Women Over 50 Film Festival

Good social connections in later life help maintain physical and mental health as we age including reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, depression and dementia. There is a photo of two older women hugging and smiling.

People aged 65 and over are the most likely to volunteer, volunteering boosts individual wellbeing, but is also vital for strengthening community bonds, delivering community services and improving our local environments. There is a photo of an older person in an exercise class.

Easy access to community facilities supports social interaction for older people however, between 201-/11 and 2023/24 local authority spending on community centres and public halls declined by 19% and on libraries by 46%. There is a photo of an older woman smiling on a bus.

Older people are more likely to have a strong sense of belonging to their neighbourhood than younger age groups, but in more deprived areas this gap is smaller. There is a photo of two older people chatting on a beach with their bikes.

Today we are celebrating International Day of Older People! Let us know your plans to mark the day.

We will be celebrating the power that social connections have in shaping our lives and communities with this year's UK theme: Building Belonging: Celebrating the power of our social connections.

Short films by or about older queer women with elop’s LGBTQ+ over 50s group Fun, Fearless Films East London dates Tuesday 23 September Tuesday 28 October Tuesday 25 November The Community Centre at Toynbee Hall, 28 Commercial St, London, E1 6LS

🎬 Today from 4pm we're at Toynbee Hall with elop’s LGBTQ+ Over 50s Group

Screening two short films by or about LBT+ women that explore queer identity, creativity and community. Followed by free hot drinks, snacks and good conversation.

Free to join, all LGBTQ+ people over 50 welcome!

Over 60,000 people watched WOFFF’s dementia-friendly films on Virgin Atlantic flights last year ✈️

We’re thrilled to be back with a brand new line-up for 2025! Find out about the films and filmmakers screening on all Virgin Atlantic flights worldwide on our website.

wofff.co.uk/2025/08/woff...

A woman in a green and white top is smiling and holding a book that's green, white, black and red and called "Pitch Invasion - my story as a Feminist on a Football Club Board". The book's by Karen Dobres

Fantastic #WEURO2025 football final last night. We screamed ourselves hoarse at the telly watching those England penalties. Then, the perfect book arrived at WOFFF HQ. Pitch Invasion by @karendobres.bsky.social - a feminist perspective of being on the Lewes Football Club Board. Bring it on ⚽

elop's LGBTQ+ Over 50s Group Fun, Fearless Films Short films all made by or about older queer women Tuesday 22 July, 4pm-6pm The Community Centre at Toynbee Hall 28 Commercial Street, London, E1 6LS Logos of Women Over 50 Film Festival, The National Lottery Community Fund and ELOP

We're popping to The Community Centre at Toynbee Hall in the East End of London to show some short films and have a coffee with anyone that wants to drop in.

We'd love to see you there, Tuesday 22 July, 4pm-6pm, no need to book. 🩵

I’m an expert on ageing. Here’s what I know about thriving in later life | Kerry Burnight I scoured longevity research on wellbeing – and the deeper I dug, the more I recognized a profound underlying pattern

4 things to help us thrive in later life, by expert on ageing Kerry Burnight.
Grow: continue to expand and explore
Connect: put time into new and existing relationships
Adapt: adjust to changing and challenging situations
Give: share yourself

You're not too late A woman runs across a bridge

You're not too late! The official window for submissions to #WOFFF25 may have closed but if you've got a short film or script that is by or about a woman over 50, you can submit TODAY with a special waiver code - request one on our FilmFreeway page. ➡️ filmfreeway.com/WomenOver50F...

elop's LGBTQ+ Over 50s Group Fun fearless films: short films all made by or about older queer women Tuesday 24 June, 4pm- 6pm, The Community Centre at Toynbee Hall, 28 Commercial Street, E1 6LS.

Four pictures of the films that will be shown: Just Say, shows a lifelike doll with a dark ominous background, Older Than What? shows two women kissing, My Mama, A Man shows the title screen of the film in the foreground a woman is in drag as a man, And On The Seventh Day, She Played Soccer shows a bright orange Nike football boot with Rainbow laces.

East Londoners! Join us this afternoon at The Community Centre at Toynbee Hall for free short films by & about older women in partnership with ELOP LGBTQ+ centre.

Thanks to @tnlcommunityfund.org.uk for funding these screenings in our community.

Just turn up! It's completely free, all welcome.

Nuala O’Sullivan (left), founder of the Women Over 50 Film Festival, and Bhavini Goyate (right), Director of Inclusion at the British Film Institute, smiling as they hold up a copy of the “Shifting Representations of Ageing in Advertising, the Media, and the Creative Industries” report. They are standing on the terrace of the House of Lords with the River Thames and the London Eye visible in the background.

WOFFF founder Nuala O'Sullivan spoke at the House of Lords at the launch of a new report on age representation in the media. We’re thrilled to see the conversation around ageism move into rooms of power.

📷 Nuala with Bhavini Goyate, Director of Inclusion, BFI.

Report: www.kcl.ac.uk/policy-insti...

elop's LGBTQ+ over 50s group, fun, fearless films short films all made by or about older queer women Tuesday 22 April, 4pm-6pm, The Community Centre at Toynbee Hall, 28 Commercial Street, London, E1 6LS

We’re thrilled to team up with elop’s LGBTQ+ Over 50s Group for an afternoon of bold and brilliant cinema with a series of short films all made by or about older queer women!

We'll be screening short films once per month in April, May, June and July, starting from 4pm today at Toynbee Hall, London.

Short Script Competition Advice

Scriptwriters! We're looking for short scripts for the WOFFF Short Script Competition.

Author, story consultant, and competition judge Helen Jacey shares her tips for what makes a memorable character on our blog.

wofff.co.uk/2025/03/scri...

Submit your short script Our short script competition for our 2025 festival is now open. Sponsored by Shedunnit and with expert advice from Founder Helen Jacey.

✨ Enter our Short Script Competition 📝 Submit by 27 April

Whether you’ve got a fresh idea that’s been bubbling away or a nearly-there concept, now’s your chance to submit your work and be part of WOFFF’s celebration of stories by and about older women.

More here: filmfreeway.com/WomenOver50F...

A film screening at Fabrica, text reads All the Beauty and the Bloodshed A Fresh Perspectives Screening 20 March 2025 The photograph is of two women in a bathroom, one looking in the mirror seemingly applying mascara, the other looking at the camera.

Tonight at Fabrica in #Brighton a WOFFF24 short film Safe (dir. Debbie Howard) will be screened alongside All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, a powerful documentary that immerses viewers into the life of artist and activist Nan Goldin.

6pm tonight, tickets ➡️ fabrica.org.uk/events/all-t...

Comedy shorts wanted Pie chart showing percentage of submissions to WOFFF25 so far Drama 32.9% Documentary 27.3% Experimental 13% Student 9.3% Animation 9.9% Comedy 7.5%

Drama & documentary are leading WOFFF25 submissions so far, but we want more comedy! This is our 1st year with a dedicated comedy category, so help us spread the word.

You have until 27 April to submit films (up to 12 mins) featuring or made by women over 50.

filmfreeway.com/WomenOver50F...

Top rate festival January, Women Over 50 film Festival Top 100 Best Reviewed Festivals

We're definitely feeling the love this Valentine's Day! 🧡

WOFFF is one of FilmFreeway’s Top 100 Best Reviewed Festivals for January! Based on user reviews, we rank in the top 1% of over 14,000 festivals worldwide.

Huge thanks to everyone who reviewed us! 🎬✨

Our theme is LIGHT and we're showing these short films:

📽️ Crowd | Eszter Marsalko & Wils Wilson

📽️ Dead Air | Ronja Ehlers, Inês Filipa Palma Martins, Melissa Fabienne Klein & Lucía Artiles De Urioste

📽️ Trinidad Remains | Karen Martinez

Good Shepherd Studios
15A Davies Lane
Leytonstone
E11 3DR

1) people doing at-seat yoga 2) a screen with an image of a woman and baby projected onto it

We're back at Good Shepherd Studios on Thur 7th February with yoga with Jess Green and short films with #WOFFF

Gentle at-seat yoga: 2:00PM
Coffee: 3:00PM
Films and chat: 3:30 - 4:30PM

It's Free! Join us. We'd love to see you💚

@beccadt.bsky.social

@tnlcomfund.bsky.social

Loneliness or villainy? Loneliness or villainy? Analysis of the top-performing films and TV shows from 2010-2020 found that older characters are pigeonholed into a narrow set of storylines, often being portrayed as lonely or frail or bitter and villainous.

Research shows top films mostly portray older characters as:
💔 Lonely
🩺 Frail
😡 Bitter or villainous

We're so much more! Bold, funny, caring, adventurous—only sometimes villainous! Since 2015, WOFFF has celebrated the fun and fearless stories of women over 50. Thanks for being with us. ✨

Promotional image for early bird submissions to the Women Over 50 Film Festival, featuring a woman lying on her side in bed, with her arm outstretched, looking into the distance, lost in thought, it's a still from Crave by director Lois Norman. Overlaid text announcing the deadline for early bird submissions is January 12, 2025, on FilmFreeway. Text next to the FilmFreeway Gold logo reads: Exclusive discounts on submissions for FilmFreeway Gold Members

Submissions for WOFFF25 are open! 🚨 Early Bird deadline: Sunday 12 Jan.

Animation, comedy, documentaries, drama and experimental shorts that feature a woman over 50 in front of or behind the camera.

Submit via FilmFreeway – Gold Members get exclusive discounts!

filmfreeway.com/WomenOver50F...

Ha! Brilliant and enraging. You'll enjoy this @wofff.bsky.social

Wishing you all a fun, fearless and real 2025! Happy New Year everyone.

We're hoping this year brings us as many wonderful experiences as 2024. 🧡

It's been two months since #WOFFF24 was at Depot Cinema. We were joined by filmmakers, film fans and friends of WOFFF from all around the world. We can't wait to do it all again next year!

wofff.co.uk/2024/11/woff...

We've opened submissions for #WOFFF25 with a brand new category for Comedy! 🎭

We're looking for films by or about women over 50 from filmmakers of all ages, genders and experiences in the categories of Animation, Comedy, Documentary, Drama & Experimental

Read more: bit.ly/3rk2HTi

Remember! Vote in the Audience Choice Award

Remember! If you've joined in with #WOFFF24 Online this year, there are just 5 days left to vote for your favourite film in the Audience Choice Award. Log in to your Eventive account now to vote! 🗳️

YouTube video by Women Over 50 Film Festival (WOFFF) WOFFF 2024 Highlights

Ten years of Women Over 50 Film Festival! We had a fantastic time at Depot cinema, Lewes, for the 10th edition of our Festival, with special guest (and national treasure 💎) Thelma Barlow, plus filmmakers and film fans from all around the world.

👀 Highlights reel www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-1J...

🚨 FLASH SALE! 55 FILMS FOR £10 🧡

Get a Festival Pass for just £10. It gives you access to 55 short films by & about women over 50 from international, award-winning filmmakers, with 21 days to watch.

Click the link to get your £10 Festival Pass & start watching.

wofff24.eventive.org/passes/buy

WOFFF presents Hot Topic: The Menopause / The Garden Cinema From first periods to life after menopause, the Women Over 50 Film Festival's got you covered. Join WOFFF and friends for an evening of education, insights and laughter with animations, dramas, docume...

To mark World Menopause Day, we're screening 6 bloody brilliant short films in London's Garden Cinema on Sunday 20th October at 5PM.

From first periods to life after menopause, we've got you covered 😊

Plus Q&A with Dr Deborah Jermyn & filmmakers.

www.thegardencinema.co.uk/film/wofff-p...

Best Student Film 7 SEPT - 7 OCT WOFFF24 ONLINE Festival Formula

You've one week left to grab your ticket to WOFFF24 Online and catch all our award-winning films as chosen by the WOFFF judges this year, including our winning student films supported by Festival Formula.

See them all here 👉🏼 wofff24.eventive.org/films?filter...

The lovely - and sustainable! 💚 - Depot cinema in Lewes is all set to welcome #WOFFF24 tomorrow. Can't wait! So proud to have been involved with the festival for 10 years, and this year will be the best yet!

Profile picture of actor Greta Scacchi smiling warmly, displayed in a social media frame with like and comment icons. The Women Over 50 Film Festiva logo is in the bottom right corner.

We're delighted to announce that Emmy-award-winning actor Greta Scacchi will open the 10th edition of our Women Over 50 Film Festival at Depot, Lewes, this Saturday.

Join us at the cinema for a day of short films by and about women over 50: bit.ly/3Llewzt