TheWIFTS Foundation International Visionary Awards 2013
TheWIFTS FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL VISIONARY AWARDS 2013
HONORS WOMEN IN FILM AND TELEVISION, BUSINESS, THE ARTS
AND HUMANITIES
6th Annual Event Celebrates Women from New Zealand, South Africa, Mexico, India, Hong Kong, Germany, Great Britain, Canada and USA
LOS ANGELES – (December 2, 2013) – The Women’s International Film Television Showcase (TheWIFTS), and TheWIFTS Foundation International Visionary Awards is pleased to announce the Honorees of its Sixth Annual 2013 event celebrating the work of women from the global community in the fields of Film and Television, Business, The Arts and Humanities.
‘Women as Individuals’ is the mission cornerstone of The Women’s International Film & Television Showcase and TheWIFTS Foundation International Visionary Awards.
The 2013 Event celebrates twenty five women from five continents.
FILM AND TELEVISION AWARDS:
• Antonia Prebble (New Zealand)
– The Barbara Tipple Best Actress Award – for
Antonia’s performance in White Lies as Rebecca, a
privileged European woman who seeks the help of Maori
Medicine Woman Paraiti to hide a secret that can destroy her
position in New Zealand settler society,
• Dana Rotberg
(New Zealand) – TheWIFTS Best Director Award – Director
and screenwriter of White Lies, Dana is honored for
demonstrating through her skill in directing the simple
truth that choosing creation over destruction and tolerance
instead of oppression is the only possible way to
redemption. White Lies is New Zealand’s entry for
consideration by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences for Best Foreign Language Film.
• Amma Asante
(UK) – The Adrianne Fancey Best Film Award – An
accomplished actress and screenwriter, Amma is honored for
her work as director on her second feature length film
Belle. The film, set in the 18th century, is based on the
life of Dido Elizabeth Belle, daughter of a British Naval
officer and an African Caribbean woman, whose life story
inspired a landmark decision by Britain’s Supreme Court to
put an end to slavery.
• Shilpa Ranade (India) –
Inaugural Animation Award – The World of Goopi and Bagha -
Illustrator and animator Shilpa Ranade is the recipient of
the foundation’s inaugural Animation Award for her feature
length presentation of the classic and colorful Indian
children’s story The World of Goopi and
Bagha.
• Analeine Cal y Mayor (Mexico) –
Screenwriters Award – for her coming of age teen comedy
The Boy Who Smells Like Fish. Ms. Cal y Mayor is also the
film’s director.
• Flora Lau (Hong Kong) – Jury
Award – Director Flora Lau is honored Bends, a deeply
moving drama of loneliness and crossing boundaries. Ms. Lau
is also the film’s screenwriter.
• Susan R. Rodgers
– (USA) – Producer Award – for her extraordinary and
immense body of work as a producer in numerous sectors of
the film and television industry.
• Jordan Canning –
(Canada) – Best Short Film Award – for her diverse body
of work in the Short Film Genre.
DOCUMENTARY AWARDS:
TheWIFTS Foundation International Visionary Documentary Awards honor those filmmakers whose stories reflect social and political change, family values, an awareness to protect the environment and cultural shifts in today’s ever changing world.
• Alex Warren (USA) -
Producer, writer and director Alex Warren is honored for
Losing The West, a vivid portrait of the diminishing effects
of overpopulation on the landscape and people of the
American West.
• Sarah McCarthy (UK) is honored for The
Dark Matter of Love, a deft examination of parent child
bonding and the significant impact of conditioning on human
emotional development.
• Kristy Guevara Flanagan (USA)
is honored for Wonder Women: The Untold Story of American
Super Heroines which traces the influence on society and the
evolution of the comic book character created by William
Moulton Marston.
• Producers Elkin Antoniou,
writer/producer and Caroline McGraw, producer, (USA) are
honored for Never A Neverland, an enlightening expose of the
dramatic effects of the AIDS Virus on the dwindling
population of Africa’s last remaining monarchy, the
Kingdom of Swaziland.
• Documentary filmmaker Alanis
Obamsawin (Canada) - Lifetime Achievement Award in
Filmmaking – for her dedication to documenting the lives
and concerns of First Nations people in Canada.
TECHNICAL AWARDS:
TheWIFTS Foundation International Visionary Awards Technical Awards are chosen on the basis of the continued excellence in a given field.
• Cristina Aragon (UK) –
Inaugural Best Sound Award – London based Cristina Aragon
is recognized with the inaugural Best Sound Award for her
contributions in post production technology to the process
of sound to picture and in engineering sound into a vision
on the big and small screen.
• Birgit Gudjonsdottir
(Germany) – Cinematographer Award – for her consummate
understanding of how cinematography illustrates nuances of a
story beyond spoken dialogue and as an educator in the field
of contemporary cinematography.
• Diane Cilliers (South
Africa) – Costume designer Diane Cilliers is honored for
her mastery of the impact costume design imparts to a film's
character development as exhibited in her extensive
filmography which includes Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom and
District 9.
• Penka Kouvena (USA) - Los Angeles based
composer Penka Kouvena is the recipient of this year’s
Music Award for her compositions and orchestrations for
feature films which includes Elysium and Enders Game. As a
lead orchestrator and score producer, Penka has been
instrumental in nurturing the careers of many rising
talents. She is renowned in Hollywood for mentoring many
young composers and creating career opportunities for
talented musicians.
BUSINESS AWARDS:
TheWIFTS Foundation honors the work of women in the business field whose acumen and innovative practices bring about dynamic change in the corporate world of business.
• Annie Roney (USA) –
Career Achievement Award – Founder and CEO of ro* co films
and its four divisions, Annie Roney has been chosen for her
success in distributing and financing documentary films in
the worldwide marketplace and advancing audience
appreciation of the documentary film genre.
• Hannah
Brown (USA) – Lifetime Achievement Award for Business –
for her lifelong business accomplishments and her
contributions to community advocacy.
• Inga Ellzey
(USA) – Elizabeth Grant Entrepreneur Award – in
recognition of the excellence and success Inga has
manifested in her business career and her equally successful
foray into the dramatically different world of fiction
writing with her debut novel The Exchange.
THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES AWARDS:
TheWIFTS Foundation acknowledges a talented and diverse group of individuals who have demonstrated outstanding commitment and creative skills in the arts and humanities.
• Jane F. Barry (USA) –
Humanitarian Award – for her passionate activism in
support of human rights, peace, security and gender related
issues.
• Lisa Kristine (USA) – Visionary Award -
Photographer Lisa Kristine, dedicated to raising awareness
of social causes, has been chosen for her purpose-driven
interactions with diverse cultures, her passionate
sensitivity about the human condition, and her finely-tuned
craft producing truthful, profound images of the beauty,
suffering, compassion – and above all – the dignity of
men, women and children around our world.
• Ta’Kaiya
Blaney (Canada) – IT Award – From the Sliammon Nation of
British Columbia, Ta’Kaiya’s passion from an early age
has contributed to support Canada's First Nation people
through the media of tv, radio and the Internet and for
championing respect for and judicious use of Mother Earth's
gifts, the betterment of the environment and the
preservation of marine and coastal life.
• Quinn
Simpson (UK) – Arts Advocate Award – for her dedicated
work in Ghana, Israel, Mexico and Mongolia, with Akosia the
not for profit organization which involves artistic
professionals – filmmakers, musicians, writers, artists
– and teachers in its projects to build an environment in
which the children and women are guided through a creative
process while being encouraged to respond to their own
initiatives and ideas.
An exclusive Honoree Luncheon Event to celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of the 2013 honorees will be held in West Hollywood, Los Angeles on December 6, 2013.
TheWIFTS Foundation produces TheWIFTS Foundation International Visionary Awards, The Women’s International Film & Television Showcase (TheWIFTS), The Women’s International Feature Documentary Showcase (TheWIFDS) and The Women’s International Short Film Showcase (TheWIFSS). It is the mission of TheWIFTS Showcase to recognize & promote innovative women filmmakers and keep the ideals of equality flowing by fostering the promotion of women in all sectors of society through the Art form of Film, the visual communicator of the 21st century.
Sponsors for this year’s event include Elizabeth Grant, Inc.(Canada), sponsor of the Elizabeth Grant Entrepreneur Award; Barbara Tipple(UK), sponsor of The Barbara Tipple Best Actress Award; Adrianne Fancey,(1933 -2013) sponsor of the Adrianne Fancey Best Film Award; Patrick Moulin (Bourges, France); M.Mitcallef (Grasse, France); Sylvie Nissan Galleries, (Cannes, France); Jennifer Miller Studios (USA); Paradigm Shift Worldwide (USA); Theatre for Humans (USA); The Business of Film (UK); LeParc Suites Hotel West Hollywood; TheWIFTS Foundation is honored that TheWIFTS awards are produced and sponsored by Pillivuyt, the oldest and most highly regarded House of porcelain in France. TheWIFTS Awards, unique in the award world by virtue of the fact that they are crafted in porcelain, were designed by Patrick Moulin from a concept by Elspeth Tavares.
For more information about TheWIFTS and the 2013 Honorees visit: http://www.thewifts.com/