Welcome to the highly anticipated second edition of the Women's Lens International Short Film Festival! With the slogan, ‘Her Voice, Her Vision,’ the goal of this festival is to provide a cross-cultural platform to a diverse array of talented women filmmakers from Bangladesh and abroad. Celebrating unique perspectives and artistic vision, this event showcases the brilliance of women filmmakers worldwide. From thought-provoking narratives to innovative storytelling, this festival embraces women's empowerment and creativity. We challenge norms, break new ground, and provide a platform for emerging and established women filmmakers.

Join us for an unforgettable cinematic experience, broadening horizons and leaving a lasting impact. Submit your short film today and be part of this extraordinary celebration of women's voices in film. Let's empower, inspire, and uplift the next generation of women filmmakers, one frame at a time.

The ‘Call for Entry’ of the second edition of Women’s Lens International Short Film Festival will start on May 18, 2023. The deadline for submission is June 30, 2023.

The festival is divided into two segments-
(i) Live Action (maximum duration: 20 minutes)
(ii) Animation (maximum duration: 20 minutes)

1. Call for Entry: The Call for Entry of the first edition of WLISFF will start on May 18, 2023, and conclude on June 30, 2023.

2. Jury Screening: Screenings for the honorable jury members will take place on 8th and 9th September, 2023. The Jury board will consist of renowned filmmakers, film scholars and film-critics from Bangladesh and abroad. Members of the board will be announced after the initial selection of the short films.

3. Panel Discussion: Discussions relating to the unique experience of women filmmakers will be held as well, featuring prominent female scholars, juries, journalists, activists, and film personalities.

4. Award Announcement: The award winners’ list will be published on August 26, 2023.

5. Souvenir Publication: A festival publication, ‘Souvenir,’ will seek to provide the highlights of the 2nd WLISFF as well as feature write-ups from participants, partners, and organizers of the festival.

6. Her Story Project Development: As part of the Women's Lens International Short Film Festival, we present "Her Story", an exciting project development component. This special program offers women filmmakers a unique opportunity to develop their projects and pitch them for funding.

Calling all women filmmakers from Bangladesh and overseas to submit their project proposals, including the script, logline, synopsis, mood board, and treatment note. Submissions start from May 18, 2023 alongside the festival's call for entries. A panel of experts will review the submissions and select six projects to proceed to the next stage.

Selected filmmakers will participate in a script and project development workshop starting on 20th August, 2023. Through online sessions and masterclasses, they will receive personalized guidance from mentors. The program aims to enhance their skills in scriptwriting, storytelling, and project development.

During the "Her Story" program, participants will present their ideas and receive project overviews from mentors in a day-long session. Following that, a two-day online mentoring session will be held, with three mentors personally guiding two participants each.

** The participants can also submit their projects emailing womenslensisff@gmail.com

Awards & Prizes

1. Best Live Action Short Film Award – This award, including a crest, certificate and handsome prize money will be given to the best live action short film of the festival.

2. Best Animation Award – This award, including a crest, certificate and handsome prize money will be given to the best animated short film of the festival.

3. Best Project of 'Her Story' – This award, including a crest, certificate and handsome fund will be given to the two best projects of the 'Her Story Campaign' to execute their projects.

Disclaimer: The Prize Money must be collected in person or through paypal. Crest and certificate must be collected in person or the winner has to pay the shipment charge in accordance with the current DHL/FedEx rate.

Rules & Terms

1. By submitting a film, the entrant ensures that he or she has obtained consent from any and all owners, creators, writers, producers, and/or other authorized representatives of the film and has read, understood, and agreed to the terms.

2. The director has to be a woman and in case of student projects directors must submit the proof of studentship if their projects make it to the official selection list.

3. By submitting the film to WLISFF 2023, the applicant and copyright owners hereby warrant and represent that the film is wholly original and is not copied from and does not include any other work that is the subject of copyright or other protection unless such work is in the public domain or the submitting parties have obtained any and all consents, releases, licenses and we the festival team take no responsibility in this matter.

4. The submitted film must not defame any person or violate the common law or statutory rights, including, without limitation, the rights of privacy and publicity or any other right of any person.

5. There are no restrictions on the theme, topic, or genre.

6. Any single entrant can submit a maximum of two films in each category.

7. Submitted films must not be made available in any open access streaming site (e.g.- YouTube, Facebook) during the competition period.

8. For promotional purposes, clips from the selected shorts will/might be published in online platforms ONLY by the Festival Authority with the participant's consent.

9. Films earlier screened in other festivals (in any country) are eligible. The entrant has to mention the names of the festivals where the film has been screened.

10. All accepted films may be screened more than once, and are scheduled at the discretion of the festival authority.

11. All entries must submit embedded English subtitles with the film. Dialogue lists are
not accepted.

12. The festival authority may accept late submissions at its sole and absolute discretion.

13. By submitting their films in the competition, entrants allow the screening rights to Dhaka University Film Society (DUFS). Selected films will be screened in public sessions and DUFS holds the right to screen the films in selected festival venues.

14. The WLISFF authority reserves the right to rule in its sole discretion, on cases and situations not foreseen by these terms.

15. The festival authority reserves the right to disqualify any submission if they notice any violation of the terms and conditions. They can ask for proof of authenticity anytime.

16. Please keep us informed of any changes regarding your contact information by emailing womenslensisff@gmail.com

SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
June 30, 2023

OTHERS:

After completing the registration process we will cross-check your status and send a confirmation email shortly.

After the Judgment procedure, we will announce the list of officially selected short films.

Renowned film society activists, film personalities, film scholars, film activists and filmmakers from Bangladesh and other countries will be the honorable judges of the
resulting shortlist.

The Top Official Selections will be published by 25th August, 2023

The Top Official Selections from all categories will be screened in several festival venues across the country and overseas.

2 Reviews
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  • Lauren Keller

    Overall great festival for women filmmakers! Thank you for selecting our film, "A Little Glass of Rum" into the Top 30! We are excited to hear about the results!

    October 2023
    Helpful
  • Woodyan Zoveidavi

    Hello. Im woodyan.blowing in the wind was my short film.I'm glad I participated in this experience. Festivals for women are always unique. Good luck and thank you for your choice

    May 2022
    Helpful