Women Over 50 Film Festival at HOME

Women Over 50 Film Festival (WOFFF) champions and showcases the work of older women on screen and behind the camera, challenging the ageism and sexism many women face in the film industry and in many other areas of life too.

This August, HOME will screen WOFFF’s Best of the Fest programme, and Queer We Are, which each showcase a dazzling display of the work of older women in front of and behind the camera with international, independent, documentary, animation, drama and experimental short films.

On Wednesday 9th August…

Older women from Stockport to Amsterdam have had enough of biting their tongues. They’re standing up and speaking out – about grief, about long-held secrets, about a man up a ladder who thinks he’s the king.

This screening will be followed by a Q&A with actress Elizabeth Rider (The Outing) and documentary subject, Jayne Toulson-Burke (We are here but we are lost), chaired by festival curator Nuala O’Sullivan

Short films screening in this programme:

Split / Dir Clare Holman

Angela and Paul meet in an almost-empty bungalow. These two strangers share their stories, but something doesn’t quite add up. Who can you trust when the past has been stripped away?

AI and I / Dir Cecelia Condit

A woman interrogates her AI device as she walks through the woods, dragging electrical cords behind her. As humans we find comfort in nature and in technology, but it’s complicated. Our very survival may depend on how we manage both. A playful film examining the nature of consciousness.

Housemaid #2 / Dir Roxanne Stam

When 52-year-old Nora plays her supporting role for the umpteenth performance and has to endure the toxic behaviour of the theatre company and the bullying of the lead male actor again, she decides to take matters into her own hands.

The Outing / Dir Joanne Mitchell

The harrowing story of a woman grappling with a dark family secret, based on one of the most notorious crimes in Britain’s history. In the 1970s in the North East of England, Nellie meets Frank on a trip to the seaside and unexpectedly makes a connection. But even away from home, she can’t escape the shame that surrounds her.

We are here but we are lost / Dirs Sally Patterson, Joe Baxter

Jayne’s son Bob died suddenly from Dengue Fever while he was backpacking around Southeast Asia. As part of her grieving process, Jayne retraces Bob’s journey across Vietnam and Thailand, staying in every hostel he slept in, experiencing the sites he saw, and meeting the people he had befriended along the way. A story of grief, motherhood and memorial.

On Saturday 19th August…

Stories of a sweet Indian dessert, a long-forgotten box of super-8 movies and the final day’s work on a building site come together in this joyous selection of LGBTQIA+ short films from round the world and round the corner.

Films screening in this programme are:

Jazmin / Dir Nicole Sullivan

Jazmin Theodora is a local legend and Tarot reader in Nimbin, a village in New South Wales, Australia. Jazmin uses her psychic abilities to help people get in touch with who they are. A story about being yourself, owning who you are – and being proud of it.

Topping Out / Dir Kerry Fox

As two scaffolders scale a London high-rise, their banter and wordplay rapidly descend into distrust. Desires and secrets are exposed — will they turn deadly at this height?

Just Say / Dirs Lucretia Knapp, Lynne Yamamoto

An almost-silent film created in COVID isolation, this is a meditation on love and the inevitability of loss.

Halwa / Dirs Gayatri Bajpai, Nirav Bhakta

Sujata Chopra connects with an old friend on Facebook. As she prepares a meal for her husband in the kitchen, memories bubble to the surface.

snails / Dir Dorothea Braemer

Two women with enormous papier mâché heads gently navigate their way through a grassy field under a summer sky. Someone, just out of reach, instructs them on how to stand and where to look. The two women talk of dreams and snails. A mother and daughter connect.

She Is Juiced: Slice Four – Sarah Jane Moon / Dir Lois Norman

A portrait of the queer portraiture of New Zealand/British artist Sarah Jane Moon. Sarah uses her brush to bring London’s queer community into the limelight and onto the canvas.

Looking for Barbara / Dir Helen Kilbride

A filmmaker’s personal archive in the form of Super 8 footage from the 1990s. Explore queer personal history with the kind of “behind-the-scenes” treasures usually found in boxes in attics, garages and cupboards