The Federal Women's Film Program (FWFP) was created in 1980 by the Canadian government as a partnership of federal ministries and agencies purposed to create and distribute films about the status of women. Studio D handled the administration of it in both French and English. FWFP was created to address the demand for women-centered films and filmmaking opportunities for women. In 1987, executive producer Rina Fraticelli began "producing shorter, basic information films dealing with issues of immediate concern to Canadian women, including domestic violence, reproductive choice, career choice, health care, and aging.”[1]
The FWFP was associated with Studio D and separate from its formal budgetary structure. Studio D provided leadership and personnel in developing FWFP, as well as sharing its physical space with the program. The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) matched funds provided by other federal departments to support the production of films on women's issues. Some of these films were internal training films, while others were related to important messages about each department's own goals.[2]
Industry and Science Canada, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Office, Federal Business Development Bank, and Federal Office of Regional Development (Quebec)
Significance
Throughout the 1980s, the FWFP made a variety of films, including Not a Love Story: A Film About Pornography, (1981) a documentary on pornography and the sex trade.[3] Other FWFP films have discussed nontraditional employment for women, employment for Indigenous women, and employment for disabled women. In 1986, the FWFP funded a film training project through Studio D, extending its mandate to provide training for women filmmakers.[4]
Themes
Themes covered by the FWFP productions are wide-ranging, though the program's mandate was to ensure the production of timely films that reflected women's perspectives on current issues facing women and society.[5] Some of the films focused on issues faced by young people as they assumed increasingly adult responsibilities. Issues explored included representation of women in the fields of math and science, the effects of violence in media on young consumers, and the challenges of unemployment.[6] These documentaries were recommended for secondary school students and were accompanied by interactive guides for classroom participation. Other themes of FWFP productions included domestic abuse, services available to victims, and tributes to Indigenous women.[citation needed]
Filmography
Stand-alone films
Attention: Women at Work!, 1983. Directed by Anne Henderson, produced by Margaret Pettigrew. 28 min.
National Film Board of Canada (1984). Beyond the Image: A Guide to Films about Women and Change. Montréal: National Film Board of Canada in collaboration with the Federal Women's Film Program. Accessed from: https://bac-lac.on.worldcat.org/oclc/54120458. ISBN0772200645
Vanstone, Gail (2007). D is for Daring: The Women Behind Studio D. Ottawa: Sumach Press. ISBN1894549678
