By Max Goldbart and Jesse Whittock for Deadline, May 15, 2024 3:13am

Jodie Whittaker Short Film Fund Raises Value To $50,000

EXCLUSIVE: The Empower Fund, an initiative that champions female and non-binary filmmakers, has seen its value rise to £40,000 ($50,000) after post-production house Picture Shop came onboard to support the Empower Fund with in-kind post services up to a value of £15k. Film equipment company HAWK London had already provided access to a camera kit shooting package worth £15,000 on top of a minimum £10,000 for the winning team, who will see former Doctor Who lead Jodie Whittaker attached to their project. Founded by actress Victoria Emslie’s Primetime, a global platform for women and non-binary people working behind the camera, in partnership with Funding Futures, the fun launched at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023 and has received almost 100 submissions from around the world. A jury of consisting of Whittaker, another former Doctor Who star, Mandip Gill; Emslie; director Ella Glendining; producer Ameenah Ayub Allen; Curtis Brown agent Cynthia Okoye; and Funding Futures executive producer Will Shutt has been reading through the projects, with a final round of interviews taking place last week. Among those shortlisted are Juliet Kirby, sister of Vanessa Kirby, who is a co-producer on the Zia Holloway-written Divine; and BIFA-nominated filmmaker Jessi Gutch for The Last Train Home. Writer-actor [Evie Jones] is part of the team for Truckload, with Emma Moffat in the same capacity on Scope. The final project comes from writer-director Ashleigh Ashley.

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