Since its founding, Provincetown has been a place of shelter and nurture for the “other”—a place for those whose artistic and life expression might challenge the norm.
Building on this legacy, PFS founded in 2013 the Gabrielle A. Hanna Provincetown Film Institute (PFI) to provide programs throughout the year including artists residencies, mini-festivals, workshops, and most recently, our Women’s Media Summit, a Spring think-tank for addressing gender inequity in U.S. Media.
Wiebke von Carolsfeld is a feature filmmaker based in Montreal, Canada who made her directorial debut with Marion Bridge (starring Molly Parker and introducing Ellen Page). The critically acclaimed film won many awards including Best First Feature at TIFF and Sudbury, inclusion in Canada’s Top Ten and a nomination for Best Direction from the DGC. The film played at festivals around the world (Competition in Rotterdam, Karlovy Vary, Sydney, Pusan etc) before opening theatrically in the US, Canada and parts of Europe. Since, Wiebke wrote and directed the documentary Walk With Us as well as STAY, a Canadian/Irish co-production, starring Taylor Schilling, Aidan Quinn and Barry Keoghan. The film premiered at TIFF, garnered a Best Direction Award from the Emerge Film Festival before opening theatrically both in the US and Canada. Her most recent feature, The Saver, received many nominations (CSA, DGC, WGC), winning Best Screenplay from the Chlotrudis Society in Boston and Best Film at the Greenbay Festival. The American Indian Film Institute awarded the film Best Actress (Imajyn Cardinal) and Best Supporting Actor (Brandon Oakes). The film was distributed both in the US and Canada. During her recent residency with the Provincetown Film Society, Wiebke developed her new film The Last Straw.
Michelle Boyaner is an award-winning Filmmaker whose films include the Documentary features, PACKED IN A TRUNK: THE LOST ART OF EDITH LAKE WILKINSON and A FINISHED LIFE: THE GOODBYE AND NO REGRETS TOUR; Documentary short films HI, YOU’VE REACHED DAVE’S APARTMENT, and TINA PAULINA: LIVING ON HOPE STREET and the narrative shorts, YOU’RE STILL YOUNG and THE BEDWETTER. Prior to her film work, Michelle wrote a popular blog, Live at Lakeridge, and a book of personal essays chronicling her beloved grandmother’s battle with Alzheimer’s, Oh, For God’s Sake Whisper It. Michelle is currently at work on the Documentary feature, It’s NOT A BURDEN: THE HUMOR AND HEARTACHE OF RAISING ELDERLY PARENTS. She’s also at work on a scripted web series about growing up in the 1970’s in a Southern California suburb, as well as several other new media projects.
Writer/director Shelli Ainsworth is a Minneapolis-based artist whose work in experimental theater and film has earned her national recognition. Her first feature film, STAY THEN GO, has been an official selection in film festivals across the country, as well as the official selection for the Southern Circuit, a highly-regarded touring program. For STAY THEN GO, Ms. Ainsworth received the “Pioneering Women in Screenwriting” award from the Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival.
10/11/18 | 7:30PM | Aunt Phyl: A Staged Reading
Waters Edge Cinema, 237 Commercial Street • Free
Written and directed by Shelli Ainsworth, AUNT PHYL shares the story of a smart, independent young woman from a mid-century factory town, where the most common ambition among her class-of-’49 high school peers is an engagement ring upon graduation. Through the support of a few like-minded friends, she defies the social, sexual mores of the time, all while seeking – and finding – her own dazzling and often fraught version of The American Dream. An episodic series visually inspired by early television, AUNT PHYL was conceived during the inaugural Women’s Residency in 2015. The first two episodes will undergo a dramatic reading during this years’ Women’s Week.
Jennie Livingston is a groundbreaking film maker, known for thoughtful exploration of identity, class, race, death, sex and gender. Her films include PARIS IS BURNING, WHO’S THE TOP? and THROUGH THE ICE. In 2015, PARIS IS BURNING received the Cinema Eye Honors Legacy Award and was honored during the Sundance Collection screening at the Sundance Film Festival. Livingston lives in Brooklyn, NY and was educated at Yale.