'Everything about it was exceptional': Winnipeg-born costume designer shares experience working on Oscar-nominated film
CTV
A Winnipeg-born costume designer woke up to a flurry of text messages Tuesday morning, as the nominations for the 95th annual Academy Awards were read miles away in a crowded Hollywood ballroom.
A Winnipeg-born costume designer woke up to a flurry of text messages Tuesday morning, as the nominations for the 95th annual Academy Awards were read miles away in a crowded Hollywood theatre.
“I was at my home here in Winnipeg, just lazily starting to wake up when my phone started to go crazy,” Quita Alfred recalled in a phone interview with CTV Winnipeg.
The reason for the barrage of well wishes so early in the morning? “Women Talking,” a film Alfred designed the costumes for, nabbed two nominations, including Best Picture.
Alfred isn’t the only Manitoba connection to "Women Talking." The film is based on the novel of the same name by Steinbach’s own Miriam Toews. To add more Canuck prestige, it was adapted and directed by Canadian filmmaker and actor Sarah Polley, who received a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Alfred first got a call about the gig back in January of 2021. Producer Lyn Lucibello was developing the project alongside Polley. Having worked with Alfred a few times before, Lucibello floated her name for the job.
“When I heard Sarah's name, I was very intrigued, and then I heard that it was a Miriam Toews novel, and my head exploded because I thought all of those wonderful people in one event would be really, really fantastic,” she said.
