WVN Film Festival.
A women’s rights documentary film festival for emerging filmmakers.
Why Attend?
Exclusive Access – Award-winning films advocating for women’s rights. Live Discussions – Engage with filmmakers & industry leaders. Virtual & On-Demand – Watch anywhere, anytime.
2025 Theme – Women: In All Their Shapes & Forms.
Across time and around the world, women and girls have continuously adapted, showing resilience, creativity, and power. This year’s films highlight the strength and defiance that unlocks their potential, emphasizing the importance of collective support to overcome systemic challenges.
These stories ask: As new opportunities bring new challenges, are we showing up for women and girls? If not, what collective action is needed today?
Get Your Pass.
General Admission ($25) – Weekly curated film selections. VIP Pass ($100) – Full on-demand access + all events (Mar 26 – Apr 30)
Early Bird Pricing Ends March 12, 2025
Go VIP for the Ultimate Festival Experience!
Key Events (Virtual – PST Timezone).
Mar 26 – Festival Kickoff (YouTube Live)
Apr 2 – Keeping Violence Off the Set – Panel with Esmé Bianco (Game of Thrones)
Apr 9 – Jury Discussion: Behind the Theme
Apr 25 – Awards Ceremony & Women Making Waves Keynote
Spotlight: Esmé Bianco – Safe Sets Initiative.
A powerful discussion on creating safer film environments.
Join Women’s Voices Now and Esmé Bianco, Founder of the Visionary Survivor Creative Fund, as they discuss the importance of safer sets and the role survivors play in shaping this new paradigm. Esmé, known for her roles in Game of Thrones, The Magicians, and Supergirl, is a fierce advocate for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Impact Since 2011:
1,382 films | 
97+ countries | 
Millions of viewers | 
$135K awarded
Women Making Waves Award.
Presented annually at the WVN Film Festival, this award celebrates women using their voices to drive real change:
Honoring changemakers in gender equality. 2025 Recipient Announced April 15
Meet Previous Awardees
Act Now!
Early Bird Pricing Ends March 12, 2025 VIP Passes Selling Fast! (At a discounted rate)
“As women, we bend, we stretch, and we rise—no matter the circumstances. This year’s Women Voices Now Film Festival captures the essence of our resilience, power, and celebrates the infinite ways women shape the world. I’m so excited to be part of this incredible event—don’t miss your chance to be inspired. Get your tickets today!” – Tierra Jones, Actress/Award winning Producer
“While there is no better time in human history to be a woman or a girl than now, we are very far from reaching gender parity. With a rising sentiment that ‘women’s rights have gone far enough’, now is also the time to be clear that the opposite is true. Our festival selection counters this chilling and concerning sentiment.”
Awards.
*Leslie J. Sacks Grand Prize – Best Documentary Feature – $3,500
Best Documentary Short – $2,000
Lantos Prize for Best Human Rights Documentary – $2,000
Best Emerging Filmmaker – Documentary Feature – $1,500
Best Emerging Filmmaker – Documentary Short – $1,000
Best Creative Feature Documentary – $1,500
Best Creative Short Documentary – $1,000
Best Student Documentary Short – $500
*Our grand prize winner is also invited to a live screening and Q&A of their film in Los Angeles.
The Celluloid Ceiling.
Women filmmakers are out there, so why is women-produced content still underrepresented?
- In the United States, women face difficulty in fundraising and attracting interest in films about women and individuals from underrepresented groups
- In Europe, only 16% of available funding goes to films directed by women.
- Stereotypes about women's skills and ambition, and male-dominated networks remain a powerful barrier to entry.
Women Filmmakers: Shattering That Ceiling.
Our independent film festival challenges gender-based stereotypes both on and off the screen. To support this vision, our online film festival:
- We provide a platform for emerging filmmakers telling essential, authentic stories.
- We support our filmmakers with cash prizes and visibility.
- We connect our filmmakers with each other and with film industry professionals.
Our Approach.
- We seek films that address or shine light upon issues affecting women and/or girls through a social-change lens.
- We accept documentary films in the short, feature, and youth categories; and award $10,000 in cash prizes each year.
- We receive submissions from August through November, and celebrate the winners and the film festival in March during Women's History Month.
“The Women’s Voices Now Film Festival provides a rare and special platform for unheard voices and issues, and is a creative boon for independent women filmmakers around the world.”
– Dr. Meena Longjam, Filmmaker
Empowering People, Inspiring Social Change.
Women’s Voices Now defines social change as a shift in the status quo, an expansion of justice, that is an outcome of individuals and groups who come together as a collective.
It requires the active participation of individuals and civil society (organizations) that work collaboratively to raise public awareness, shift cultural and media narratives, and demand remedy to social problems that hinder girls and women from realizing their full potential.
The documentaries we seek in our film festival serve to humanize, simplify, and embody complex issues, concepts, and ideas, so as to engage audiences in such a way that moves them from empathy to action.
