Wendy Ord
Wendy Ord is a writer, director, producer and first assistant director (1st AD) who has been in the Canadian film and television industry for 25 years. Ord was the first female 1st AD in Canada and has been the 1st AD on more than 50 projects including 3-D Imax films, feature films, movies of the week, and TV series. Her first feature film, Black Swan, which she co-wrote, produced and directed, won awards at the New York Independent Film Festival and Music and Film in Motion Film Festival. Black Swan was theatrically released in 2002/3, has sold to more than 25 countries around the world, had a wide video release and is currently playing on Canada’s pay television channels. Ord is currently in the final stages of development on her second feature film with the participation of Telefilm Canada, Movie Central and The Movie Network.

2006 Kodak New Vision Fellowship

WIFT-T, in association with Kodak Canada Entertainment Imaging, is pleased to announce director Rosamund Owen as the winner of this year's Kodak New Vision Fellowship. This national initiative provides Owen with the invaluable opportunity to prepare for the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival through intensive industry coaching and a TIFF bursary, followed by a two-month creative mentorship with established director mentor Patricia Rozema and business mentor Laurie May, Co-President of Maple Pictures Corp. (more)

Last year's winner Anita Doron, whose work includes the short film Not a Fish Story and the feature film The End of Silence, had this to say on winning the 2005 Kodak New Vision Fellowship:

"It gave me the opportunity to meet two incredibly bright and powerful women in the industry, and receive the wonderful support from KODAK. I have shot a music video for Sarah Harmer using my prize of Kodak film that gave me the wonderful latitude and depth of field needed for the piece. Laurie May is full of business and distribution knowledge that I would have had no other way of accessing. She gave me a real shortcut to a vast amount of information that would have taken years of experience to accumulate and I'm very grateful to her. And Deepa Mehta is a mesmerizing genius. Here is a woman who had tremendous difficulties with her last film - she was burned in effigy and her film was shut down, yet she persevered and triumphed. And after all she went through, there is not a single trace of frustration and jadedness in her. She is full of life, wonder, love of humanity, of storytelling and creativity. I was floored by her and meeting Deepa put a whole lot of crucial things in perspective. She also taught me to revolutionize and free my rewriting process, which is ultimately the most important part of the creative journey."

Women in Film and Television - Toronto (WIFT-T), in partnership with Quebecor Fund’s Professional Development Program Grants for Under-Represented Groups (PDPT), and in association with the Banff World Television Festival, is pleased to announce Rita Deverell as the winner of this year’s Quebecor BANFF Mentorship Award. This national competitive program, awarded to a Canadian female or male producer of a visible minority or Aboriginal group, provides Deverell with a three-month executive mentorship with Loren Mawhinney, Vice President, Factual Entertainment, Barna Alper Productions. (more)