Here's How To Apply For Bumble's Female Film Force 2019

Last year’s Female Film Force was such an unprecedented success, we at Bumble have decided to do it again in 2019 — but we’re taking it international.

We’re expanding our initiative, which offers grants to aspiring women filmmakers, to those in France and Germany as well as in the UK, where our inaugural competition yielded 1,100 pitches.

Once again, we’ll be giving five teams of women filmmakers (writers, directors, or producers) £20,000 (€22,000) each to make a short film, with its theme rooted in Bumble’s values of kindness, respect, and equality.

So, why are we doing this? Look no further than this past awards season — or, indeed, any in the film industry’s history. In February, the Academy Awards bestowed Oscars overwhelmingly to men (73% of winners). Across the Oscars, BAFTAs, and Golden Globes, every Best Director nominee was a man.

At this year’s BAFTAs, only a third of the winners were women (34%). In France, only one woman, Jane Campion, has ever received the Palme d’Or at the Festival de Cannes in its 70-year history. In Germany, only about 15% of films shown in cinemas are directed by women. In the last 17 years of the Berlinale, only four women have won the Golden Bear.

We want to do our part to help redress this gender imbalance.

To enter, women across the UK, Ireland, France and Germany can download Bumble, head into Bumble Bizz, our professional networking mode, and match with the Female Film Force application card.

Applications for Round One will close on March 20th. A shortlist will then be announced, and our filmmakers will be asked to submit further materials to support their ideas.

Anyone who identifies as a woman is encouraged to apply.

Ten teams will be asked to pitch to our industry panel in London in May.

The five chosen teams will be announced in June, with films delivered in January 2020 and showcased at an exclusive industry event.

Over the production period, our five filmmakers will also receive guidance from leading industry experts as part of a bespoke mentorship programme created in partnership with WDW Entertainment and Female Film Force Producer Elisabeth Hopper.

A panel of industry experts from France, Germany and the UK will judge the submissions to find our teams of women ready to bring their stories to life. These include (in alphabetical order):

Nicole Ackermann, Managing Partner of Mouna Studios, Chair of Women in Film & Television Germany, Board Member of WIFT International

Christiana Ebohon-Green, Director

Jane Featherstone, Founder Sister Pictures, Executive Producer Broadchurch, Spooks and Utopia

Phoebe Fox, British Actress

Emma Freud, Broadcaster, Script Editor and Executive Producer of Red Nose Day

Maike Mia Höhne, filmmaker, curator, Artistic Director International Short Film Festival Hamburg and former head of of Berlinale Shorts

Kate Kinninmont MBE, MD of The f Word Media Company and former CEO of Women in Film & TV (UK)

Stacy Martin, French Actress

Archie Panjabi, British Actress and Executive Producer

Marianne Slot, French Film Producer

Anna Smith, London-based film critic, President of The Critics' Circle and host of the all-female podcast Girls On Film

Louise Troen, VP International Marketing & Communications, Bumble