For the first time since the pandemic, the Women’s Weekend Film Challenge (WWFC) is taking place, with the goal of addressing the off-screen gender gap. Applications are now open for the fifth WWFC, which will see hundreds of women and nonbinary filmmakers collaborating to create six short films. The challenge is set for August 11-14 in New York, a press release has announced.
“Women and nonbinary filmmakers will be placed on teams to write, shoot, and edit a short film in just one weekend. It’s free to apply to and participate in the challenge, and the organization provides top-of-the-line equipment, workshops, and more,” the source details. “Organizers are expecting more than 1,000 applications and will select about 200 participants.”
Judges such as cinematographers Nancy Schreiber and Carmen Cabana, casting director Adrienne Stern, and filmmakers Anna Sang Park, Annie Sundberg, Danielle Eliska, and Mahak Jiwani will review the applications and organize the accepted participants into crews. Equipment, software, production insurance, and stipends for production and film festival submissions will be provided by WWFC and its sponsors.
Premiere screenings of the completed shorts will be hosted at Village East in Manhattan in late August. Participants will then have a chance to network with one another and industry figures at the afterparty.
WWFC was founded in 2017 by Katrina Medoff and Tracy Sayre. “To date, WWFC has held four film challenges — three in N.Y.C. and one in L.A. — and worked with more than 700 female filmmakers to produce 30 short films that have been screened at more than 90 film festivals,” per the press release.
“We are so excited to once again be hosting the Women’s Weekend Film Challenge to provide a diverse group of talented filmmakers with the opportunity to tell their stories on screen,” Sayre said. “Many creative relationships have been fostered through our four previous challenges, and the results — 30 expertly crafted short films — prove there is no shortage of skilled women in every role of production.”
“While progress has been made to combat gender imbalance in the film industry, more work must be done to achieve equity,” Medoff added. “Participants will finish the weekend not only with a highly professional short film but also with a broad network of motivated, talented women.”
Experienced New York-based filmmakers of every role — including gaffers, sound mixers, writers, and actors — are welcome to apply to WWFC. Head over to the org’s website to complete an application or find out more. The deadline to apply is June 27.
