Women of the Sea – the panel
Celebrating the stories and fortitude of women of the sea, Women of the Sea Film Fund presented by Finisterre is about changing the narrative in surfing in filmmaking // Image: Alexander Baxter x Finisterre
What does it take to make a film? It takes grit, determination, focus, creativity, passion, the scope to think laterally, broadly and clearly, the ability to dig deep, to believe in yourself and your ideas, it takes teamwork and humility and good humour, and time. But above all, it takes a good idea and a good story told well.
We’ve been uplifted and overwhelmed by the number, quality and scope of the pitches we’ve received from both established and emerging women filmmakers for the Women of the Sea Film Fund presented by Finisterre. It’s a true testament to the creativity and brilliant stories within our community.
The winning pitch will receive £5000 of funding to help produce their film plus a guaranteed premiere at LS/FF. To help select the winner, we’ve assembled a judging panel of brilliant and inspiring women who are leading lights in their areas of story telling and filmmaking. Our panel is comprised of surfers and Emmy award winning producers, champions of gender equality, award winning filmmakers and writers, as well as brand and platform leaders, who themselves understand just what it takes to bring a story to life, from all aspects and angles.
Women of the Sea judging panel. Lauren L. Hill is a professional surfer, writer and director who has spent the past decade exploring new waves and documenting surf cultures around the world through an eco-feminist lens. She’s also a pretty good bodysurfer… Image: Dave Rastovitch
Meet the Panel
Cassie Bennitt is a BAFTA and Emmy award winning Showrunner / Executive Producer. A gifted storyteller, with a reputation for making the impossible, possible, she is renowned for producing compelling and narrative-driven documentaries with heart for global broadcasters. From filming with remote tribes in the jungles of Papua New Guinea or bringing the behind the scenes drama of Formula 1 to the masses, to taking Pam St Clements (AKA Pat Butcher) around America to ‘investigate’ marijuana on a psychedelic bus, her career has taken her on adventures all over the world. As well as a passion for surf culture, Cassie loves riding motorbikes. She’s got two 1970’s Honda’s that she adores, even when they break down. Which happens a lot.
Rebecca Coley is an award winning filmmaker, interested in creative ways of storytelling and mixing traditional approaches. She has made a number of award-winning short narrative films, is a Berlinale Talent Lab alumni and has directed commercial content for big brands. A member of CINESISTERS, FREE THE WORK + DIRECTORS UK, Rebecca is part of the Directors UK INSPIRE mentoring scheme. Her latest documentary feature Point of Change is a cautionary tale of paradise lost told through a unique blend of previously unseen super 8 archive, contemporary interview and beautiful animation. It had its UK premiere at LS/FF where it won Best British Film and Best Documentary.
Roosa Virkkunen is the Community Manager at WaterBear: a B Corp-certified impact media platform using storytelling to entertain people into taking action. WaterBear produces and distributes impactful documentary films and other media, inviting people to engage with diverse forms of content at the intersection of environment and culture to drive tangible change across the world. At WaterBear, Roosa brings to life a commitment to community, building partnerships to produce documentaries with major global brands.
Bronwen Foster-Butler is the Chief Marketing Officer at Finisterre. She is a passionate storyteller and champion of gender equality – which she balances with her love of memes and Romantasy novels.
Lauren L. Hill is a professional surfer, writer and director who has spent the past decade exploring new waves and documenting surf cultures around the world through an eco-feminist lens. She develops projects that revolve around the power of storytelling to build community and inspire action to protect our planet. Based near Byron Bay, amongst the saltwater country of the Bundjalung nation, Lauren hosts The Waterpeople Podcast and recently authored She Surf: The Rise of Female Surfing, a celebration of the women stretching the boundaries of the sport and art of wave riding. As well as being immersed in creative endeavours, she makes spends ample time in the ocean with her family.
Demi Taylor is the Executive Producer of environmental documentary The Big Sea, Director of LS/FF and, as co-founder of Approaching Lines creative agency, has spent the last two decades bringing to life the stories that matter in print, on screen and in person. She has written best-selling books on surf and travel, and documentaries about youth culture’s pioneers. She produces events, films and happenings and works with brands, musicians and filmmakers helping them find the hook, the line, the story. She lives in a cottage in Cornwall and has a thing for surf mats and yellow surfboards.
Women of the Sea Film Fund: open to women filmmakers, the winning pitch will receive £5000 towards producing their film and a guaranteed premiere at this year’s London Surf / Film Festival.