WOFFF 2018 programme

5 WOFFF

WOMEN OVER 50 FILM FESTIVAL CELEBRATING OLDER WOMEN IN FRONT OF AND BEHIND THE CAMERA

20-23 SEPTEMBER 2018

Welcome to WOFFF 2018 Welcome to Women Over 50 Film Festival 2018 - our biggest and best year yet!

From WOFFF18’s opening titles to its closing credits we’ve got treats galore for you.

We open with Amy Adrion’s Half the Picture and close with Agnès Varda’s Faces Places.

In between we hope you’ll each find things to surprise and inspire you. Whether in one of the 58 short films we’re privileged to screen, in our practical workshops, in one of our famous all-women panels, at Sunday’s filmmakers’ networking breakfast or simply chatting over coffee and cake between films - we hope WOFFF will feel like a fresh and exciting take on women, film and creativity.

All the films we’re screening at WOFFF18 follow the same rules we set out when we launched in 2015: there must be a woman over 50 at the heart of the story on screen, or a woman over 50 in one of the core creative roles (writer, director or producer). Why is that important?

Because, as WOFFF supporter Amanda Donohoe says, “Our age group is seriously under-represented in almost all media, unless they’re sexualising us or telling us to buy something to make us look younger! Women over 50 have fascinating stories to tell. We always have.”

Thanks to funding from the National Lottery Awards for All and BFI Film Hub South East, every short film is subtitled and many events are BSL interpreted to help make WOFFF more accessible to d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing people.

WOFFF18 launches in Britain’s oldest cinema, The Duke of York’s Picturehouse in Brighton, and then powers on into one of Britain’s newest ones, Depot in Lewes. A huge thanks goes to two remarkable women - Felicity Beckett at Picturehouse and Carmen Slijpen at Depot – for making this happen.

So many people have helped make WOFFF18 a reality. WOFFF is a community made up of volunteers, filmmakers and other artists, audiences, guest speakers, workshop facilitators, judges, supporters and sponsors.

You have helped us get to where we are today. We salute you – one and all.

Thank you Tracey Allen, Felicity Beckett, Dino Bishop, Katie Bogaru, Jo Cameron Brown, Natalie Burwell, Jemma Churchill, Heather Coombs, Shelley Charlesworth, Charnel de Villiers, Aly Dickinson, Amanda Donohoe, Irina Drytchak, Renee Edwards, Imke Elstner, Jacob Engelberg, Emma Farrugia, Charlotte Forsdick, Anthony Gates, Deborah Gibberd, Rosaria Gracia, Ella Gray Thomas, Becky Griffiths, Akua Gyamfi, Kyla Harris, Laura Hodgson, Priscilla Igwe, Shirley Jaffe, Deborah Jermyn, Rachel Jones, Oonagh Kearney, Rebecca Kesby, Ulrike Kubatta, Claire Lamond, Catherine Lang, Gill Lipson, Bonnie Macrae, Heidi McCormack, Trisha McCrae, Sarla Meisuria, Deirdre Mulcahy, Maureen Murray, Jill Nicholls, Jac Nunns, Tom Oliver, Hilary O’Neill, Martin Piggott, Kavita Puri, Joely Richardson, Tracey Rooney, Rehana Rose, Sandy Sage, Laura Sawyer, Greta Scacchi, Helen Selka, Olivia Simpson, Carmen Slijpen, Nicholas Smith, Steve Wardlaw, Flip Webster, Denise Welch, Angie West, all our amazing volunteers, and everyone at Depot.

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Last year at WOFFF •

We showed 55 short films and 1 feature film, hosted 8 filmmaker Q&As, 6 workshops, 1 lecture and 1 panel event.

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Over 30 filmmakers attended the festival from England, Scotland and the USA.

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West End stage and TV star Denise Welch came to WOFFF17 with her film Black Eyed Susan. Denise said “This is such a great film festival - I love its energy and its ambition and how it’s determined to put older women at the heart of the film industry, where they belong.”

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We screened our first film from Afghanistan, Mary Mother, by Sadam Wahidi. The WOFFF connection was lead actor Zubaida Sahar.

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Fay Pesto, subject of Hanna Aqvilin’s documentary Fay Pesto: Queen of Closeup, joined us at WOFFF and astounded us with some live magic.

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Dr Patricia McManus delivered a lecture on Women Over Fifty in Dystopian Fictions: The Handmaid’s Tale – Gender and Race.

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Coming into focus

by Ruth Roberts Owen

This year at WOFFF

She sits in the dark and she watches the screen glowing with new meaning

We’re launching a prize for the Best Student Film.

We hope this initiative encourages emerging filmmakers to consider older women when they’re making their filmmaking choices.

She had grown used to being invisible feeling the glances slide over her like slugs in pubs in shops and on the street…

We’re delighted to have received more than 35 student submissions from Britain, Ireland, the USA, Canada, France, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, Georgia, Iran and Hong Kong.

Except her own kind recognized her and her own kind were not beat Middle age is not the end but only the beginning of a whole new screening, friend when you can bend the so-called rules ignore those stifling social roles this time you’re no-one’s fool We are larger than life and larger on the screen, bubbling with more creativity and mischief than a witches’ cauldron!

We cannot be defined put down confined by narrow minds Let’s get our show on, friends and spell our vision out Tell any doubters what it’s all about Come on, Let’s make a scene..! @RuthRobertsOwen

We thank The Women’s Media Studies Network (WMSN) for sponsoring this inaugural award of £200 for the Best Student Film.

Animation 8.2%

Filmmakers from

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Experimental 16.4%

countries submitted films

15% increase in submissions

Drama 45.4%

Documentary 30.1%

Make-up of this year’s festival

Where WOFFF18 submissions came from

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Thursday Opening night film 18:00

Half the Picture

by Amy Adrion (USA, 2018) Duke of York’s Picturehouse, Brighton

THE WOMEN BEHIND THE CAMERA. THE STORIES BEHIND THE WOMEN.

Celebrating the groundbreaking work of female film directors and investigating the systemic discrimination that has, for decades, denied opportunities to far too many talented women in Hollywood. A Sundance documentary with Ava DuVernay, Jill Soloway, Lena Dunham, Catherine Hardwicke and Miranda July.

Plus all-female panel event, chaired by Felicity Beckett (Picturehouse Cinemas).

Guests include: Maureen Murray (Emmy-Award winning producer Foxtrot Films), Renee Edwards (producer, editor and director One Note at a Time) Rehana Rose (writer and director Dead Good)

HALF THE PICTURE A FILM BY AMY ADRION AVA DUVERNAY · BRENDA CHAPMAN · CATHERINE HARDWICKE · CHRIS HEGEDUS · DAISY VON SCHERLER MAYER GINA PRINCE-BYTHEWOOD · JAMIE BABBIT · JENNIFER PHANG · JILL SOLOWAY · KARYN KUSAMA · KASI LEMMONS KIMBERLY PEIRCE · LENA DUNHAM · LESLI LINKA GLATTER · LUCY WALKER · LYNN SHELTON · MARIA GIESE MARTHA COOLIDGE · MARY HARRON · MIRANDA JULY · NELL SCOVELL · NISHA GANATRA · PATRICIA CARDOSO PATRICIA RIGGEN · PENELOPE SPHEERIS · RACHEL FELDMAN · ROSANNA ARQUETTE · SAM TAYLOR-JOHNSON · TINA MABRY

A LEOCADIA FILMS PRODUCTION EDITED BY KATE HACKETT DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY YAMIT SHIMONOVITZ AND SORAYA SÉLÈNE MUSIC BY LAURA KARPMAN AND NORA KROLL-ROSENBAUM PRODUCED BY AMY ADRION AND DAVID HARRIS DIRECTED BY AMY ADRION HALFTHEPICTURE.COM

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Untitled-1 1

5/29/18 6:37 AM

Friday Free WOFFF Afternoon 13:00

An afternoon of free events 8 WOFFF shorts, 1 workshop and light refreshments - for elder women in the Lewes community The Studio Our shorts programme is drawn from films across the festival.

The Past Is Another Country by Magda Rakita The Matchmaker by Leonora Pitts Artemis & the Astronaut by A. L. Lee Swim by Maike Mahira Koller Edek by Malcolm Green Tell Me I’m Forgiven by Alison Child The Wait by Dhruv Tripathi What A Peaceful Day by Eden Chan Workshop: an hour of glorious sound, percussion, music and song. Led by Katie Bogaru from community choir, Lewes Vox 8

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Saturday | Programme one Absolutely on the Borderline Brought to you by ARKA Original Funerals

Screen 2 | 11:00

And She Rode Forth...

Deb Ethier | Canada | 2018 | Animation | 3min WOFFF connection: Director Deb Ethier A Bard recounts the tale of the Archetypal Heroine, called forth by necessity to begin her journey and fulfill her destiny.

The Past Is Another Country Magda Rakita | UK | 2014 | Documentary | 5min WOFFF connection: Documentary subject Bridget Sojourner Bridget Sojourner (76) shares her thoughts about life and ageing.

Tether Kathy O. Lofton | USA | 2018 | Experimental | 7min WOFFF connection: Director Kathy O. Lofton An athlete’s sanity and vision are affected after an assault.

Holding Space Rebecca Kenyon | UK | 2018 | Documentary | 11min WOFFF connection: Documentary subject Aly Dickinson Three people on the threshold between life and death answer the question: if you knew you were dying, how would you prepare to let go?

For Muriel Rebecca Shapiro | USA | 2017 | Drama | 14min WOFFF connection: Lead actor Mindy Sterling Elaine, Helen and Jenn plan a bank robbery.

Mausoleum Jamie Luke Milligan | UK | 2018 | Drama | 6min WOFFF connection: Lead actor Julia Deakin A woman sits down to dinner with her husband. Time is running out.

The Queen of Scream: Darby Mills Melinda Friedman | Canada | 2018 | Documentary | 23min WOFFF connection: Documentary subject Darby Mills. Director Melinda Friedman Darby Mills, longtime lead singer of the Canadian rock band, The Headpins, embarks on a risky solo career.

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Student submission

Saturday | Programme two Try Not To Die Screen 2 | 12:55

Ripe Figs Artemis Preeshl | USA | 2017 | Drama | 9min WOFFF connection: Director Artemis Preeshl

A young woman longs for a world beyond the limited one she lives in, under the wing of her godmother.

ROMY Ornella Hawthorn Gardez | UK | 2018 | Drama | 12min WOFFF connection: Lead actor Sara Stewart. Writer Valerie Hawthorn A mother searches for her daughter.

Parallelism Sukanya-Devika K Jhala | UK | 2018 | Experimental | 3min WOFFF connection: Lead actor Clare Almond A woman struggles for independence as her mind and body make her more vulnerable than she ever imagined she’d be.

Body-City Liliana Paganini | Italy | 2018 | Experimental | 4min WOFFF connection: Writer, producer & director Liliana Paganini Just as the limbs of a body correspond to each other, so too do the parts of a building correspond to other parts of it.

She’s Not There Louise Harvey | Australia | 2017 | Animation | 5min WOFFF connection: Animation character Burly Chassis. Voice actor Christine Johnstone.

Director Louise Harvey Motion-capture technology, CGI animation and a live orchestra present an on-screen, real-time operatic performance.

Here Now Rachel Feldman | USA | 2017 | Drama | 9min WOFFF connection: Lead actor Amy Brenneman. Director Rachel Feldman A magical reality about a family coping with love and loss.

I CHERISH WOMEN Judith Lynn Stillman | USA | 2017 | Documentary | 4min WOFFF connection: Documentary subjects choir members. Director Judith Lynn Stillman 30 artists and activists unite to deliver a bold statement to “defend human rights and right human wrongs in the Trump era.”

There’s No One Home Berke Camekan | Turkey | 2018 | Drama | 15min WOFFF connection: Lead actor Saniye Camekan A man has gone to France as an asylum seeker. His mother and grandmother wait for him to return.

Edek Malcolm Green | UK | 2018 | Experimental | 6min WOFFF connection: Experimental subject Janine Webber A Polish Holocaust survivor and an American rapper deliver a Hip Hop message, a fusion of prose, music and rap.

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Saturday | Programme three Come you Spirits Screen 2 | 16:20

Artist In Process Natalia Whiteside | UK | 2018 | Documentary | 12min WOFFF connection: Director Natalia Whiteside The artistic process behind the work of three women artists based in Sussex, England.

Push Deirdre Buckley Cairns | Ireland | 2017 | Experimental | 3min WOFFF connection: Director Deirdre Buckley Cairns How we push and are pushed in our relationships and our lives.

The Visitor Duncan Roe | UK | 2018 | Drama | 15min WOFFF connection: Lead actor Jane Asher A homeless young man breaks into an older woman’s home. A bond is created.

What A Peaceful Day Eden Chan | Taiwan | 2016 | Animation | 5min WOFFF connection: Animation character The Camper An old woman heads into the Taiwanese woods for some peace and quiet.

A hunter collecting antlers disturbs her plans.

I’m Fine Lucretia Knapp | USA, Taiwan | 2016 | Documentary | 23min WOFFF connection: Producer Lynne Yamamoto. Director Lucretia Knapp Tong and Cai Yun, in their 50s and 70s respectively, have seen a lot of changes in the Taipei Tongzhi (LGBTQ) landscape. A reflection on gender, perception, moving apart and coming together.

Lady M Tammy Riley Smith | UK | 2018 | Drama | 5min WOFFF connection: Lead actor Samantha Bond. Writer Melissa Knatchbull Hell hath no fury like... an older woman scorned. An actor summons the spirit of Lady Macbeth to secure her part in an upcoming production.

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Student submission

Saturday | Programme four The Moon Behind The Clouds Screen 2 | 18:20

THE VEST Lesley Manning | UK | 2017 | Drama | 7min WOFFF connection: Writer & Director Lesley Manning

Walking through the rush hour crowds, a man with a mission is disturbed by unexpected glimpses of humanity.

O Agathon Narda Azaria Dalgleish | UK | 2018 | Experimental | 7min WOFFF connection: Experimental subject & director Narda Azaria Dalgleish Love can make those who are touched by it bring forth its qualities of beauty and goodness even if they were strangers to the Muse before.

Good Girls Don’t Ana de Lara | Canada | 2017 | Drama | 15min WOFFF connection: Director Ana de Lara A Filipina-Canadian girl defies her mother’s warning that she will turn into a boy if she plays basketball.

Exist Payam Shadniya | Iran | 2018 | Drama | 5min WOFFF connection: Lead actor Leila Dman. Producer Ladan Navandpur An Iranian woman catches and sells fish. Her son needs oxygen.

On The Bright Side Thi Doan | USA | 2017 | Documentary | 11min WOFFF connection: Documentary subject Cau Hong Cau Hong is 83 and from Vietnam. Her life is a story of faith, optimism and a determination against all odds.

The Wait Dhruv Tripathi | UK | 2016 | Drama | 17min WOFFF connection: Lead actor Hina Baxi Lata waits for an invitation to a community party.

Swim Maike Mahira Koller | Germany | 2018 | Animation | 3min WOFFF connection: Animation character The Swimmer An old woman wants to learn to swim.

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Saturday | Beyond the Screen

13:30 | Workshop one Living Well Dying Well with Aly Dickinson The Studio

Aly Dickinson from End of Life Doula UK on one of life’s key questions - how would you like your dying to be so you can get on with living? Aly is one of the doulas featured in WOFFF18 documentary HOLDING SPACE by Rebecca Kenyon.

14:50 | Panel event | Free Weaving Stories - Female Filmmakers in front of and behind the camera Screen 2 Rebecca Kesby (BBC World Service) hosts WOFFF’s annual all-female panel event with guests: Jo Cameron Brown (actor River City, Skyfall, The Singing Detective) Akua Gyamfi (founder of The British Blacklist database and media platform) Kyla Harris (director of ‘The Other Screen’ with/for arts community, D/deaf community and people with disabilities) Shirley Jaffe (actor Taste the Blood of Dracula, A Clockwork Orange and Home for Christmas)

16:30 | Workshop two About time: Ageing women, (in)visibility and the ‘old lady revolution’ in Fabulous Fashionistas (Sue Bourne, 2013) with Dr. Deborah Jermyn The Studio Dr. Deborah Jermyn (University of Roehampton) on FABULOUS FASHIONISTAS by Sue Bourne, a documentary about six women with an average age of 80 and the joy they take in clothes, style and dressing up, resisting widespread cultural pressures to fade into invisibility. This workshop will reference WOFFF18 documentary THE PAST IS ANOTHER COUNTRY by Magda Rakita.

18:30 | Workshop three Three Score Dance Creative Dance with Rosaria Gracia The Studio An energising workshop led by local dancer and instructor, Rosaria Gracia, from Dance Lewes. An exploration of movement with body conditioning techniques to loosen the body, followed by a dance session with different dance styles. This is a fun, invigorating and inclusive dance session, open to all abilities.

20:00 | Banquet Festival Feast The Gallery Round off your Saturday at WOFFF18 by sharing a delicious meal with other WOFFFers.

A chance to catch up with old friends, make new ones and share delicious food and exchange ideas with others who share your passion for film.

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Sunday | Programme five The Knowing Screen 2 | 11:00

Mushroom Thief Joan Ashworth | UK | 2010 | Animation | 7min WOFFF connection: Writer & director Joan Ashworth Swimming through a meadow collecting mushrooms a girl meets her wildness in the grass.

The Beekeeper Alexa Banks | UK | 2018 | Documentary | 9min WOFFF connection: Director Alexa Banks As the river Thames gentrifies, boat owners are being priced out of London. Imminent exile weighs heavily for beekeeper Dzin who will have to leave his family and community behind.

The Thing About The Morning After Denise V. Powers | France | 2016 | Drama | 9min WOFFF connection: Director Denise V. Powers The morning after a first night spent together reveals some disconcerting surprises.

The Betrayal Susan Young | UK | 2015 | Animation | 6min WOFFF connection: Animation subject & director Susan Young Fragments of medical records interwoven with pulsing pills form a disorienting montage depicting the relationship between patient and doctor.

Ready To Go Lynda Reiss | UK, Isle of Man | 2017 | Drama | 9min WOFFF connection: Director Lynda Reiss Lance Mitchell is taking his cat to be put down. As he and Missy make their way to the vet Lance is keen to work over the thoughts he has on the subject. Starring Kevin Doyle.

Periphery Kimberly Burleigh | USA | 2016 | Experimental | 5min WOFFF connection: Director Kimberly Burleigh An excerpt from Hitchcock’s film Stage Fright projected through a shape-shifting crystalline screen.

A Portrait Of A Beautiful Woman Yula Gidron | Israel | 2016 | Drama | 21min WOFFF connection: Lead actor Irit Gidron Gabi is tired of being 60.

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Student submission

Sunday | Programme six Always Hiding From Me Screen 2 | 12:55

Back Home Haruka Motohashi | USA, Japan | 2018 | Documentary | 13min WOFFF connection: Documentary subject Toyoko Motohashi

A Japanese mother and daughter navigate their relationship after years of physical, emotional, and psychological distance.

Heather Has Four Moms Jeanette Buck | USA | 2018 | Drama | 14min WOFFF connection: Lead actor Holly Twyford. Director Jeanette Buck On Heather’s 15th birthday, Mom’s wife must convince Mom, and Mom’s ex, and Mom’s ex’s partner that it’s time for Heather to have “the talk”.

Lydia Anita Lewton-Moukkes | France | 2016 | Drama | 12min WOFFF connection: Director Anita Lewton-Moukkes A young Berber Algerian bride starts a new life in France.

Artemis & the Astronaut A. L. Lee | USA | 2018 | Drama | 13min WOFFF connection: Lead actor Lynn Cohen. Director A. L. Lee Artemis and Henri have spent a lifetime together loving one another deeply and imperfectly.

Hen Ffyrdd y Porthmyn / The Old Ways Jean Napier | UK | 2016 | Experimental | 12min WOFFF connection: Director Jean Napier A journey through the Rhinog wild and remote mountainous area of North Wales exploring drovers’ roads, stagecoach routes and derelict gold mines.

Tough Jennifer Zheng | UK | 2016 | Animation | 5min WOFFF connection: Animation character Lili Li New light is shed on childhood cultural misunderstandings when a Chinese mother and her British born daughter speak as adults for the first time.

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Sunday | Programme seven Spirit Of Rebellion Screen 2 | 16:25

Grandmother Heather Dirckze, Charanpreet Khaira, Melina Campos | UK | 2018 | Documentary | 6min WOFFF connection: Documentary subjects Mary Dirckze, Jaswant Kaugrewal & Barbara Christie

British migration seen through the eyes of three grandmothers - naniji, baba and granny.

In Orbit Rony Khoubieh | France | 2017 | Drama | 16min WOFFF connection: Lead actor Darina Al-Joundi In the hope of landing a role of an astronaut in a French movie, a Lebanese woman arrives at an audition.

The Matchmaker Leonora Pitts | USA | 2017 | Drama | 11min WOFFF connection: Lead actor Barbara Bain Sam is worried about his mum so he tries to find her a best friend. Starring Rhea Perlman.

‘A’ is for absorbed dose rate...

Annie Grove-White | UK | 2017 | Experimental | 10min WOFFF connection: Writer & director Annie Grove-White Wylfa nuclear power station in Wales is being decommissioned, affecting landscape and communities in this remote corner of Anglesey.

Moon-Magic Carol M. Burger | UK | 2017 | Animation | 9min WOFFF connection: Writer, producer & director Carol M. Burger Three boats sail through the night. A passing comet creates magic. Everything is possible.

Perhaps Today...

Nadine Asmar | Lebanon | 2017 | Drama | 8min WOFFF connection: Lead actor Claude Baz Moussawbaa A woman in Beirut prepares a weekly pie - Lahm Bi Ajin.

Brethren Annette Daniels Taylor | USA | 2018 | Documentary | 4min WOFFF connection: Producer & director Annette Daniels Taylor An Afro-future version of Frederick Douglass’ North Star motto, “Right is of No Sex, Truth is of No Color, God is the Father of Us All, and We are all Brethren”.

Snake Hips Lulu Lulu Keating | Canada | 2018 | Documentary | 3min WOFFF connection: Documentary subject, writer, producer & director Lulu Keating When Lulu Keating moved to Dawson City, Yukon, she wondered if she might be the reincarnation of a dance hall girl of the Klondike Gold Rush, Snake Hips Lulu.

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Student submission

Sunday | Programme eight Holy Horns Of Consecration Screen 2 | 18:20

PILL Fenella Greenfield | UK | 2017 | Drama | 7min WOFFF connection: Writer & director Fenella Greenfield

Best friends are tested as the clock ticks.

The Penny Dropped A D Cooper | UK | 2016 | Drama | 6min WOFFF connection: Lead actor Abigail Thaw. Director A D Cooper A desperate woman seeks help from an unlikely source in a dark place. Futures are decided by the flip of a coin.

Tell Me I’m Forgiven Alison Child | UK | 2018 | Documentary | 4min WOFFF connection: Writer & director Alison Child The life and times of two lesbian variety stars of the 1920s is examined, accompanied by extracts from recordings they made.

Regrets AJ Sykes | UK | 2018 | Drama | 8min WOFFF connection: Lead actor & producer Kate Donnely A woman sees her husband in a hospital bed, a life of turmoil and abuse between them.

Murmuring Goodbye Simon Powell | UK | 2017 | Drama | 1min WOFFF connection: Lead actor & writer Lisa Ray-Jacobs A woman says goodbye to England, revealing ghosts from the past.

Gloria’s Call Cheri Gaulke | USA | 2018 | Documentary | 17min WOFFF connection: Documentary subject Gloria Orenstein. Director Cheri Gaulke Cafés of Paris, mountains of Sami and richly layered art, animation and personal storytelling reveal an often unseen history of women in the arts.

My Brand New Baby Gini Wade | UK | 2018 | Animation | 2min WOFFF connection: Writer, producer & director Gini Wade Little Red & Wolf dance the Lindy Hop. A new twist of the old tail.

Older Women Rock! The Documentary Leah Thorn & Clare Unsworth | UK | 2018 | Documentary | 25min WOFFF connection: Documentary subject & writer Leah Thorn Poetry-emblazoned retro clothes; 19 older models strutting a subversive catwalk; a wild Zumba Gold flashmob; a documentary capturing this ground-breaking project of older women’s liberation.

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Sunday | Beyond the Screen

13:00 | Workshop four Making a Film on Your Smartphone with Deirdre Mulcahy The Studio

By the end of this session with BBC Journalism trainer, Deirdre Mulcahy, you’ll be able to confidently shoot well-framed video with professional looking interviews and have a basic understanding of the building blocks of visual storytelling. No jargon, no physics, no maths, no lens theory – just fun.

“One of the best workshops. More please. Practical, fun, empowering”

14:50 | Lecture | Free “Your Age is One of My Favorite Things About You”: The Ageing Romcom Heroine in the Films of Nancy Meyers Screen 2 Romcoms are widely held to be one of the most conservative of genres, yet Nancy Meyers’s films illustrate how romantic comedy has become a crucial space in Hollywood for exploring the lives of older women typically erased on screen. With particular attention to Something’s Gotta Give and It’s Complicated, Dr. Deborah Jermyn will examine how and why Meyers and her films have been widely undermined by popular criticism.

16:30 | Workshop five Editing a Film on Your Smartphone with Deirdre Mulcahy The Studio By the end of this session with BBC Journalism trainer, Deirdre Mulcahy, you’ll be able to edit a short video with music, learning the skills you need to upload a video to a social media site. No filming or editing experience is necessary.

Before the workshop you should download the free app Quik, available from the App Store for iPhones, and Google Play for Android.

You need some video material already recorded on your phone to get the best out of the session. If you’re attending Deirdre’s earlier workshop at WOFFF, you will have some recorded content you can use.

19:45 | Event Winner Audience Choice Award

WOFFF

WOMEN OVER 50 FILM FESTIVAL

2018

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WOFFF 2018 Awards show Screen 2 Celebrating our top films as voted for by our jury and you, the audience.

Best Animation Best Experimental Best Drama Best Documentary The Women’s Media Studies Network (WMSN) WOFFF Best Student Film Award Emerald Life Audience Choice Award

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Sunday Closing night film 20:30

Faces Places

by Agnès Varda (France 2017) Screen 2

Iconic filmmaker Agnès Varda forging an unexpected collaboration with photographer JR as they embark on a road trip like no other.

Agnès Varda’s films, photographs and art installations serve as a total celebration of her creativity and her age. Agnès Varda is an older women working in front of and behind the camera. At 90 years old she’s a role model extraordinaire; the perfect woman to bring this year’s festival to a close.

The Festival at a Glance Saturday

Sunday

10:00 Event Filmmakers’ Networking Breakfast The Studio | 10:00

11:00

12:00

Programme one Absolutely on the Borderline Screen 2 | 11:00

Programme five The Knowing Screen 2 | 11:00

Programme two Try not to Die Screen 2 | 12:55

Programme six Always Hiding From Me Screen 2 | 12:55

13:00

14:00

Workshop one Living Well Dying Well The Studio | 13:30

Workshop four How to Make a Film on Your Smartphone The Studio | 13:30

15:00 Lecture Your Age is one of my Favourite Things about You Screen 2 | 14:50

Panel event Weaving stories Screen 2 | 14:50 16:00

17:00

Programme three Come you Spirits Screen 2 | 16:20

Workshop two Fabulous Fashionistas The Studio | 16:30

Programme seven Spirit of Rebellion Screen 2 | 16:25

Workshop three Three Score Dance The Studio | 18:30

Programme eight Holy Horns of Consecration Screen 2 | 18:20

18:00

19:00

Programme four The Moon Behind The Clouds Screen 2 | 18:20

20:00

21:00

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Event Festival Feast The Gallery | 20:00

Workshop five How to Edit a Film on Your Smartphone The Studio | 18:30

Event Awards Ceremony Screen 2 | 19:45 Closing Night Film Faces Places Screen 2 | 20:30

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“Ageism and sexism hopefully are relics of a bygone era. Actors are storytellers, and stories of older women are magnificent - for those extra years! How wonderful that this festival is putting this in the spotlight.”

Joely Richardson

“I’m proud to have been an early supporter of the Women Over Fifty Film Festival before the subject of women in the film industry became such a huge public issue.

WOFFF has always been ahead of the curve in its celebration of the unique voice of older women in film and I am delighted to continue supporting the work of such a great festival.”

Greta Scacchi

Stay connected with us throughout the festival @WO50FF #WOFFF18 #OLDERWOMENINFILM

WOFFF

WOMEN OVER 50 FILM FESTIVAL WOFFF.CO.UK facebook.com/wo50ff @WO50FF

Save the date WOFFF 2019 submissions open 1 January 2019 Follow us at @WO50FF to stay up to date