The inaugural
FIRECRACKER FILM FEST
on March 7, 2025 - 10:30am!

Firecracker Department is thrilled to announce the inaugural Firecracker Film Fest, celebrating the creative voices of female and non-binary filmmakers. Presented in partnership with Gender Equity in Media Society (GEMS), this hilarious and powerful showcase of comedic short films will take place on Friday March 7, 2025, 10:30am at the VIFF Centre in downtown Vancouver.

In a time when diversity in storytelling is facing increasing pushback, Firecracker Department is committed to ensuring women and gender-diverse creatives have the platforms and support they deserve. We seek partnerships with organizations eager to champion inclusive narratives and amplify these voices when it matters the most.

"We’re beyond excited to initiate this showcase in Vancouver and shine a spotlight on the incredible work being created by our Firecracker community," says Naomi Snieckus, founder of Firecracker Department. "It’s also a chance to connect with your other Firecrackers, find future collaborations, and inspire the next wave of storytellers."

The Firecracker Department is growing! This event, curated by the Head of the Firecracker Writing Department, Liesl Lafferty, showcases work from our vibrant community out West, including A Day in the (After) Life of Diane Staples from Katrina Reynolds (Vancouver), Love Stuck from Susan Serrao (Calgary), Squeeze Left - Producer Anita Mcfarlane (Kelowna), and Bloody Rhonda from Alyssa Kostello (Vancouver).

“I’ve included standout works from the inaugural Comedy Film Igniter — a highly successful initiative launched by the Firecracker Department in collaboration with the Canadian Film Fest in 2024,” says Lafferty. “You’ll also see films by Firecrackers who helped build our community, from Halifax, Los Angeles, and Toronto, bound to the West Coast by their connection to our Writing Department.”

Come for the laughs, stay for the community.

GET TICKETS

FIRECRACKER

Film Festival @ GEMS

PROGRAM 2025

Curator’s Statement

Curator’s statement, by Liesl Lafferty -
Head of Firecracker Writing Department

Comedy, basketball, and yeah, a little blood! We have women over 40, gender-diverse people and underrepresented characters rockin’ the screen today. Selecting these films was a complete joy. They align perfectly with the Firecracker Department mission statement to empower each other toward creative action. To me, each of them has personal resonance as well.

After a lifetime of being a director and dramaturg in the theatre, a disability forced me to pivot my career. I started to write and joined a women's writing group, Wet Ink Collective. Their support and encouragement filled me with confidence in my voice as a solo writer. Before long, I became a Facilitator for their Playwriting Workshops, and pursued my MFA in Creative Writing from UBC, to ensure I was qualified to work on film and television scripts as well. Now, I have been Facilitating Scriptwriting Workshops for various companies for more than a decade. In 2021, I became a Firecracker.

In 2024, I was invited to co-create the inaugural Canadian Film Fest and Firecracker Department ‘Comedy Film Igniter Challenge’ for female and non-binary filmmakers. Throughout the four-week program, we engaged them in a series of development, networking, and mentoring activities, to help shape their vision, refine their comedy chops and hone their storytelling skills. Forty two teams applied and thirty seven comedic short films were submitted. Eight were selected to be screened at the 2024 Canadian Film Fest. It was a resounding success!

Many Igniter films have gone on to tour the festival circuit. You will see a handful of those beautiful gems today. They signify the inevitable expansion of the Firecracker Department out west; A Day in the (After) Life of Diane Staples from Katrina Reynolds (Vancouver), Love Stuck from Susan Serrao (Calgary), Squeeze Left from Darlene Spencer and Producer Anita Mcfarlane (Kelowna), and Bloody Rhonda from Alyssa Kostello (Vancouver).

Easter egg hunt! As part of the Igniter Challenge, filmmakers were required to incorporate some specific prompts in their pieces. They had to include maple syrup, open with the line “I texted Suzanne as soon as I found out”, and end with the line “I guess I didn’t know him as well as I thought.” Watch out for the clever use of those cues.

Three of the other films are from OG core members of the Firecracker Department. During the pandemic, we held an online Script Reading Series, which was an integral step in launching the touching Boifriend by Rebecca Marquardt and Lane Michael Stanley (Los Angeles) and the relatable Invisible by Dale Willman (Halifax).

Slam Dunk! Sehaj is brought to you by the unstoppable Asis Sethi (Toronto). I consulted on the script of this lovely short, which she created as a ‘proof of concept’. Asis writes with her sister Armin and now, we are working on the feature version of this story.

I met Stacee Copeland Kerr (Vancouver) The Big Day (co-directed by Lindsay Hitchcock), during a Short Film Lab facilitated by my colleague Olesia Shewchuk. Prepping for today’s screening, Stacee was inspired to complete her sweet film and now she is ready for the festival circuit as well!

Lucy McNulty and Emma Pollard’s (Vancouver) film Chicken has laurels from festivals around the world. It speaks to me on several levels. It’s inclusive of people with disability. More than 20% of Canadians identify as having a disability, and we are definitely underrepresented on screen. Further, Lucy’s real mother Susinn MacFarlen plays her mother in this piece. Susinn is one of the Artistic Directors of the aforementioned Wet Ink Collective, along with Lynna Goldhar Smith and Loretta Seto (current Crazy 8s filmmaker). By creating programs to support women writers, they changed the lives of many artists, including me.

I hope you enjoy this program filled with smiles, chuckles, and maybe keep your hanky handy!