Organizer Suzanne Vallières-Nollet holds one of the prestigious pinecone awards.

First-rate female film fest in Coulonge

2018-08-14 Liz Draper 533 Views

The first ever International Women’s Film Festival in Fort Coulonge was held over the weekend and by all accounts was a resounding success. Audience members got a chance to interact with several of the directors prior to the screenings of their films. Pictured, organizer Suzanne Vallières-Nollet (left) speaks with Laurence Olivier, who presented her short L’Hiver le Plus Doux on Thursday night.

From left: Caisse Populaire de Fort Coulonge President Madeleline Vallières presents the jury’s choice award for feature-length films to Jeannine Gagné for Yolanda.

Story and photos by Caleb Nickerson -
Over the weekend, film buffs, directors, bohemians and locals all ventured out into the unknown and experienced a new addition into the summer calendar in Fort Coulonge: a women’s film festival.
The first ever Festival international du Cinéma des Femmes de Fort-Coulonge kicked off on Thursday night with a full house at the Adult Education Centre where the majority of screenings were held. All weekend, the films were free of charge but participants were invited to attend various meals and other extra-curriculars as well.
The Equity caught up with organizer Suzanne Vallières-Nollet on Sunday afternoon once the festival had wrapped up.
“I feel like all the pressure is going down, so I might sleep tonight, but we still have all the [teardown] to do,” she said with a laugh.
She said the idea was sparked while she was organizing monthly movie screenings with Phare Ouest and noticed a lack of female representation.
“We realized that we weren’t screening enough women directors, so we started to question our reflex of how we choose the movies,” she explained.

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