Coles.
In 2024, the Female Eye boasted a record breaking 350 film submissions from the global filmmaking community, and was again voted one of the "World’s Top Fifty Film Festivals” by Movie Maker Magazine, for the 3rd consecutive year. The FeFF team is very proud of this distinction given there are 86 indie film festivals in its hometown Toronto, and over 4000 worldwide.
Some of the annoucned film highlights include the SHORTS Une Cello Nosta Serio, (Italy), With Time, (Iran), Lady With Flower - Hair (Iran), One Minute (Belgium/Jordan), One Summer (USA), Preggo (USA), Call her Lotte! (Germany), She Walks (UK), A Short History of Madness (Canada), My Dear Americans (USA) and the FEATURES Odd Brodsky (USA), A Sideways Light (USA), Sunday (New Zealand), True Face (Australia), K'na Dreamweaver (Philippines) and the DOCUMENTARIES Let Them Eat Cake (USA), A Question of Humanity (Uganda); All The Time In The World (Canada), Wanda The Wonderful (USA), HOLODOMOR: Voices of Survivors, The Ukrainian Famine Genocide (Canada), Guardian of Tsughrut (Armenia), and the FeFF produced YOUNG FILMMAKERS SUPER 8 SHORTS.
The Opening Night Gala includes with the World Premiere of the feature film Reign, written and directed by Corey Misquita, co-executive produced by Anneli Ekborn, Eva Ziemsen, produced with students and graduates of Humber College's Film and Television Production (FMTV) program, and featuring well known Canadian actors Samantha Weinstein (ACTRA award winner), Jordan Todosey (Degrassi) and Julian Richings (X-Men: The Last Stand).
“As a festival committed to the next generation of women directors we are honoured to exhibit such an outstanding example of what is possible by young women,” says Leslie Ann Coles, FeFF Founder and Executive Director. Reign has been nominated for Best Debut Feature and Best Canadian Feature at the FeFF.
CLOSING NIGHT GALA FILM: The Anniversary
Sunday, June 21st, 6:30PM at The Royal Cinema
Closing AWARDS CEREMONY to follow.
The Female Eye has celebrated Canadian director Valerie Buhagiar’s short films over the years and is delighted to premiere her debut feature film The Anniversary, a comedy with Colin Mochrie (Whose Line Is It Anyway) and Deborah Hay. This film has been receiving awards as it travels the international festival circuit.
2015 HONOURARY DIRECTOR: Léa Pool
The Female Eye celebrates Canadian Director Léa Pool, a member of the Order of Canada and award-winning, internationally distributed filmmaker, who will receive the 2024 Female Eye Honourary Director Award, presented by Women In The Director's Chair (WIDC) producer, Carol Whiteman, who will present the award and moderate an intimate conversation with Pool as part of the opening night gala event.
Pool has won numerous awards for her work in narrative and non-narrative film and television. “I have always tried to tell stories as authentically as possible, from the personal emotional point of view of the characters,” states Léa Pool. “I’m grateful for being given the opportunities to make the kinds of films that I have. Recognition and being the recipient of the Honourary Director Award from the Female Eye Film Festival is a great honour and privilege.”
INDUSTRY INITIATIVE PROGRAMS: “Making It Happen in 2024”
In addition to screening exceptional films, the FeFF Industry Program Making it Happen in 2024 serves to bridge the gap between the written, visual and media arts. Events include Script Readings, Pitch Sessions, Photo Exhibits, Industry Panel Discussions (Meet The Funders, Meet The Distributors, Meet The Guilds and Agencies), Best In the Biz Tributes, Professional Development Workshops, Artist Talks, Galas and the Closing Award Ceremony.
BEST IN THE BIZ TRIBUTES
2015 Honourary Maverick Award Winner Sandra de Castro Buffington
An award which signifies innovation, creativity, and perseverance in the Film and Television Industry, this tribute will be an intimate conversation with Buffington, a pioneering force in entertainment for social change. As Founding Director of the Global Media Center for Social Impact (gmimpact.org) at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Sandra infuses television, movies, music and new media with socially provocative storylines to improve health and well-being worldwide. The Global Media Center For Social Impact is dedicated to educating writers and producers on fact, not fiction, as it pertains to social, political and environmental issues bringing a dose of reality to the film and TV industry and audiences.
2015 Outstanding Achievement Award Winner: Kay Armatage
Professor Emerita Kay Armatage has a multi-faceted career as a scholar, teacher, filmmaker, programmer and advocate for social change. Featuring excerpts from films directed and programmed by Armatage, the discussion will highlight her lifelong involvement with film festivals, including her 22 years as an international programmer at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), her achievements as a producer/director of documentary and experimental narrative films, her leadership of the Women’s Studies Program and the Cinema Studies Institute at the University of Toronto, and her pioneering scholarship on Nell Shipman and Canadian Women’s Cinema.
YOUNG FILMMAKER STORY DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP (YFDW): Young Aboriginal Filmmakers
An intimate conversation, with an introduction to the work of Shirley Cheechoo, the original First Nation woman to write, produce, direct, and act in a feature length film from Canada. Cheechoo has also appeared in several Canadian film and television series and programs, including The Rez. This day long event includes a Story Development Master Class with aboriginal female youth recruited from Toronto and isolated northern rural communities, who will travel to Serpent River First Nation on the north shore of Lake Huron in July 2024 to make their films.
FeFF is a 2024 recipient of a Canada Council for The Arts grant to mentor these young women in the production of their debut films. To date, FeFF has produced 36 short films through the YFDW program, which have premiered at the festival.
For more informatoin, visit www.femaleeyefilmfestival.com
The Female Eye Film Festival acknowledges its sponsors: Canada Council for the Arts, Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), Cinespace Film Studios, Don Carmadie Productions, Artscape YoungPlace, The Backroom Agency, IATSE 401, Women In The Director’s Chair (WIDC), Creative Women Workshops Associations, Women In Film and Television (WIFT), Alliance of Women Directors (AWD), The Royal Cinema, The Garo Group, Steam Whistle, Coop Cabs, William F. White, Kodak.