Women Over 50 Film Festival is an inclusive festival which celebrates older women in all their diversity. WOFFF showcases the work of older women on both sides of the camera. We look to them to drive our stories – as filmmakers and performers.
Each film we screen at WOFFF has to follow this one simple rule – it must have a woman over 50 at its centre or a woman over 50 in the core creative team (writer, producer or director).
We welcome submissions from filmmakers of all ages and genders.
Why have a film festival concentrating on older women in film? Polygraph looked at 2,000 films and found that women aged between 42 and 69 spoke only 20% of film dialogue; men of the same age spoke almost 39%. Directors UK reported that of over 2,500 films made from 2005 to 2014, only 13% were directed exclusively by women. In 2020, the Geena Davis Foundation report on movie roles of women of age, entitled "Frail, frumpy and Forgotten" examined the top grossing films in Germany, France, the UK and the US of 2019. It found that when an older female character is visible on screen, she is four times more likely to be shown as senile than a male character ages 50+ (16.1% compared with 3.5%); and she's more likely to be shown as homebound, mentally unstable and unable to take care of herself.
Women Over 50 Film Festival is doing something positive to address this imbalance in the representation of older women in front of and behind the camera, by screening work which celebrates older women in film.
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, WOFFF20 moved from being a festival hosted in a cinema venue – Depot, Lewes, East Sussex - to being an online festival where we screened 58 short films and hosted filmmaker Q&As.
WOFFF21 and WOFFF22 saw the festival become a hybrid one - taking place in our usual cinema home, Depot in Lewes, East Sussex for one day, as well as online via Eventive for eight days.
WOFFF23 is going to be hybrid again - with one day in person in our cinema home, Depot, and two weeks online. WOFFF22 dates are:
Depot, Lewes Saturday 23 Sept
Online 9 – 30 Sept
All short films selected for screening at WOFFF are eligible for our competition. Films are judged by professionals from each category field - animation, experimental, drama, and documentary. Our festival audience also votes for its favourite film too.
Here's what one filmmaker said about WOFFF22:
“Lovingly curated programmes, professional on point communication and above all making an important impact for the film industry.” Annika Lewandowski – Three Women
You can read more filmmaker comments at the bottom of this page.
PRIZES FOR WOFFF23 FILMS
Prizes for Best Drama, Best Documentary, Best animation, Best experimental, Best Student Film and Audience Choice award include:
- £75 cash
- a winner's certificate
- a bottle of Mother's Ruin Gin (student filmmakers must be over 18 for this prize)
Prizes for winning films (films awarded 1st, 2nd, 3rd place or commended prizes) include:
- a winner's certificate
- having you film screened as part of the WOFFF Best of the Fest UK 20223 Tour. Previous tours have included an in-person screenings as well as virtual screenings with:
East London Out Project, London, England
Switchboard – the LGBTQ+ Helpline
HOME Manchester
Elder care residential homes and older people’s community groups in London and Glasgow
Other prizes in previous years have included:
Kit from RØDE Microphones
One year's free membership of Picturehouse Cinemas
PRIZES FOR WOFFF23 SHORT SCRIPTS
The Shedunnit Productions Prize is awarded for the winning script and includes:
- a signed copy The Woman in the Story: Writing Memorable Female Characters by Helen Jacey
- £75 cash
- a winner's certificate
- a bottle of Mother's Ruin Gin. This prize is sponsored by Mother's Ruin Gin.
Prize for the runners-up short drama scripts:
- a winner's certificate