By Max Goldbart for Deadline, February 19, 2024, 5:08am.

EXCLUSIVE: The jury for the Jodie Whittaker-backed £25,000 ($31,000) Empower Film Fund for female and non-binary filmmakers has been set.

Whittaker’s former Doctor Who co-star Mandip Gill will be on the jury alongside BAFTA-nominee Ella Glendining (Is There Anybody Out There?), BAFTA-nominee Ameenah Ayub Allen (Rocks) and Curtis Brown Agent Cynthia Okoye. They join Primetime founder Victoria Emslie and Funding Futures exec Will Shutt on the jury, along with Whittaker.

Whittaker will feature in or voice the winning film with the intention of increasing the visibility of the project and filmmaker selected.

Launched at last year’s Cannes by Primetime and Funding Futures, the short film competition will back one female or non-binary filmmaker to make a short film with a minimum of a £10,000 grant in addition to a camera shooting package hire with a value of up to £15,000 from HAWK London, which recently opened a London HQ.

“Accessibility to our inaugural fund has been one of our main focuses, whilst keeping the spirit of community-driven change at the heart of creating this nascent systemic change,” said Emslie. “Listening to the ever-shifting needs of our members has meant we ourselves have been shaped and changed by the process. From allowing video submissions, creating scholarship places, discounts and future payments based on trust, in addition to extending our deadline to allow parents to apply after juggling half term, it continues to be a lesson in how we can all break down barriers for each other in order to include the marginalised voices we so desperately need to champion in our Industry.”

Primetime was established in 2019 as a globally vetted platform to help the industry find and hire more women and non-binary people above and below the line.


Read the full article on Deadline here.