Over 200 films were submitted to Audience Awards’ 2nd annual Women’s Film Challenge.
After two rounds of jury voting, Audience Awards officially announces the top 11 finalists.
The Women’s Film Challenge envisioned by Audience Awards founder and CEO, Paige Williams, provides a platform to spotlight the talent of emerging female filmmakers around the world and accelerate careers. Short documentary and narrative films with a female in an above the line position were invited to submit. The top eleven finalists are eligible for $35,000 in cash and prizes and festival screenings. The finalists participate in the Women’s Film Challenge Mentorship Program. The finalist filmmakers are matched with top-tier female industry executives to network and receive mentorship.
The 2nd annual Women’s Film Challenge received exceptional films made with high-level technical merit, creativity, and craftsmanship. The short films were diverse with complex storytelling. Narrowing down the films to the top was very challenging for the jury. After much deliberation, Audience Awards accepted 11 finalists films, rather than the expected 10 finalist films.
The top 11 2018 Women’s Film Challenge finalists include, The Road to Motherhood by Sofie Peeters; Rough Waters by Claire Imler; Such and Such by Ashley Seering; QAMANIQ by Florence Pelletier; She’s Revolutionary by Brittany B.Monét Fennell; Fade- Freedom Against Dark Enemies by Charity Smith; ZAYA by Susanne Serres; Nice 14.07.16 by Gisele Nour; #WeMatter by Sherrie Quannea; Behind Closed Doors by Bianca Armbruster; The Melancholy Man by Samantha Aldana.
The Women’s Film Challenge jury panel is made of film industry professionals who are committed to join Audience Awards’ mission to accelerate the careers of female filmmakers. The panel includes:
Tina Perry, EVP, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network;
Irene Taylor Brodsky, Oscar-nominated, Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker, most recently nominated for Best Director and Best Documentary with her film Beware the Slenderman at the 2017 Critics Choice Awards;
Nichelle S. Carr, Founder of West City Once Studios, a studio dedicated to the entertainment and enlightenment of all audiences;
Chloe Gbai, of POV, a filmmaker/producer whose work centers around issues of race, immigration, and gender and can be seen on Teen Vogue, HBO, VH1, Logo TV and Vimeo staff pick;
Angela Northington, industry veteran in content strategy, acquisitions and programming, serving most recently as SVP, Content Acquisitions & Programming for Urban Movie Channel;
Cali Bondad, Oakland-based director and 2017 Women’s Film Challenge Documentary winner for her film, Our Voices Are Rarely Heard;
Sarah Clift, writer/director and the 2017 Women’s Film Challenge Grand Jury winner for her film, La Madre Buena.
The finalist jury panel is currently screening the top 11 films to determine awards for: Best Narrative Film, Best Documentary, Honorable Mention (narrative and documentary); Best in Score, Cinematography, Sound, and Editing.
The top 11 films will premiere this fall at the 2018 Audience Awards Film Festival in Los Angeles where we will announce the winners. The Best Narrative Film wins a $15,000 Panavision camera rental package and a ChromaColor color corrections in ACES and mastering to HDR, a value of $7,000 value. The Best Documentary Film wins a Canon C100 w/24-105 camera kit and a ChromaColor color corrections in ACES and mastering to HDR, a value of $7,000 value. POV will select their favorite documentary and award $500 and digital distribution on POV.
From June 7-14, Audience Awards invites the global audience to vote for their favorite films. The top audience voted film wins $500. Anyone who is a registered member of the Audience Awards community may vote. It is free to register – Register today.
ABOUT AUDIENCE AWARDS: Audience Awards believes that filmmakers have the power to change the world. We crowd-source mission-based, gorgeous content from our award-winning global filmmaker collective. Submissions are juried by the entertainment industry, influencers and celebrities and voted on by the world. We democratize entertainment by connecting our filmmakers, fans and brands through our platform providing opportunities to filmmakers. We offer a turn-key submissions platform that powers video contests, filmmaking challenges, online film festivals and live festivals. Learn more: https://theaudienceawards.com/filmmakers
ABOUT AUDIENCE AWARDS FILM FESTIVAL: Your days at AudFest will be filled with invaluable industry panels and workshops, your nights filled with screenings, networking parties and awards ceremonies. AudFest is the capstone of 365 days full of stellar filmmaking and an opportunity for us to provide opportunity and exposure to our filmmaker family. We play with cameras, gear, learn from industry experts, get mentored by industry execs. We award pioneer industry members making a difference in the world and screen the top films from our platform.
ABOUT CHROMACOLOR PRIZE: ChromaColor is a post-production house specializing in color grading on DaVinci Resolve for both commercials and narrative films. Our suite features calibrated paint, 90 CRI lighting, 50″ client monitor and a Flanders Scientific reference monitor. https://www.chromacolor.video/
ABOUT PANAVISION: Panavision is the leading designer and manufacturer of high precision camera systems, comprising of film and digital cameras, lenses and accessories for the motion picture and television industries. Panavision systems are rented through its domestic and international owned and operated facilities and distributor network. Panavision also supplies lighting, grip and crane equipment for use by motion picture and television productions. https://www.panavision.com/
For more industry news, happenings, and filmmaking opportunities visit: audnews.com
