BETTER THAN CHOCOLATE
Love and sex are better than chocolate — and come in many flavours — in this good-hearted, Vancouver-set romantic comedy directed by oft-honoured Anne Wheeler (Loyalties, Bye Bye Blues) and written by Peggy Thompson.
After young lesbians Maggie (Karyn Dwyer) and Kim (Christina Cox) fall in love and move in together, they must contend with the unexpected arrival of Maggie’s mom (Wendy Crewson) and teenage brother (Kevin Mundy), who aren’t aware that Maggie is gay. Meanwhile, transgendered Judy (Kissed‘s Peter Outerbridge ) has a crush on Frances (actor, author, and broadcaster Anne-Marie McDonald), a bookstore owner embroiled in a censorship battle. The film takes its title from a Sarah McLachlan lyric. The bookstore plotline riffs on the legal fight between Vancouver’s Little Sisters and Canada Customs. Women’s friendships have been a favourite Wheeler theme.
http://thecinematheque.ca/the-image-before-us-a-history-of-film-in-british-columbia-take-2/better-than-chocolate
SHARON MCGOWAN
Sharon McGowan’s most recent film is the hour-long documentary Bearded Ladies: the Photography of Rosamond Norbury, which premiered at the Vancouver Queer Film Festival in 2015. This film was also produced by Peggy Thompson, the co-producer and writer of Better than Chocolate. Peggy Thompson is also an Associate Professor in Creative Writing (retiring this July).
http://queerfilmfestival.ca/films/bearded-ladies-the-photography-of-rosamond-norbury/
Review in the literary magazine, GEIST:
http://www.geist.com/fact/reviews/a-dream-of-bearded-ladies/
THE OLDEST BASKETBALL TEAM IN THE WORLD, which she directed and produced for Chum TV, follows the “Retreads”, women with an average age of 72 as they prepare to compete at the intimidating World Masters Games. The New York Times described the film as “compassionate, heartfelt and inspirational.”
Sharon McGowan is also known for producing the feature film box office hit BETTER THAN CHOCOLATE. The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and was released in the US where it played on over 300 screens.
McGowan produced the feature films THE LOTUS EATERS, which won three Genie Awards including Best Screenplay and SAINT MONICA, which had its international premiere at the Kinderfest Section of the Berlin Film Festival and won the Cultural Expressions Award – Best Narrative Feature at the 2003 Sarasota Film Festival. She served as consulting producer on three independent feature films: Gary Burns’ A PROBLEM WITH FEAR and WAYDOWNTOWN and Bruce Spangler’s PROTECTION.
McGowan was also a producer on the CBC television film Society’s Child, which was nominated for a Best Picture Gemini.
McGowan has been a producer and director of documentaries for the NFB and private broadcasters. Her other documentaries include SOUL COMMUNION, which explores the work of contemporary Doukhobor artists and ELLEN’S STORY, about adult illiteracy. She was also a producer on the Gemini Award-winning documentary series WEIRD HOMES.
She received the Woman of the Year Award from Vancouver Women in Film and Video in 1999 and is also an Honorary Lifetime Member of that organization. She has an MFA in Film Studies from UBC.
