Stay in touch with your fellow WIFTV members … from the comfort of your own home!

Every Other Tuesday at 7:30 PM.
This is a zoom webinar. Please register here to receive zoom link and password.

June 23rd Host: Debra Sears

Guest Members: Rosemary Rowe, Qian Zhang, & Sue Biely

Meet Rosemary Rowe!

Q&A with Rosemary:

1. Who are you and what do you do?

My background is in playwriting; I co-created and wrote two seasons of a lesbian web comedy several years ago but I just got back into screenwriting again fairly recently. By day, my wife Kate and I run a very small digital marketing firm. By night, she and I co-write comedy screenplays with a queer focus (except for that Christmas TV movie we just finished; we challenged ourselves to write about heterosexuals and I think we made it work).

2. Is there anything specific you would like to share about your life or work with us at the moment?

One of my favourite genres is speculative fiction and a lot of what I’m thinking about right now, as a writer and a human, is how the world is going to profoundly change and evolve - hopefully for the better - after the events of this year.

3. Is there any quarantine activity that you would like to share in particular?

I love all the folks who Marie Kondo’d their office or wrote their magnum opus during the pandemic; I spent the first 6-8 weeks just screaming hysterically into a jar and feeling grateful for legal edibles. I did some baking, then remembered I hate it. So I’ve been doing a lot of reading - both the daily doom scrolling through Twitter and comfort reading, like my favourite sci-fi novels by Becky Chambers.

Meet Qian Zhang!

Q&A with Qian:

1. Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Qian Zhang. I am a freelance producer focused on commercials, short films, and documentaries, and worked as an executive producer at THG Films in Beijing, China. Also, I worked as a 1st AD in some international cases as I graduated in directing at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. I planned to move to Canada in 2019, and I’ve been in Vancouver for seven months.  

2. Is there anything specific you would like to share about your life or work with us at the moment?

As a newcomer, It might be a little difficult time, but it’s also the best time for me to slow down and to learn about what I didn’t have enough time to do.  Because of the convenient online course, I am studying English, film courses, and local industry and culture at the same time.  Also, I am still working on a few pitches in China and looking for some chances to connect with local people and the industry.  

3. Is there any quarantine activity that you would like to share in particular?

I think it’s a good time to watch more feature films, documentaries and short films on the sofa. I subscribed to many video streaming services. I want to recommend the app called QUIBI streaming great short movies and creative videos, which inspire me a lot. 

Meet Sue Biely!

Q&A with Sue:

1. Who are you and what do you do?

I'm born and bread Vancouverite who has spent my whole career supporting independent voice, innovation and experiments in how we can be a healthier society.

2. Is there anything specific you would like to share about your life or work with us at the moment?

In this COVID moment I am working hard as the Executive Director of SMI Film Society to create programs and opportunities to develop the field where independent storytelling can be used for positive change in Canada. I've always thought we needed stories from many perspectives for a healthy democracy, and now I feel we need to share and spread stories to evoke the imagination of a more just and kind society. We have such great storytellers and pieces of independent media that need to be celebrated, shared and lobbed back into the civic sphere so we can connect, learn and co-design forward.

3. Is there any quarantine activity that you would like to share in particular?

Tech free day (my Saturday), jig saw puzzles (I feel like I keep training my brain to see new patterns and solutions), lots of meditation and fresh air. Oh and pyjamas, pyjamas, pyjamas! And a few Hawkins cheezies.