The Australian Women’s Film Festival (AWFF) is a brand-new short film festival created by women, for women.
After postponing the AWFF 2020 event due to COVID-19, 2021 sees the re-launch of the inaugural Film Festival which will be held on Sunday 14th March 2021, at Event Cinemas AACTA Bar and Cinemas at Bondi Junction in Sydney, Australia.
Aligning with International Women’s Day, AWFF will celebrate female storytellers and leaders within the film industry by giving them the platform to showcase their talent both in front and behind the camera.
The festival is the brainchild of Australian producers and filmmakers Kelly Tomasich and Tahyna MacManus (MuM – Misunderstanding of Miscarriage Documentary), AWFF was established to demonstrate the talent of female filmmakers by proving a platform for them to showcase their talents. A condition of entry to AWFF is that three of the five key creatives (Writer, Director, Producer, Director of Photography (DOP) and Editor) must be female. This is designed to encourage the inclusion of women in an industry traditionally dominated by men. Men are not excluded from entering AWFF, but they must be willing to work in collaboration with women.
A further condition of entry is that if the film must pass the Bechdel test. The Bechdel test is a measure of the representation of women in fiction. It asks whether a work features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man, and encourages filmmakers to consider their portrayal of women in film to transcend traditional character stereotypes.
“As filmmakers, the concept behind AWFF was simply to create an unapologetically female focused film festival celebrating films by and about women. We wanted to create access and opportunity for female filmmakers to network with their peers and showcase their skills and talent both behind and in front of the camera.”
Kelly Tomasich, co-founder, AWFF
Original entries from AWFF 2020 will be screened at the 2021 AWFF event followed by an awards ceremony honoring: Best Drama; Best Documentary; Best Comedy, and Best Animation while individual categories will also be recognized.
The program will include a VIP red-carpet event, curated industry panel discussion, and screenings of the finalist films, followed by an award presentation.
The all-star female judging panel includes Rachel Griffiths (Actor and Director), Sue Maslin (Producer – The Dressmaker), Teresa Palmer (Actor – Ride Like A Girl) and, Jane Hastings (CEO Event Hospitality and Entertainment Limited).
AWFF will open submissions for the AWFF 2022 event at a date soon to be announced. In acknowledgment of delays and impacts on the industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic, AWFF 2022 entries will extend to films made in both 2020 and 2021.
For more information and award categories please head to www.awff.com.au.
To purchase tickets to the 2021 AWFF, please visit: https://events.humanitix.com.au/australian-womens-film-festival/tickets.
Canon Australia is one of the major supporters of the festival and they will be providing a new Canon EOS C200 camera as the major prize for the Best Film category.
Additional sponsors for the 2021 AWFF include SUNSTUDIOS, Event Cinemas, QT Hotels, Spectrum Films, AFTRS, The Glenlivet, Mad Hatter Beverage Co and Femflix.
This looks to be a great film festival and if you happen to be in Sydney it is something you should definitely check out.
