bloginnerimage

Empowering women on the big screen

The talents of women directors, producers, writers and editors from across the globe will be promoted and showcased at the fourth WOW (World of Women) Film Fair to take place in the Middle East in March 2017. The six-day screening event to be held in Dubai (March 3rd to 8th) offers filmmakers, producers and writers a platform to showcase their work. Workshops, discussions and networking events will also take place during the week-long event, concluding with the WOW awards gala event. WOW Film Fair Middle East has been spearheaded by event founder and television anchor, Hermoine Macura, who has previously collaborated with the WOW Australian chapter.

‘As the first Australian English Speaking News Anchor in the Middle East, I could see the need for more female orientated platforms for women to showcase their work in arts, film and TV,’ says Macura. ‘If you look at the statistics, women are highly underrepresented in the film industry.’ The WOW Film Fair aims to empower women on and off the screen by offering them a platform to showcase their work, connect, engage and inspire the community, as well as reward excellence. The event draws films and participation from across the world. All ticket sales from the event go towards the Al Jalila Foundation. Each year the program focuses on various subjects that are important to women. ‘From health to technology, we have a variety of speakers that attend and share at the WOW talks every year in addition to the films which range from non-fiction to fiction and documentary,’ explains Hermoine. ‘Health remains a core focus of many films year upon year, there are a lot more creative films as well for 2017.’

Event workshops will focus on creative or educational programs, including editing and film workshops by leading Australian and Emirati directors. The gala dinner will feature the WOW awards which recognise female excellence in film, the arts and the business community. Past award categories have included Humanitarian of the Year, Business Leader of the Year, and Sports leader of the Year. In 2017, two new awards will be included for men who are ‘champions of change’.

Four years in the making, Hermoine describes the WOW Film Fair Middle East as a ‘love project’, one that she has partly funded herself through her own business, Straight Street Media. She hopes the Dubai event will create avenues for women in the Middle East to showcase their work and potentially develop projects in the Middle East or in Australia. ‘I believe art and culture are great ways to communicate – the World of Women Film Fair offers a platform to share views, ideas and films that shape our world as women, but also as a global community,’ says Hermoine. ‘It’s been so rewarding to share my culture with the Middle East as well as champion a project that empowers women from the Middle East to live their dreams.’

The entire program for WOW Middle East will be launched in February 2017 on wowmiddleeast.com

Leave Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *