For the second year, we’re excited to be leading a delegation of filmmakers to Berlinale and the European Film Market, thanks to a partnership with EFM’s Inclusion initiative. And for the first time, we’ll be participating in Power to Transform! - the Global Forum for Women Film Organizations at Berlinale.
L-R Top Row: Amit Kaur, Sarudzayi Marufu, Noemie Nakai
L-R Bottom Row: Maja Bodenstein, Natalie Hewit, and Melanie Iredale
[RTF x Berlinale x EFM logos]
In Berlin from 15 February, as part of the delegation will be:
Amit Kaur (She/her) Writer/Director
Maja Bodenstein (She/her) Writer
Natalie Hewit (She/her) Director/Producer
Noemie Nakai (She/her) Writer/Director
Sarudzayi Marufu (She/her) Producer
Seemab Gul (She/her) Writer/Director/Producer
Also attending Berlinale / EFM, will be our director Melanie Iredale (she/her).
Filmmakers have been selected from our current (8th) Filmonomics cohort – our flagship training programme for first time feature writers/directors/producers of marginalised genders from across the UK – a programme funded by ScreenSkills Film Skills Fund with contributions from UK film productions.
Representing Reclaim The Frame, Melanie will be speaking at the Power to Transform! global forum for women film organisations about ‘Reclaiming The Frame For Filmmakers Of All Marginalised Genders’ at Berlinale on 16 February.
On 17 February, in partnership with Women & Hollywood, the BFI Inclusion team, and Power to Transform!, we will be delivering our second roundtable addressing how women-led film film organisations across the globe can be better allies in a non-binary world, and can continue to make progress around gender equity in cinema, particularly for trans and non-binary filmmakers, film professionals and audiences. Entitled Beyond the Binary: What Does Trans Allyship Look Like?, this invite-only round table will be hosted by our Melanie Iredale, Women & Hollywood’s Melissa Silverstein and BFI Inclusion team’s Melanie Hoyes.
Festival and Market Accreditation for the delegation has been made possible thanks to a partnership with EFM’s Inclusion Initiative. Supported by Creative Europe Media, HessenFilm, the European Film Market (EFM) and the Berlinale, the EFM Market Badge Inclusion Initiative aims at creating outreach and greater pathways into a more inclusive market and film industry at large for marginalised filmmakers from across the globe.
Please meet our delegation!
Amit Kaur (She/her) Writer/Director:
Amit is an international filmmaker and director of the BFI-funded short CUPPA CHAI. Now developing her debut feature CROWN, Amit’s interdisciplinary works explore diversity. She also produces Arts Council documentaries. Her experience spans across formats from India’s earliest web series to critically acclaimed international films. Amit is the co-founder of ARInclusive - a creative studio championing D&I in the creative industry - and is on the UK Asian Film Festival board.
Maja Bodenstein (She/her) Writer:
Maja’s film script THE MANIKIN placed third on the Brit List 2023. She is developing original feature films with Joi Productions and Lammas Park, original television projects for Headline Pictures, Joi Productions and Studio21, and wrote the VR game THE PIRATE QUEEN for Singer Studios, starring and executive produced by Lucy Liu, which won the TriBeCa Immersive Storyscapes Award 2023.
Natalie Hewit (She/her) Director/Producer:
Natalie is a critically acclaimed Director and Producer whose work has been nominated for a BAFTA, a Grierson, two Broadcast Awards and has won an RTS Award. She is currently working on her first feature documentary – a film about the search for the wreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance in Antarctica, for National Geographic Documentary Films.
Noemie Nakai (She/her) Writer/Director:
Noemie is a Japanese and French writer/director. Her latest short premiered at Sundance and was acquired by The New York Times. She was selected for the Sundance / NHK lab, BAFTA Connect, Talents Tokyo and the Focus Asia market. Her feature in development is a Nicholl semifinalist and received the main award at Busan film festival’s Asian Project Market.
Sarudzayi Marufu (She/her) Producer:
A BAFTA Connect Producer, Writer, and Director with a diverse background in Theatre, Film, TV, Community Engagement, and Training and Development Programs. As the founder of Euras Films, she champions marginalised voices, creating bold, innovative narratives that resonate on a global scale. Sarudzayi's commitment to diversity and representation in storytelling is evident in her impactful works, such as the anthology "Pieces" and the upcoming feature RECIPES FOR MICA HALLIDAY.
Seemab Gul (She/her) Writer/Director/Producer:
Seemab is a screenwriter, director and producer. SANDSTORM is Seemab's recent narrative short film as a writer/director. It premiered at Venice and Sundance amongst 100+ international film festivals. It won 20 awards and is BIFA-nominated. Her half-hour documentary ZAHIDA won the Audience Award at Tasveer Film Festival and was broadcast on Al Jazeera. With some experience in documentaries, she is now focusing on writing and directing fiction films. Seemab is an alumna of Locarno Open Doors, Berlinale Talents and Venice Biennale College Cinema. She also attended La Fabrique Cinema with her feature project HAVEN OF HOPE, which is due to be her debut. This film is an international co-production between four countries. Seemab has a BA in Fine Art and an MA in Filmmaking from the London Film School.