At UNLEYEK, we back bold female voices with real capital. That’s why we launched the Female Filmmakers Fund, an £8,000 initiative supporting women at the forefront of film, tech, and art. We proudly celebrated the first edition at Villa Forbes during the Cannes Film Festival, with an exclusive jury of industry leaders selecting the recipient
In Wolf Game, Spanish filmmaker Patricia Echeverria intertwines the stories of a Palestinian shepherd, an Israeli, and a Los Angeles Crypto trader through a mixture of observational and speculative storytelling. The film is inspired by the blockchain-based game (of the same name) which acts as a metaphor for the complex territorial dynamics in the West Bank. She praised the fund, remarking that it "affirms the importance of telling stories that interrogate power”. Patricia has been officially selected to showcase Wolf Game at the prestigious Cannes Docs Showcase. Read more about Wolf Game in Patricia's interview with Variety.
The 2025 Jury
AMEENAH AYUB ALLEN
PRODUCER (Rocks, Ali & Ava)
Ameenah is a BAFTA-nominated and BIFA-winning producer, who was named as one of Screen International’s Stars of Tomorrow in 2018. A year later she completed Sarah Gavron's ROCKS. The critically acclaimed film earned 5-star reviews and 7 BAFTA nominations, including Outstanding British Film, and won for Casting and EE Rising Star for Bukky Bakray.
Most recently, she produced Carol Morley's TYPIST ARTIST PIRATE KING (2023) and co-produced Clio Barnard's Cannes selected ALI & AVA (2021), which was nominated for two BAFTAs and won two BIFAs. In 2021, Ameenah completed the prestigious film business training and leadership programme, Inside Pictures and in 2022 was selected for BAFTA’s Elevate.
VICTORIA MAPPLEBECK
BAFTA-WINNING DIRECTOR
Victoria Mapplebeck is a BAFTA award winning artist and film director. Victoria’s films explore autobiographical stories which ask universal questions about our relationship with technology, parenting, health and wellbeing.
For the last decade, Victoria has been shooting continuously with smartphones. She is passionate about the innovation, intimacy and accessibility of smartphone filmmaking.
Victoria recently won the The Pixelogic Media Director Award at The Women in Film & TV 2024 Awards, which recognises outstanding achievement by a woman director in film, TV or digital media’.
KAT TSE
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, T&Co Magazine
Kat Tse is a lifestyle speaker, Editor in Chief, and recent graduate from Northeastern University. Born in Toronto and raised in TX Hong Kong, Kat is the founder and Editor in Chief of Terms and Conditions Magazine and believes in the power of positive influence and community building.
Established in July 2023, Terms and Conditions aims to create a safe place for inspirational conversations in the creative industries while supporting other entrepreneurs.
ALEXANDER LAWSON
DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTION ,
NATGEO DISNEY
Alex is a Development Manager at National Geographic International, where he plays a key role in building and nurturing relationships with producers and talent to identify new opportunities for the company. Currently managing his own slate, Alex serves as the primary point of contact for new business opportunities for producers across the international channel.
FRANCESCA SOFIA ALLEGRA
EDITOR
Francesca has edited every format, from video clips to feature films, shorts, documentaries, and trailers. She has worked with great professionals on the two most successful Italian docu-series of 2021: SanPa for Netflix and Veleno for Prime Video (Sky Documentaries in the UK). Her most recent feature documentaries include The Walls of Bergamo, presented in competition at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival; Honeydew, the story of a small town in California undergoing a dramatic existential change due to the recent legalization of marijuana; and her latest project, Here I Am, directed by Marc J. Francis.
"Despite some progress for documentary makers, the situation is more difficult for women. Only 25.3% of TV directors in the UK were women in 2023, and the numbers are even lower in higher-budget projects. Women are often missing from senior creative roles despite making up nearly half of the film industry’s workforce. This fund aims to empower women filmmakers to ....."
About and Eligibility Criteria for 2025 edition (now closed):
The Female Filmmakers in Tech & Art Fund is a unique funding initiative aimed at empowering women filmmakers who are currently in production or post-production of a feature documentary focused on the intersection of technology and art. This fund is designed to support and amplify the voices of female creators who are exploring innovative narratives in these rapidly evolving fields.
UNLEYEK, and 19.Studio are a film production company and a tech boutique committed to supporting innovative creators in the art and film industries. Initially, we launched the Minted Series to fund 'Minted', a documentary exploring the groundbreaking world of NFT (Non-Fungible Token) art. Through the sale of unique NFT artworks, we aimed to raise enough ETH to produce the film, which would chronicle the impact of blockchain technology on the global art market.
Despite our efforts, we faced unforeseen challenges and were able to secure only a small part of our funding goal. However, we remain steadfast in our belief in the power of technology and creativity to transform industries.
That’s why we’ve decided to redirect the funds to a new purpose—supporting women filmmakers working on feature-length documentaries at the intersection of art and technology. In collaboration with our partners, we are launching a fund to uplift female voices who are exploring technology and their influence on the art world.
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Eligibility Criteria:
- Gender: Open to women filmmakers or non-binary individuals who identify with the female experience.
- Stage of Production: Applicants must be in the production or post-production phase of a feature-length documentary.
- Subject Matter: The documentary must explore technology and art—whether it’s showcasing the impact of technology on artistic practices, or telling stories that highlight the convergence of these two fields in a meaningful and innovative way. We are particularly interested in AI and digital arts.
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This fund is a collaboration between Female Film Club, UNLEYEK, and 19.Studio, three organizations committed to advancing women in the creative industries, with a focus on promoting stories that intersect technology and arts.
Websites:
http://www.unleyek.com and https://femalefilmclub.com/ and https://officine19.com/
FAQs
Your film qualifies if it is in the production or post-production phase and requires financial support to be completed. The fund is designed to bridge the financial gap needed to finish your film, whether that’s for final shoots, editing, VFX, sound design, or distribution. Films in early development do not qualify BUT if you have started filming, yes!