In 1990, the NFB made waves with Five Feminist Minutes, a series of short films produced by the trailblazing Studio D, the world’s first all-woman production unit. As the NFB celebrates its 80th anniversary, four contemporary directors pick up the thread.
Length: 5 min
What gets lost when female voices are stymied during the creative process? Pairing intimate interviews with absurdist re-enactments, Joyce Wong crafts a tartly subversive look at patriarchy and racism in the film industry.
CREDITS
Written and Directed by
Joyce Wong
Producer
Justine Pimlott
Executive Producer
Anita Lee
Actresses
Amy Matysio
Gail Maurice
Rakhee Morzaria
Director of Photography
Maya Bankovic csc
Editor
Avril Jacobson
Music by
Jonah Falco and Mike Haliechuk
Production Designer
Helen Kotsonis
Costume Designer
Vanessa Fischer
Interview Subjects
Aurora Browne
Lucy Decoutere
Nyla Innuksuk
Vivian Lin
Carolyn Taylor
Additional Voices
Anita Bradizza
Rebecca Davey
Maggie Dort
Alixandra Holtby
Veronika Holubova Sinoeun Kim
Marie-Claire Marcotte
Andrew Martin-Smith
Samantha Pereira da Silva
Production Supervisor
Marcus Matyas
Production Manager
Andrew Martin-Smith
First Assistant Director
Rony Valencia
Researcher
Shayla Howell
Script Supervisor
Jenny McLauchlin
Sound Recordist
Trisha Harris
Art Director
Ashley Devereux
Hair and Makeup Artist
Misty Fox
Production Coordinator
Laura Bergeron
Gaffer
Cheska Appave
First Assistant Camera / Second Camera Operator
Gabriela Osio Vanden
Grip / Digital Media Technician
Cassie Shiell
Wardrobe Assistant
Sarah Friedlander
On Set Wardrobe
Loretta Vivianca Diaz-Lada
Still Photographer
Robin Cymbaly
Executive Director, English Program
Michelle van Beusekom
Manager: Studio Operations
Mark Wilson
Technical Coordinator
Kevin Riley
Studio Administrator
Patricia Bourgeois
Marketing Manager
Lydia Côté
Publicist
Jennifer Mair
Studio Coordinator
Carly Kastner
Legal Counsel
Christian Pitchen
Sound Editors
Mimi Scowen
Patience Bradford
Re-Recording Mixer
Grant Edmonds
Post-Production Services provided by
SIM Video International
Colour Assistant
Sofya Lifanova
Colourist
Marc Bachli
Finishing Producer for Sim Post
Cailyn Webster
Thanks to
Shane Smith
Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum
Lindsay Allikas
Maya Gallus
Sonia Hong
Aylwin Lo
Stephanie Ntoukas
Premiered at Hot Docs 2019 on the occasion of the NFB’s 80th anniversary.
NFB.ca
© 2019 National Film Board of Canada
Camera Test was inspired by the following short from 1990 Edition:
The Untilled Story
In a mischievous feminist riff on vintage NFB instructional films, Quinn and Leeming tip their hat to Busby Berkeley, enlisting a kaleidoscope of petals in their resistance against the patriarchy.
Directors: Cathy Quinn and Frances Leeming
Length: 5 min
Cree director Alexandra Lazarowich riffs off classic verité cinema to craft a contemporary portrait of Métis women net fishing in Northern Alberta.
CREDITS
Written and Directed by
Alexandra Lazarowich
With the participation of
Maureen Caudron-Bell
Jamie Linington
Kevin Bell
Keith Calahasen
Louis BellRose
Filmed on location in Joussard, Alberta
Director of photography
Lindsay McIntyre
Editing
Asia Youngman
Location sound recording
Charlene Moore
Camera Assistant
Jade Baxter
Sound design
Johnny Blerot
Colour Correction
Brittany Nguyen
Colourist Mentorship and Service Provided by:
Zachary Cox
Victory Social Club
Technical coordination
Luc Binette
Titles
Jason Ludwig
Online editing
Jason Ludwig
Recording & re-recording
Johnny Blerot
Additional technical services
Hans Olson
Transcription
Lori Heath
Thanks
Shane Smith
Wes Miron
Larry Kelly
Conor McNally
Chase Gardener
The Film and Video Arts Society of Alberta
Executive Director, English Program
Michelle van Beusekom
Legal counsel
Christian Pitchen
Studio operations manager
Darin Clausen
Studio administrator
Devon Supeene
Production coordinator
Faye Yoneda
Production supervisor
Esther Viragh
Marketing manager
Lydia Côté
Associate producer
Coty Savard
Executive producer
David Christensen
Premiered at Hot Docs 2019 on occasion of the NFB’s 80th anniversary
Produced by the National Film Board of Canada
© 2019
Lake was inspired by the following short from 1990 Edition:
Minqon Minqon: Wosqotomn Elsonwagon (Shirley Bear: Reclaiming the Balance of Power)
Decades before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Shirley Bear was defying repressive colonial narratives with inspiring imagery of Indigenous womanhood. Catherine Martin profiles the Wolastoqiyik/Malecite artist known as Minqon Minqon (Rainbow Rainbow).
Director: Catherine Martin
Length: 5 min
A group of Syrian women, refugees recently resettled in Canada, are negotiating life in their new home. They have some questions. Directed by Anne Marie Fleming, one of the original FFM filmmakers.
CREDITS
Thank you for your voices
NEHAL ABAZIED
MZGEEN ABDO
MANAR ALSAID AHMED
RASSELL LABASH
IBTISAM SALEH
NISREEN SHEIKHO
KHAWLA WAKAA
Written and Directed by
Ann Marie Fleming
Producer
Shirley Vercruysse
Featuring
Manar Alsaid Ahmed
Line Producer
Jennifer Roworth
Director of Photography
Lindsay George
Editor
Jessica Dymond
Sound Designer
Eva Madden
Colourist
Alissa Roode
Re-Recording Mixer
May Guimaraes
Production Coordinator
Kristyn Stilling
Technical Coordinator
Wes Machnikowski
Studio Administrator
Carla Jones
Executive Producer
Shirley Vercruysse
Executive Director, English Program
Michelle van Beusekom
©2019 National Film Board of Canada
Question Period was inspired by the following short from 1990 Edition:
New Shoes: An Interview in Exactly Five Minutes
Combining astonishing narrative shorthand with heightened visual poetics, Fleming traces the trajectory of a love affair gone bad. The romantic ballad “My Old Flame” has rarely sounded so unsettling.
Director: Ann Marie Fleming
Length: 5 min
Deanne Foley profiles fellow Newfoundlander Mary Walsh, the Great Warrior Queen of Canadian comedy, musing on time wasted as an object of desire and time well spent as the fearless agent of her own destiny. A joyous call to action.
CREDITS
WRITTEN BY
Mary Walsh
DIRECTED BY
Deanne Foley
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Sylvaine Dufaux
EDITOR
Justin Simms
SOUND DESIGN and ORIGINAL MUSIC
Lori Clarke
PRODUCED BY
Annette Clarke
Radical was inspired by the following short from 1990 Edition:
Come into My Parlour
Joyously reclaiming “spinsterhood” from its sexist implications, the filmmaker recalls the undauntable great aunt who provided her first driving lesson. Female agency grabs the wheel in a beautifully constructed animated homage.
Director: Mary Lewis