Lifetime & WFTV UK Unveil Short Film Competition

LONDON: Lifetime and Women in Film & TV UK (WFTV UK) are launching a short film competition that recognizes the work of women behind the camera, as part of A+E Networks’s Broad Focus initiative.

A+E Networks’s global project Broad Focus aims to identify, develop and mentor future talent in the entertainment industry, with a specific focus on women. The initiative also raises global awareness about the need for more women to occupy influential content-making roles across the media landscape. The inaugural Lifetime Shorts Competition is open to all U.K.-based female filmmakers, including directors, writers and producers who have created original content that is no longer than five minutes. Entrants may submit their short films via the Lifetime website until October 16, 2016.

All entries will be judged by a panel of experts from across the film and television industries, including award-winning filmmaker Gurinder Chadha, actress and TV presenter Michelle Collins, WFTV chair and producer Cassandra Sigsgaard, writer and director Destiny Ekaragha and Heather Jones of A+E Networks UK. The winning films will be showcased on A+E Networks’s Lifetime channel in the U.K. One overall winner will receive a cash prize of £10,000 ($13,289).

Heather Jones, the general manager for the U.K. at A+E Networks, said, “This Lifetime Shorts Competition is the latest pillar in A+E Networks’s Broad Focus campaign, providing aspiring female producers, writers and directors with a platform to showcase their work. We’re thrilled to join forces with WFTV, who share our aim of celebrating and supporting a range of female voices, and we’re looking forward to seeing an exciting range of submissions.”

WFTV UK’s chief executive, Kate Kinninmont MBE, added, “A+E Networks’s new competition is exactly what we want to support, promote and celebrate. It is a powerful commitment from a global broadcaster to encourage genuine diversity in filmmaking. It will give a wide-reaching platform to some of the fantastic array of new and aspiring talent that we know is out there. We’re really looking forward to working with A+E this year and beyond on the Lifetime Shorts Competition.”

“We are thrilled to unite the bold efforts of Broad Focus with Women in Film & TV UK for this important competition,” said Amanda Hill, the chief creative officer of international for A+E Networks. “With continued growth in our global audience, it’s imperative that we use the power of our reach as a media brand to break down the barriers of entry for talented women storytellers.”