In 1969 , Spring received a $ 15,000 grant from the Canadian Film Development Corporation , to produce a feature-length film in Canada . She co-wrote and directed the resulting 90 minute film , '' Madeleine Is ... '' ( 1971 ) , a segment of which , released as a short feature under the name '' Madeleine '' , won an award at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 1970 . With a total budget of $ 100,000 , the film was filmed in Vancouver , and starred Vancouver actress Nicola Lipman in the eponymous role of a young aspiring painter from Quebec who moves to Vancouver , where she is involved in an abusive relationship with a political radical and an unfulfilling relationship with a businessman/nerd , before discovering her own identity as an artist . It premiered in April 1971 in Toronto and Montreal , and in May 1971 in Vancouver , but closed in Toronto after just one week . While the film was feted as the " First movie by woman film-maker " ( in fact it was the first since Nell Shipman in 1919 ) , reviews were mixed . One reviewer stated that Spring " introduces a character or sets up a mood then does n't sustain or develop it . The result is a picture of little artistic or entertainment merit , relying on a lot of cliched outdoor shots to pad a slight story and thin characterisations . " When shown at the Edinburgh Festival three years later , a reviewer felt that it " won its place merely by a cry of ... . militant feminism " . On the other hand , one reviewer recognised " the political and psychological naivety , which at times is downright embarrassing " but found that " Nevertheless , the film was better than the response it got . ... Spring 's film achieves something fairly difficult : it takes people of five varying social types ... . and never once treats them as stereotypes or without generosity . ... . There 's a straightforward warmth to this film , and it seems to come from its direction " . Another reviewer considered the film " over-condemned " , with " tender silly scene s , amusing and touching " ; " by the end of the delightful film I only wished that Spring had n't bitten off so much for this first feature . " From the early 2000s , critics brought a new perspective to '' Madeleine Is ... '' , with one stating that " Spring 's film has a few very powerful moments ... and some strikingly expressionistic shots of downtown Vancouver . But regardless of its uneven technical and artistic quality , I would argue that the indifference from which the film has suffered results mainly from two factors : its politics and its style . " Another believes that it " should also be recognized as one of the best documents of Vancouver in the history of fiction film , unusually sophisticated in dealing with urban issues as pertinent today as they were in the 1970s . " In 1979 , Spring was appointed to a task force on Sex-Role Stereotyping in the Broadcast Media , established by the Canadian minister responsible for the status of women . The purpose of the task force was " to draw up guidelines for a more positive and realistic portrayal of women in radio and television , and to make policy recommendations for consideration by the CRTC and the broadcast industry . " Following the decision of the task force that the broadcast industry should voluntarily apply self-created guidelines for a two-year trial period , Spring and two others founded , and Spring was National Director of , MediaWatch Canada , a national lobby group intended to educate the public , facilitate public complaints about the portrayal of women , monitor television and radio broadcasting and advertising , and lobby the federal government . After evaluating industry voluntary self-regulation , the CRTC instituted a policy on sex-role stereotyping in broadcasting in 1986 . The Canadian experience was influential in policy development in other countries : Spring presented in 1988 in Australia at a public forum on the portrayal of women in advertising , during which she was interviewed by New Zealand media
Vancouver International Film Festival
Vancouver International Film Festival
Sylvia Spring