MPP David Piccini visited the Canadian Women in Film Museum today to congratulate its staff and volunteers on the work done with a $6,900 grant since receiving it in the spring. The funding comes through the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s Resilient Communities Fund, and has enabled the popular tourist attraction, owned and operated by the Marie Dressler Foundation, to purchase seven new iPads for its exhibits. The grant also helped with the costs of installing new software and hiring a web designer to reprogram the digital content.
“The Canadian Women in Film Museum is a historic landmark in our community, and this funding will enable the foundation to take important steps to modernize their exhibits,” said MPP David Piccini. “This support from Ontario will ensure that local residents can continue celebrating Canadian women in film, including Cobourg-born Marie Dressler, for years to come.”
The Canadian Women in Film Museum is owned and operated by Marie Dressler Foundation, a not-for-profit registered charity. Among its programs, the museum offers the popular Annual Vintage Film Festival, now in its 29th year, which attracts many film enthusiasts to the region. This year’s festival will be held at the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope and runs between October 21st – 23rd. To find out more and book tickets, please visit: www.vintagefilmfestival.ca
The museum is the only one of its kind in Canada, celebrating the film history of remarkable Canadian women in front of and behind the camera, and their ongoing pursuit of gender equality in the film industry. In fact, in over 90 years, there have only been three Canadian Best Actresses Oscar winners: Mary Pickford (1929) from Toronto, Norma Shearer (1930) from Montreal, and Cobourg-born Marie Dressler (1931).
“These three actresses leveraged and subverted the gendered expectations of their era to make advancements in the early 20th century film industry that continue to inspire contemporary efforts to achieve gender equality in front of and behind the camera,” said Rick Miller, President and CEO, Canadian Women in Film Museum. “The establishment of a museum devoted to Canadian women in film, not only in the past, but also those women who are currently working to gain their well-deserved recognition and influence in the film industry, will serve to educate and inspire visitors.”
The Ontario Trillium Foundation’s mission is to build healthy and vibrant communities across Ontario. As an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations, last year, OTF invested nearly $209M into 2,042 community projects and partnerships, which included funding for the Government of Ontario’s Community Building Fund. Since 2020, OTF has supported Ontario’s economic recovery through the Resilient Communities Fund by helping non-profit organizations rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19. Visit otf.ca to learn more.
The Canadian Women in Film Museum is located in the heritage Marie Dressler House, 212 King Street West in Cobourg. For directions and hours, visit www.cdnwomeninfilm.ca
