THIS YEAR’S FINALISTS & JURY MEMBERS ANNOUNCED

JURY MEMBERS FOR THE 2023 EDITION INCLUDE SAFFRON BURROWS (Actor), KALLIOPE MINGEIROU (Chief, Ending Violence Against Women and Girls, UN Women), PRANO BAILEY-BOND (Director – Censor) and MADELINE DI NONNO (CEO Geena Davis Institute).

The annual short film festival and competition 16 DAYS 16 FILMS today announces the 16 finalist films and jury members for the 2023 edition. With the support of UN Women, , Voice of Change, the Geena Davis Institute, and the BFI Inclusion16 Days 16 Films will be showcasing 16 incredible short films from female-identifying filmmakers that explore, emote, or educate on a form of violence against women.

The festival will run online from 25 November to 10 December 2023, between the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women and International Human Rights Day. For every one of the 16 Days of the campaign (25 November – 10 December), one finalist film will be screened on the online platform: 16 Days, 16 Films. These films will remain available to view until mid-December.

The 16 Days 16 Films initiative is presented by Founding Directors Johanna von Fischer and Ginta Gelvan:

We are excited to present this year’s finalists of 16 Days 16 Films and feel honoured to welcome an extraordinary list of new partners this year including UN Women and the Geena Davis Institute. There is still much to do in the space of gender-based violence and representation on screen. We hope by giving these amazing female filmmakers and their stories a platform we can contribute a little to the much-needed cultural shift.

With hundreds of submissions from all over the world, the 16 finalist films come from the UK, USA, Mexico and Australia. All the films are directed by a female-identifying filmmaker, are 25 minutes or under, and speak powerfully to the many forms which gender-based violence and inequality and discrimination can take.

An independent jury will be responsible for choosing the winning filmmaker and two runners up. In addition, anyone visiting the 16 Days 16 Films platform to view each of the films is invited to vote in the Audience Award for their favourite. All winners will be announced on 14th December. This year’s independent jury includes an array of individuals from various creative and socio-political backgrounds, including: Kalliope Mingeirou, the Chief of the Ending Violence against Women Section at UN-Women in New York; Madeline Di Nonno – CEO Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media; Daniel Guiness, Managing Director at Beyond EqualityGolda Rosheuvel, Actor (Bridgerton); Saffron Burrows, Actor (EnigmaCircle of Friends); Prano Bailey-Bond, Director (Censor); Emily Atef, Director (More Than Ever3 Days in Quiberon); Isabella Odoffin, Casting Director (How To Have Sex); Sarah McCaffrey, Founder Solas MindPatsy Stevenson, women’s rights campaigner, writer and public speaker.

“It’s an honour to be part of this powerful festival which aims to address through film many issues surrounding gender based violence. It’s vital to create a platform where these films have the opportunity to be seen. By championing these female filmmakers and their stories, I hope the project inspires viewers themselves to act and engage in the UN’s campaign to end violence against women.” Actor, Saffron Burrows

This year’s 16 DAYS 16 FILMS finalists are: 

…ESPERANZA (Mexico) – Mayra Veliz
An elderly woman narrates how she was deceived, robbed and forced to marry her captor at the age of 19 and how, many years later, she found her freedom. (21 mins)

A VERY NICE GUY (Mexico) – Minerva R. Bolaños 
Rodrigo Fierro, a renowned film director, is accused of rape on social media by a woman who was a member of his crew. Seeing that his future may be in danger due to the complaint, he makes a documentary to tell his version of events, trying to prove his innocence. (21 mins)

AFTER FRED (UK) – Rachel Meyrick
Charlotta’s violent marriage was brought to an abrupt end after 40 years when a shop assistant witnessed her being attacked and called it out.  Two years on she is free and, aged 82, is blossoming as a warrior advocate, supporting women decades younger than her to face the court system after making their own escapes from domestic violence. (20 mins)

BARRICADE (UK) Alice Johannessen
After experiencing a traumatic event on her school bus, Aleena bottles up her anger until a chance connection triggers a small act of rebellion. (10 mins)

BLACKWOOL (UK) Eubha Akilade
On her first day at a high school in rural Scotland, a London teenager is targeted for her Afro hair by cocksure class bully and must harness her inner power. (15 mins)

CERES (UK) – Amelia Sears
The story of a daughter seeking refuge from her emotionally abusive partner at the home of her estranged mother. Stars Juliet Stevenson. (15 mins)

DANDELION (Mexico) – Lorena R. Valencia
Ingrid, a teenage girl who lives in a small town in Mexico, is helped by her best friend in her search for home remedies to stop an unwanted pregnancy, undeterred by the health risks that she may face. (17 mins)

HER LAST DAY (USA) – Jiacheng Wang
A woman “Meizi” with her child who has lived in domestic violence for years travels back to her past wedding with her abusive husband while facing the decision to change her marriage. (13 mins)

HOMEMAKER (UK) – Ciara Kerr
Renee loses herself in a controlling relationship and the abuse she suffers gets worse until she is utterly trapped. (9 mins)

MOSQUITO DAY (USA) – Kristine Gerolaga
Fearing the consequences of revealing her pregnancy to her parents and facing limited options amidst increasingly restrictive abortion regulations, a teenager turns to a neighbor her parents warned her about in her desperation for assistance. This decision sets off a chain of events with horrifying consequences. (14 mins)

MY BLONDE GF (UK) – Rosie Morris
An awful discovery turns Helen’s life upside down. Sexually explicit deepfake images appear on a porn site, with her own face edited onto another woman’s body. (19 mins)

SMILE (UK) – Jo Smyth
Smile is about Sue, a woman in her fifties who has to navigate the murky world of misogyny and everyday sexism, and how she fights back. (14 mins)

STILL WATERS (USA) – Aurora Brachman
Aurora Brachman’s touching short features her mother as she shares an unexpected and difficult moment in her childhood. (12 mins)

TÃM (Australia) – Noora Niasari
Tâm wakes up in a strange hotel room. As she pieces together the night before, she realizes she is not alone. (12 mins)

THE SKY AFTER RAIN (Australia) – Blame the Shadows Collective
The story of Shaya. a queer member of the Iranian diaspora told through recorded audio interviews, spoken word poetry, and choreographed dance.

WINN (USA) – Erica Tanamachi & Joseph East
After miscarrying her baby in prison due to shackling, Pamela Winn becomes an activist, leading thousands to support the Dignity Bill. “Winn” exposes the horrifying experience that incarcerated pregnant women endure and documents Pamela’s mission to end shackling and ultimately prison birth. (17 mins) 

16 Days 16 Films was launched in 2018 in partnership with female-led UK film production and distribution company, Modern Films, and UK Says No More.

16days16films.com

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