variety.com
22.05.2023 / 12:21
‘Doctor Who’ Star Jodie Whittaker to Lead Short Film Fund Championing Female and Non-Binary Filmmakers (EXCLUSIVE)
Naman Ramachandran “Doctor Who” star Jodie Whittaker will lead a short film fund aimed at championing female and non-binary filmmakers. The Empower fund, a community-led initiative backed by Primetime, a global vetted platform to help the industry find and hire more women above and below the line behind the camera, and Bournemouth Film School, was launched at the Cannes film market. It aims to remove the barriers of access to finance and star power that restrict underrepresented filmmakers. The fund will focus on championing female and non-binary filmmakers and grant them access to a minimum of a £10,000 ($12,430) grant in addition to other perks. Whittaker will feature in or voice the final film, with the intention of increasing the visibility of the project and the filmmaker selected. The actor will also collaborate to create a prompt for filmmakers as a starting point for a character or story she would like to explore. There will be a focus on accessibility and reaching filmmakers who might not traditionally put themselves forward for grant funding. A brief will then be distributed and U.K.-based female and non-binary filmmakers will be encouraged to submit their short film project for consideration. Five projects will be shortlisted via an industry jury, and from that Whittaker will select the live action or animation film she would like to take part in or voice.