Meet the 23 Female Filmmakers Moving Forward in the Female Film Force Competition

Though applications for Bumble Presents: The Female Film Force closed in late May, we remain blown away by the creativity and courage we witnessed throughout the process.

We received over 1,100 thoughtful pitches centered around Bumble’s core values of kindness, respect, empowerment and equality. Ultimately, only five female filmmakers will be chosen to produce their short films and benefit from a £20,000 production budget and bespoke mentorship programme spearheaded by Women In Film & TV, a UK based organisation created for women working in creative media.

After intense deliberation between Bumble, WDW Entertainment, Women In Film & TV and a panel of industry experts, we’re thrilled to now announce the 20 filmmakers who will progress to the next round of The Female Film Force competition.

ALEXANDRA BLUE
ALEX KESSIE
ALICE RUSSELL
ABENA TAYLOR-SMITH
CHERYL MARSHALL
CHRISTINE HARTLAND
DAISY STENHAM
EMMA WALL
EMMA MOFFAT
ELINE VAN DER VELDEN
FRANCESCA FOWLER
GEORGIA SAWYER
GEORGINA YUKIKO DONOVAN
HANNAH ARTERTON
HELENA SUTCLIFFE
KAREN TURNER
KELLY WARBURTON
MARY-SUE MASSON
MEGHAN HORVATH
OLUWASEUN ‘SHEY’ OSIBOWALE
PRATYUSHA GUPTA
RACHAEL CLARE ABBEY
SIVAMATHY SELVAKUMARAN

To vie for a spot in the next stage of 10 filmmakers, these incredible women will submit a more specific set of requirements. Together with their teams, they will then pitch their short film concepts to Women In Film & TV, Edith Bowman and a panel of industry experts at the end of July.

The final five filmmakers will be announced the week of 6 August, whereupon they’ll be tasked to produce and premier their short films in January 2019 at an exclusive industry event.

The Bumble Presents: The Female Film Force initiative was born out of the shocking imbalance we still see in the film industry today. At the BAFTA Film Awards 2018, for example, only 20 percent of the winner were female. And at this year’s Oscars? Only 15 percent.

According to Women In Film & TV, women comprised only 18 percent of directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors and cinematographers working on the top 250 grossing films of 2017. This represents only a 1 percent improvement on 2016. While those statistics are saddening, Bumble is committed to fighting for equality in all industries, and we can’t wait to share the empowering, brilliant stories The Female Film Force propose in the coming weeks and months. Please stay tuned for updates!

Please reach out to press@team.bumble.com if you have any questions.