We are excited to announce that Doyla Gavanski, director of CONFESSIONS OF A FEMALE GAMER, has won the inaugural Jacob Burns Film Center/Women Make Movies Artist-in-Residency Award at the 27th edition of DocsBarcelona. Presented to the best project pitched by a woman director, the award comes with a 4-6 week residency at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, NY, access to editing suits, and honorarium, as well as acceptance into the WMM Production Assistance Program with all of its benefits including mentorship and a 1-year subscription to WMM’s webinar and more.
CONFESSIONS OF A FEMALE GAMER follows the story of an actress, the director herself, reluctantly cast as the voice of a cult heroine, who discovers the complex inner lives of female gamers worldwide. Gavanski has an established career as an actress, and her previous directing credits include GOLOS: UKRANIAN VOICES, which won Best Documentary Prize at the 2015 London Independent Film Festival, and WOMEN’S DAY, which provides unique insight into Russian feminism.
DocsBarcelona, now in its 27th year, is an international festival specializing in the documentary genre comprised of international and national competition sections, non-competitive sections, and retrospectives with a long history of advancing gender and racial equity in the documentary film industry. Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC) is a nonprofit five-screen cinema and education center located in Pleasantville, NY. One of the most successful suburban art houses in the country, they celebrate film as a vehicle for entertainment, education, and inspiration.
Debra Zimmerman, Executive Director of WMM, and Ryan Harrington, Artistic Advisor, Special Programs at JBFC and WMM Board Member, were at DocsBarcelona to select the winner and present the award to Dolya Gavanski.
Congratulations!
