Women Over 50 Film Festival (WOFFF), the international film festival which aims to redress the inequality older women in the film industry face, is now open for submissions.
WOFFF is a celebration of women over 50, in front of and behind the camera, and will hold its fourth annual festival of films and activities in September 2018, showcasing older women’s talents.
WOFFF looks at what it means to be an older woman in today’s society. It aims to start conversations between generations about age and ageing and to help end older women’s isolation.
Anyone can submit a film to WOFFF: there’s no upper age limit and all genders are welcome to enter a film. The key criterion for a WOFFF short film is that it features a woman over 50 in the starring role or has a woman over 50 in the core creative team (writer, director or producer).
Research consistently shows that women, particularly older women, continue to face unequal representation in film. A study by The Centre for the Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego University found that only 24% of the 100 highest grossing films in 2017 where led by women and that women over 40 accounted for just 29% of characters compared to 40% for men over 40. The study also highlighted some good news; 65% of independent films had female leads.
Actress Greta Scacchi, star of Versailles and War & Peace, supported last year’s festival, particularly because it tackled the discrimination older women face in the media.
She said: “This festival is unique in celebrating rather than hiding or ignoring older women in film. WOFFF rejoices in our older stories, older faces and older hearts and it is my pleasure to be associated with the Festival.”
WOFFF will take place on September 20, 2018 at Duke of York’s Picturehouse Brighton and in its new home at Depot, Lewes, on September 22 and 23, 2018.
Depot is an accessible, independent community cinema and cafe-restaurant with education facilities, created and operated by the charity Lewes Community Screen, just two minutes from Lewes station.
This year, WOFFF is introducing a Student Prize to encourage younger filmmakers to actively consider older women and to collaborate with them when producing their films.
Prizes for the winning student film include £200 cash, a winner’s certificate and the film being part of WOFFF’s Best of the Fest Tour which screens in cinemas and community venues around the UK.
Women Over 50 Film Festival Director, Nuala O’Sullivan, said: “We’re proud to be introducing free student submissions this year. Campaigns like #TimesUp and #MeToo highlight how much festivals like WOFFF are needed. At WOFFF we want to play a part in the fight for gender and age equality and we hope this new initiative will encourage students to join us in this to and to become part of the WOFFF community.”
Creative Director of Depot, Carmen Slijpen, added: “As a new independent cinema, we have already won a number of awards for our accessible and inclusive ethos, so collaborating with WOFFF is the perfect fit for us. Depot shares WOFFF’s commitment to diversity and we’re delighted to be the festival’s new home.”
WOFFF is planning to have all its films subtitled to welcome people to the festival from the D/deaf communities, as well as those who are hard of hearing.
WOFFF is committed to screening a diversity of older women’s voices worldwide. A bursary fund is available to assist a small number of filmmakers to submit work to WOFFF.
In 2017 WOFFF offered bursaries to filmmakers with work from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Korea, Egypt and Iran to enable them to submit their film without a submission fee.
Film submissions should be in English or have English subtitles. Documentaries can be up to 25 minutes long, while dramas are up to 20 minutes, and animation and experimental films can be a maximum of 15 minutes. Submissions for entries are open until July 31.
To learn more about student submissions and the bursary scheme, as well as to submit an entry, click here:
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