Bumble's Female Film Force selects 5 epic short films for funding

Congratulations to the winners!

Our favourite networking and mentorship app, Bumble Bizz announced that The Female Film Force - the initiative that aims to support women filmmakers and directly redress the gender imbalance in the film industry - has selected the five short films led by women that will receive funding as part of the campaign. They will be granted £20,000 (€22,000) each for their projects and mentored throughout the process, in a focused effort to attempt to address the gender imbalance within the global film industry.

In case you weren't aware of the stats, the lack of diversity in the TV and film industry is huge. To put it in perceptive, at the Oscars 2019, nearly ¾ of the winners were male (that's 73%)! This year, the nominees for Best Director at the Academy Awards, the BAFTAs, and the Golden Globes were all male. Not one of the films nominated in the Best Film category, at all three of these world-renowned awards ceremonies, was directed by a woman. The Female Film Force exists to even out the playing field.

“It is high time that we saw a fairer balance of gender and diversity within the film industry, both in front and behind the camera. I’ve worked with some incredible women during my career but very few female directors," explains Actress & Executive Producer Archie Panjabi.

"We are definitely seeing a focused effort to better represent the diversity of the world on our screens, and slowly, we are starting to see more women in leadership roles in film too. I commend these efforts but we need to do more. That’s why initiatives like the Female Film Force are so valuable - because they are driving actual change.”

Here are the winning entries:

Joy Wilkinson (Writer/Director); Jude Goldrei (Producer); Kate Reid (DOP) (UK) - Ma'am

A mum of nine is cracking up... Queen Victoria as we've never seen her before. A darkly funny and moving royal portrait of postnatal depression.

Joan Iliola (Writer/Producer); Chibundu Onuzo (Writer/Producer); Millie Marsh (Producer) (UK) - Sunita

Pressured to conceal her natural hair, Dolapo buys a wig. But the hair brings its own personality, and leaves her questioning its uncertain origins.

Karen Healy (Writer); Sharin Cronin (Producer) (IRELAND) - Ascending Grace

A female pilot is about to take off from Knock, with a cabin full of religious holiday-makers - but things get tense when the flight is grounded.

Julie Robert (Directory); Celine le Therisien (Writer); Maeva Poupard (Writer) (FRANCE) - Et Chaque Nuit

A short animation about a couple managing mental health problems.

Noumia Film; Silke Meya; Laura Mentgen (GERMANY) - Viva la Feminista

Berline children tell their perspective on the world with regard to the role of women. The documentary film opens a shocking, moving and admirable perspective on the lived reality of the children and their protagonists.