Mina Shum
On October 9, the Women in Film and Television Vancouver (WIFTV) Artistic Merit Award was presented at the Vancouver International Film Festival’s (VIFF) Closing Gala.
The WIFTV Artistic Merit Award is presented to a Canadian woman with a significant contribution in a film at VIFF.
This year’s Artistic Merit Award goes to Mina Shum, for the film Ninth Floor, which she wrote and directed.
WIFTV would like to extend a special thank you to this year’s jury Laura Adkin – Writer, Producer, Actor (Flat/Head Films), Rachelle Chartrand – Past WIFTV president, Screenwriter, Author (CHRYSALIS: A Dark and Delicious Diary of Emergence), and Julia Frittaion – Marketing Consultant, Publicist (Insomnia, Continuum).
The jury selected Ninth Floor, “…for the masterful weaving of archival footage, captivating testimonies and metaphorical imagery that illuminates a dark part of our country’s history. The film compels the audience to question their own perception of racism in Canada.”
As described in the VIFF guide, “Mina Shum’s (Double Happiness; Drive, She Said) first feature documentary reopens the file on what is now seen as a watershed moment in Canadian race relations and campus politics. It’s produced by Selwyn Jacob of the NFB’s Pacific & Yukon Studio, with his long-standing interest in the story serving as the seed for the project.”
This year’s Artistic Merit Award nominees included: Sonia Bonspille Boileau (Le Dep); Hélène Choquette (A Dog’s Life); Sophie Desraspe (The Amina Profile); Phyllis Ellis (Painted Land: In Search of the Group of Seven); Anne Émond (Our Loved Ones); Chelsea McMullan (director), Maya Bankovic (Cinematographer)
(Michael Shannon Michael Shannon John); Deepa Mehta (Beeba Boys); Patricia Rozema (Into the Forest); and Mina Shum (Ninth Floor).
About Women in Film and Television Vancouver:
Women in Film + Television Vancouver Society (WIFTV) is an internationally affiliated non-profit society committed to advancing and celebrating women in screen-based media. We are the Vancouver chapter of Women In Film + Television International (WIFTI), which counts more than 10,000 members worldwide.
