Screenwriting Competition: Women and Community
Student and Early Career Competition
Women have important roles in every community—within different neighbourhoods, within different work environments, within different institutions and organisations—yet too often their contributions do not receive full recognition. Articulating Women believes that telling their stories offers a significant step toward gaining that recognition. Showcasing examples is a way of providing role models for women wishing to make a difference through effective activity. Successful examples encourage the perspectives and attitudes needed to underwrite greater gender equality. To this end, Articulating Women is sponsoring a screenwriting competition for a 10-15 minute documentary on some aspect of “Women and Community”.
The deadline for submissions is 25 April 2019. Selected candidates will be contacted by 10 May and invited to present detailed budgets and treatments.
There are many potential subjects for such a short documentary, but some possibilities include:
• The role of a woman in organising community events/ shaping community perceptions of gender equality
• The role of a woman artist/ filmmaker/poet/writer in promoting representations of women that highlight social issues relating to women
• The role of a woman in training other women for positions of responsibility/ leadership
• The role of a teacher in raising consciousness of social issues for women and/or the representation of those issues in the media
• The role of a woman in building/strengthening a successful organisation or network
• Portraits of women who break boundaries in relation to occupation/sport/social norms in a way that paves the way for greater gender equality
• The use of historical figures/ historical precedents in mobilising women within a particular community to support/work for greater gender equality are welcome, though documentaries focusing only on the past should not be submitted.
Up to two films will be funded, with up to £1000 allocated for expenses, including post-production costs, but not including any budget for equipment. Additionally, those selected for development will receive a £100 artist’s fee. Initially, a short synopsis of the proposed treatment should be submitted, with the synopsis consisting of not more than 5000 characters. Those submitting treatments must either be students in the UK or India or have graduated within the last two years (ie. not before June 2017). Shortlisted candidates will be invited to provide a detailed description of the treatment proposed together with a proposed budget. Before the selected winners can commence filming, copyright forms and ethics approval must be approved. Those submitting proposals should bear in mind that the films will be used to prompt discussion within a general audience. Once produced, Articulating Women will hold copyright for the films, with residual rights allocated to the producers of the films.
Informal enquiries may be directed to the Principal Investigator, Professor Cynthia S Hamilton at hamiltc@hope.ac.uk.