Eight Canadian female filmmakers chosen for mentoring program

If it were a movie, it might be called The Grateful Eight.

Earlier this week, the Vancouver-based Women in the Director's Chair (WIDC) announced the eight Canadian female filmmakers who will attend the 20th-anniversary session of a script development and director mentoring program, Story & Leadership.

The group includes Winnifred Jong (developing the Web series Tokens); Kate Green (working on the futuristic Web series NarcoLeap); Virginia Abramovich and Rama Rau (developing their feature debuts); and Shelley Thompson, Melanie Oates, Gloria Ui Young Kim and Madison Thomas (all creating features).

A major component of the program involves industry immersion at the Whistler Film Festival during the first week of December. The program culminates with each director receiving individually tailored coaching over the three months following initial face-to-face sessions with their mentors.