In 2016 Directors UK found that of 2,500 films made in the UK over the last 10 years, only 13% were directed by women.
On average, female directors will direct fewer films in their career and are less likely to receive a second, third or fourth directing job. In other words, numbers are low for women directors in general but they get even lower as women age.
Women Over 50 Film Festival (WOFFF) is an international film festival aiming to redress the age and gender imbalance older women face in the film industry.
WOFFF is a celebration of women over 50 in front of and behind the camera, and this September is launching its third annual, interactive, engaging, entertaining weekend of films and activities for older women and their friends.
With the festival taking place on September 16 & 17 in Brighton, organisers are putting out the final call for short film submissions.
WOFFF has received over 90 entries from around the world so far and aims to top last year’s submissions of 105 films.
The festival has received numerous entries from the UK and the USA, as well as from Canada, Columbia, Ireland, Spain, Iran, Sweden, Russia and Australia. The 31st
July 31 is the final day that entries can be submitted for the 2017 Women Over 50 Film Festival.
Festival Director Nuala O’Sullivan, said: “One of our goals this year is to reach a wider, even more diverse audience. We want to raise awareness of our film festival – how it deals with age and gender issues, as well as how it tackles older people’s social isolation in Brighton, the UK and beyond. We want to invite people to become part of the WOFFF family as festival filmmakers, audience members, workshops participants or, for those not able to attend the festival, as part of the WOFFF online community”.
The unique two-day festival will also feature an all-female panel event, filmmaker Q&As and workshops on making a film on your smart phone and tips and tricks of shooting drama from TV director Tracey Rooney (Holby City and Coronation Street).
WOFFF 2017 festival launches on Thursday, September 14 with a screening of Mamma Mia! at the Duke of York’s Picturehouse at Preston Circus in Brighton.
This feel-good gem not only stars three strong, older women – Meryl Streep, Julie Walters and Christine Baranski – but also has three strong, older women behind the camera – writer Catherine Johnson, producer Judy Craymer and director Phyllida Lloyd.
WOFFF closes on Sunday evening with an awards ceremony and jury prizes for all winning filmmakers, (Best Animation, Best Drama, Best Documentary, Best Experimental Film), and the all-important Audience Choice Award.
The rules for submitting a film to the festival are very simple.
Each film must:
♦ Have a woman over 50 at the heart of it on-screen or have a woman over 50 in the core creative team (writer, director or producer)
♦ Be no more than 20 minutes in length for drama, animation and experimental or no more than 30 minutes for documentary
♦ Be in English or have English subtitles
If you are or know someone who is female and over 50 and would like to submit an entry on or before July 31, click here:
For more general information about the Women Over 50 Film Festival 2017, click here: