Meet The Female Film Force

Bumble has announced the five winners of our Female Film Force competition, each of whom will be granted £20,000 to create their own short film.

These aspiring all-female filmmaking teams from across the UK and Ireland were selected from a pool of 1,100 impressive pitches. The five chosen teams epitomise Bumble’s core values, and their films shed light on untold stories, debunk stereotypes, and empower female characters.

They explore the experiences of women of all ages, races and walks of life, risking it all for their families, heritages, and beliefs. 

Bumble is proud to introduce (in alphabetical order): 

AMA DIVERS
Georgie Yukiko Donovan (Director/producer); Yoko Ishitani (Producer)
The story of the Ama divers - the last of Japan's 'women of the sea' and their fight to preserve their 3,000 year old way of life. (Documentary) 

A BATTLE IN WATERLOO
Emma Moffat (Writer/Director); Tilly Coulson (Producer); Anna Hargreaves (Producer)
During the Battle of Waterloo, a soldier’s wife searches for her missing husband in the nearby forest and must resort to extraordinary measures to survive.

HATIMA
Oluwaseun 'Shey' Osibowale (Producer/AD); Damilola Babalola (Director); Louise Ogunnaike (Writer); Funke Alafiatayo (DOP)
Presented with a dubious life changing opportunity, an international student faces the challenge of making a decision that could alter the course of her future.

PAT
Emma Wall (Writer/Director); Jo Halpin (Producer); Claire Byrne (DOP)
Set in 1975, Pat tells the story of a mother who stays connected to her son in New York through the only phone in the village.

THE LEAVING PARTY
Helena Sutcliffe (Writer/Producer); Emily Bray (Director); Milly Garnier (Writer/Director); Jenn Thomas (Producer)
In an overcrowded and aging Great Britain, a heroic matriarch must escape a government-decreed death sentence before her eightieth birthday arrives.

A shortlist of ten teams was invited to pitch at Bumble’s London HQ at the end of July. After intense deliberation between Bumble, WDW Entertainment, Women In Film & TV, and a panel of industry experts, the final five were selected. 

The production budget and bespoke mentorship programme was spearheaded by UK-based Women In Film & TV, an organisation created for women working in creative media.

Female Film Force was born of a desire to encourage women in the UK and Ireland to make the first move, and to stand up and tell their stories. Bumble believes that until we have a fairer representation of women behind the camera, we will not achieve parity of male and female stories on screen.