The Empower Fund will provide a £10,000 grant to the winning short film by a female or non-binary filmmaker, with Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker to star
The Empower Fund will promote new female and non-binary film makers by funding a new short film. Empower are inviting candidates to pitch their projects, with a panel of industry experts narrowing it down to five contenders. Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker will then pick the ultimate winner, but more, she’ll also star in it. The aim is to encourage those who might not traditionally put themselves forward for grant funding. And therefore to remove the barriers of access to finance and star power that restrict under-represented film makers. While the plan is for Whittaker’s starring role to help bring attention to the winning project.
The fund will focus on championing female and non-binary film makers and grant them access to a minimum £10,000 grant. The fund will be accessible for any female or non-binary film maker who has directed at least three short films, one of which must have screened at a BAFTA or Academy qualifying film festival. The teams applying for funding must adhere to BFI diversity standards.
Talking about the project, Jodie Whittaker said: “Being a part of this exciting journey and having the opportunity to work with talented new voices and creatives is an absolute joy. I can’t wait to work alongside Victoria and the amazing teams at Primetime and Funding Futures.”
The Empower Fund was unveiled at Cannes this year, and is backed by Primetime and Bournemouth Film School. The partnership between the two is part of Bournmouth’s Film Futures platform dedicated to funding and encouraging film makers, creatives, artists and innovators.
Bournemouth Film School is hosting a Funding Futures showcase to unveil the Empower Fund. The event takes place at the British Film Institute in Southbank on the 16th of June.
