Women Over 50 Film Festival (WOFFF) is a festival founded in Brighton, UK, in 2015, to address age and gender imbalances faced by older women in the film industry. The festival screens films that have a woman over 50 in a key creative role (writer, producer, director), or are about a woman over 50.
History[]
Women Over 50 Film Festival (WOFFF) is a Community Interest Company, established in 2015. The goal behind the organization is to redress not only the gender imbalance present in the film industry, but the even greater gap experienced by older women.[1] The organization cites industry research indicating that out of 2000 films analyzed, women between the ages of 42 and 69 spoke only 20% of the dialog, while men of the same age range spoke about 40% – twice as much.[2] This, in addition to the general gap indicated by the Directors UK organization, which reported that of over 2,500 films made from 2005 to 2014, only 13% were directed exclusively by women.[1]
The festival aims are to:
- Showcase the work of older women on screen and behind the camera
- Create a film community centered around older women
- Help combat isolation and loneliness in older women[3]
WOFFF declares itself inclusive and intersectional,[1][3] and has grown steadily since its inception.[4][5] In 2015, the prototype event was held, entitled "Short Hot Flush Film Festival". At this event, 27 international short films were screened, a panel event was conducted, and four prizes were awarded.[6] By 2019, over 50 films were screened, including two features, and the number of attendees and accompanying events grew accordingly, to include workshops, panels, lectures and master classes.[1] In 2020, due to restrictions put in place during COVID-19, WOFFF become a 5-day online festival, screening 58 short films, hosting 8 virtual filmmaker Q&A sessions and a lecture by Dr. Francesca Sobande of Cardiff University.
The WOFFF lecture[]
WOFFF hosts an annual lecture concentrating on older women in film and tv. Academics invited to deliver lectures from English, Welsh and US universities and their lecture topics have included:
| Year | Lecture delivered by | From | Lecture Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| WOFFF17 | Dr Patricia McManus | University of Brighton | Women over 50 in Dystopian Fictions The Handmaid's Tale Gender and Race |
| WOFFF18 | Dr. Deborah Jermyn | University of Roehampton | “Your Age is One of My Favorite Things About You”: The Ageing Romcom Heroine in the
Films of Nancy Meyers |
| WOFFF19 | Dr. Brenda Weber | Indiana University Bloomington | I am (Older) Woman: Hear Me Roar!: Rethinking the Incredible Invisible Older Woman |
| WOFFF20 | Dr. Francesca Sobande | Cardiff University | Black women over 50 on screen: from intersectional oppression in the industry to defying ageist agendas |
Awards[]
Awards are granted in the following categories:
- Audience Choice Award
- Best Animation
- Best Documentary
- Best Drama
- Best Experimental
- Best Short Script
- Best Student Film
The award-winning films then participate in the "WOFFF Best of the Fest" tour around the UK.
Past winners[]
| Year | Award | Work | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audience Choice Award | Home Movie | Caroline Pick | |
| 2015 | Best Animation | Mend and Make Do | Bexie Bush |
| Best Documentary | Home Movie | Caroline Pick | |
| Best Drama | Sewing Solutions | Marc Beidul | |
| 2016 | Audience Choice Award | One Last Dance | Luke Losey |
| Best Animation | My Friend Marjorie | Louise Wilde | |
| Best Documentary | Belle and Emma | Rebecca Johanson | |
| Best Drama | The Other Place | Mareike Engelhardt | |
| Best Experimental | The Wake | Oonagh Kearney | |
| 2017 | Audience Choice Award | Days of Awe | Rehanna Rose |
| Best Animation | Espressivo: A Love Song to Coffee | Deb Ethier | |
| Best Experimental | Cherry Colour Buttonholes | Brenda Miller | |
| Best Documentary | Rebel Menopause | Adele Tulli | |
| Best Drama | The Hide | Gaynor Macfarlane | |
| 2018 | Audience Choice Award | Edek | Malcolm Green |
| Best Animation | Tough | Jennifer Zheng | |
| Best Documentary | I’m Fine | Lucretia Knapp | |
| Best Drama | The Matchmaker | Leonora Pitts | |
| Best Experimental | Edek | Malcolm Green | |
| Best Student Film | Grandmother | Heather Dirckze, Charanpreet Khaira, Melina Campos | |
| 2019 | Audience Choice Award | We Were Thamesmead | Lucia Tambini |
| Best Animation | In the House of Paper Flowers | Anita George | |
| Best Documentary | We Were Thamesmead | Lucia Tambini | |
| Best Drama | The Last Mermaid | Fi Kelly | |
| Best Experimental | House of Our Own | Dagmar Scheibert | |
| Best Short Script | Love Is | Dylanne Corcoran | |
| Best Student Film | Forget-Me-Not | Sarah Smith |
See also[]
- List of women's film festivals