WIF Chicago to recognize Hollywood Director and former Chicagoan Shira
Piven, others.
WIF Chicago is proud to recognize the achievements of its colleagues in the
creative arts during its renowned Focus Awards gala which will take place at
6:00 p.m. Wednesday,
November 5, at the Museum of Broadcast Communications, 360 N. State Street in Chicago. The
public and the press is invited to show their support for these amazing women -
who through their remarkable work in the film, television and advertising
industries, continue to make Chicago proud. For more gala
information and to purchase tickets visit: www.wifchicago.net
Honorees
include Hollywood film and theater Director Shira Piven; Chief Creative Officer
of Leo Burnett U.S.A, Susan Credle; Creative Director and Owner of Sarofsky
Corp --Erin Sarofsky; and award-winning independent film producer, Christina
Varotsis.
“The
Focus Awards is our organization’s major fundraiser and serves two purposes,”
says Megan Maples, president of Women In Film Chicago. “One, to raise the necessary capital
to provide quality programming, networking and mentorship opportunities for
women in the advertising, film and television industries and two, to highlight
the phenomenal Chicago women who are out there changing the conversation with
their amazing accomplishments.”
About our Honorees:
Shira Piven recently directed her second
feature, Welcome To Me, starring Kristen Wiig. Her first feature, Fully
Loaded, won the audience favorite feature award at Palm Beach International
Film Festival as well as best feature at both The River's Edge International
and Carmel Art and Film Festivals. It was also featured at the Boston, San Luis
Obispo, Talking Pictures and Newport Beach film festivals and released by
Starz. She also directed a short documentary, The Beast and The Angel,
that premiered at the Lincoln Center Film Society and aired on PBS.
Piven’s other film and digital
credits include the co-created shorts, That’s Not Racist, The Dog
Park, Self Help Group and the short trilogy I Human. She also
directed and was a contributing writer for 12 episodes of the political web
series Tastes Like Home. She also created film sequences for the plays
Shoemakers, Tastes Like Home, and has completed preliminary filming
on a feature length documentary The Perfect Conversation, in
collaboration with Jeremy Piven and Tarvis Watson. She also contributes
her time to the Actors Gang prison project, teaching commedia dell'arte to
inmates in prison, and at Homeboys industries to former LA Gang members. She is
married to filmmaker Adam McKay and they have two daughters.
Susan Credle serves as Chief
Creative Officer of US at Leo Burnett Worldwide. Since Susan joined Leo Burnett
in the fall of 2009, she has led and inspired the creative teams behind
legacy-respecting yet forward-looking campaigns like McDonald's Happy Meal
"Happy Tales," Kellogg's Special K "What Will You Gain When You
Lose?" and Allstate's "Mayhem."
Erin Sarofsky is the
president, owner, and creative director of Sarofsky Corp., which specializes in
live action production, visual effects, 3D development, design, animation and
editorial for the entertainment and advertising communities. In addition
to working on commercial spots for brands like Verizon, Capital One and
Walgreens, Sarofsky Corp., has produced the main titles for Shameless, The
Killing, Community, Happy Endings, Brooklyn Nine Nine and
most recently Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Christina Varotsis is an award-winning producer, who most recently finished work on Lost
River, Ryan Gosling's directorial debut starring Christina Hendricks and
Eva Mendes. Lost River was an official 2014 Cannes selection. Christina's
past film work includes The Rite
(2011), A Very Harold & Kumar 3D
Christmas (2011); her television credits include the shows Sirens and
Shameless.
About WIF Chicago
For
more than 30 years, Women in Film Chicago has been building a global community
of film, television, advertising, digital and on screen media professionals.
With 6,800 members in the United States and 12,000 members internationally,
Women in Film Chicago is the preeminent organization for the advancement of
women in these industries.
Women
in Film Chicago (WIFC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization for all
creative content professionals. WIF
Chicago provides a dynamic network to facilitate the exchange of ideas and
opportunities and builds a solid educational platform to accelerate the
professional development of our members.
