Women's Histories

Programming inspiration for our UK-wide screen heritage season

Published: 06 Feb 2019

Get the latest updates on our season celebrating women within the UK's screen heritage collections.


With an upcoming deadline looming, a key programming date on the horizon and a host of exciting events coming to audiences in the next few weeks, we're revisiting Changing Times: Women's Histories to highlight the latest developments in our nationwide season celebrating the UK's screen heritage.
First up: the deadlines. Proposals for our Engagement Fund close on 1 March 2019, giving you less than a month to let us know about your project inspired by the theme of Women's Histories. Once the Engagement Fund has closed, you'll still be able to get involved with the season through our Film Menu: a diverse selection of titles curated to highlight the work of underseen British female filmmakers and to illustrate the number of ways of exploring our theme. Film Menu titles can be screened as one-off events or together as a ready-made programme - bookings close on 1 April 2019.
International Women's Day is another key date in the Women's Histories schedule - taking place, as ever, on 8 March. This year's theme of #BalanceforBetter states the case for building a gender-balanced world and celebrates the benefits of balance in our social, cultural, political and economic lives. It's the perfect opportunity to present a programme of films that embraces gender-balance by showcasing under-appreciated female filmmakers and spotlighting forgotten women's histories.

Get inspired



Your imagination is the limit with the Engagement Fund, and we're excited to be supporting projects that are interpreting the season's theme in various ways and delivering events in a variety of formats - from virtual reality experiences to presentations from expert speakers to community cinema screenings. Take a look at some of the upcoming Women's Histories highlights below.
Live Cinema UK are offering audiences at Glasgow Film Festival (20 Feb - 3 March) something new with their presentation of Virtually Together: Scottish Women on Film 360. Visitors to the Buchanan Galleries will be invited to step inside an immersive dome where they'll be surrounded by 360 degree visuals from the Scottish Screen Archive, showing the real women of Scotland on film through the ages.
Hippodrome Silent Film Festival 2019 (20-24 March) preamble their Closing Night screening of Hindle Wakes with an illustrated lecture from silent film expert Dr Lawrence Napper. Drawing on footage from a number of UK screen heritage collections, 'Kitty the Telephone Girl' and working women in early cinema will explore the themes of Hindle Wakes and contemporary British titles that portrayed independent working women and showcased their expanded opportunities outside of traditional domestic roles.
Glasgow Short Film Festival 2019 (13-17 March) are also getting involved with Women's Histories through a series of screenings marking 20 years since the end of First Reels, the first of the short film production schemes introduced by the Scottish Film Council in partnership with Scottish Television. Over a third of the commissioned films were directed by women and the festival's showcase of a selection of these works will mark the first time many of them have returned to the screen since their initial release.

Get involved



Members from across the BFI Film Audience Network are invited to get involved with Women's Histories via the Engagement Fund, the Film Menu, or both.
Funding of £500 - £15,000 is available to support a wide range of projects through the Engagement Fund, including one-off events, full film programmes and larger-scale commissions.
Five titles are available to book at reduced rental rates through the Film Menu, with funding of £50 - £500 also available to enhance screenings with things like guest speakers, bespoke marketing materials and accompanying shorts.

Visit the Changing Times homepage for more information