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However, the likes of Jenkins and Anna Boden aside, it seems the big tent pole pictures are still for the most part the purview of male directors. Where women directors are the norm is the indie film world. Those films get their first lives on festival screens like the ones operated by the Whistler Film Festival (WFF).

Now in its 19th year, the festival wraps on Dec. 8 after five days of top-notch cinema, events and programs, the WFF is pretty good in the non-male director department.

This year 40 per cent of the festival’s 86 films (features and shorts) are directed or co-directed by women, or non-binary individuals.

Dorfman is one of 13 women at the helm of a feature at this year’s festival.

“That’s amazing. That’s fantastic. I love hearing that,” said Dorfman. “I see a lot of women make first and second features but I don’t always see the stick to-it-ness that maybe our male colleagues have. That’s what I would like to see. I would love to see what women make over their career.”

Spinster was co-conceived with Dorfman’s longtime creative partner Deyell. About 15 years ago Dorfman and Deyell noticed that there was a discussion swirling around them and other women of a certain age.

“In my mid 30s it was a time when all my friends were getting married and having kids and I was single,” said Dorfman. “She (Jennifer) also had a good friend who was single at that time and for both of us it was a really hard place to be. There was this mad race (that lead) to a lot of friends to settle just to make it happen. I was like I am ‘not settling,’ and her friend was very much the same way. We would commiserate about this and talk about it endlessly and that I think was what the initial script was born out of. Just this idea that you are at the top of your game in many ways and still women can feel bad about being single which is absurd.”