The past few weeks have shone a spotlight on racial injustices in the United States and internationally. We strongly believe that Black lives matter and we must work to right the racial inequities in our society. The momentum that spurred out of tragedy has already begun making major impacts in the political sphere and we must keep that energy moving forward in order to create meaningful change.
Our mission at Female Voices Rock is to inspire change in the industry and uplift female creators, but too often a focus on women’s voices becomes a focus on White women’s voices. We are not being true to our intentions if Black people, people of color, and other marginalized voices are not given equal space. We have been reflecting on our work and are holding ourselves accountable to ensuring diversity throughout our festival.
BIPOC and LGBTQ+ voices have been left to fight for themselves for too long. We have a platform and we intend to use it to uplift those that have been left in the background. We are committed to increasing the diversity of our programming and to that end we encourage all BIPOC and LGBTQ+ filmmakers to apply to our festival.
We understand that part of the issue is often financial, so if any filmmakers feel they are financially unable to apply, please contact us. We will provide waivers and financial assistance for your application. We want to use our platform to create space for voices that have not been heard, films that have not been seen, and to support filmmakers to the fullest of our abilities to help your stories be told.
Our hope is that this year’s festival will help build a foundation of equality and diversity for our festival and the wider industry. It is our responsibility to make change and Female Voices Rock will work to ensure that every voice is heard.
Black Voices Rock.
Trans Voices Rock.
Latinx, Indigenous, and Non-Binary Voices Rock.
Female Voices Rock, and we want to hear you.
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