For Film's Sake (FFS), formerly World of Women’s Cinema (WOW) Film Festival and known as the WOW Film Festival, is a film festival showcasing films made by women that ran in Sydney,

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, Australia. It has been on hiatus since the 23rd edition in 2019.

History

The WOW Film Festival was organised by Women in Film and Television (WIFT) NSW, from around 1996. Georgia Wallace-Crabbe was director of the festival in the 1990s. Initially restricted to

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

, the festival's aims were to promote and recognise through awards "the talents of women

directors Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

producers Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

, writers, editors and cinematographers in the Australian film industry and internationally". In 2013, Tamara Popper was director of the 19th edition of the festival, and it took place to coincide with International Women's Day, in locations including

Dendy Cinemas Dendy Cinema Pty Limited is an Australian cinema chain. Dendy operates in Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney and the Gold Coast. Its main competitors are Hoyts, Village, Event, Wallis Cinemas, Palace Cinemas and Reading. It is a subsidiary of Icon ...

and AFTRS. The festival's patron in 2014 was

Rachel Griffiths Rachel Anne Griffiths (born in 1968) is an Australian actress. Raised primarily in Melbourne, she began her acting career appearing on the Australian series ''Secrets'' before being cast in a supporting role in the comedy ''Muriel's Wedding'' ...

. In 2016, the 21st edition of the festival was advertised as "screening in Sydney Australia, travelling to national and overseas locations". It was scheduled to run in Sydney from 28 April to 1 May 2016, and then tour Australia from May 2016 to May 2017, and included premieres of four international

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

s. However the 2016 festival was mounted under its new name For Film's Sake (FFS), with Gillian Armstrong as patron and with a digital remastered version of her acclaimed 1979 film ''

My Brilliant Career ''My Brilliant Career'' is a 1901 novel written by Miles Franklin. It is the first of many novels by Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin (1879–1954), one of the major Australian writers of her time. It was written while she was still a teenager, ...

'' screening on the opening night. The entries included both short and feature films. The film charity For Film's Sake was founded by media commentator Sophie Mathisen. In 2017 FFS was accredited by AACTA, and was supported by

Screen Australia Screen Australia is the Australian Federal Government's key funding body for the Australian screen production industry, created under the ''Screen Australia Act 2008''. From 1 July 2008 Screen Australia took over the functions of its predecess ...

Create NSW Create NSW is a government agency of the Government of New South Wales, that falls within the Enterprise, Investment and Trade cluster. The agency was created on 1 April 2017 from an amalgamation of Arts NSW (ANSW) and Screen NSW. Create NSW is ...

and the

City of Sydney The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, th ...

. From From 2016 to 2018 FFS was the only AACTA-accredited female film festival in Australia. The 23rd edition, as FFS, was hosted by

Event Cinemas Greater Union Organisation Pty Ltd, trading as Event Cinemas, Greater Union, GU Film House, Moonlight Cinema and Birch Carroll & Coyle (BCC Cinemas), is the largest movie exhibitor in Australia and New Zealand, with over 140 cinema complexes c ...

and presented in partnership with

University of Technology Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although its origins are said to trace back to the 1830s, the university was founded in its current form in 1988. As of 2021 ...

and Create NSW. Its feature film award and bursary, named in honour of Australian e director

Samantha Rebillet Samantha Rebillet (8 January 1972 – 27 November 2017) was a French-born Australian film director, actress, screenwriter, producer, singer and songwriter. She had guest roles in various Australian television series and roles in several films. ...

, was awarded to Jessica M. Thompson for her debut feature, ''

The Light of the Moon ''The Light of the Moon'' is a 2017 American drama film written, directed, and edited by Jessica M. Thompson. It stars Stephanie Beatriz as Bonnie, a woman who was sexually assaulted in New York City and covers a six-week period following the ass ...

''. The festival was paused after the 2019 event after a strategic review, intending to be revived at a future date.

Awards

WOW Film Festival awards included awards for best film in several categories; best director; best writer; best cinematographer; best editor; and best

music composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called c ...

for eligible films.

References

External links

* {{official, https://forfilmssake.org/agitate/#festival
WOW Film Festival's Blog
(2008–2011) Australian film awards Annual events in Australia Film festivals in Sydney 1990s establishments in Australia