OUR MISSION
What is it about stories? The need for them is powerful, even primal. We seek them out, again and again. They touch us, disturb us, move us, sometimes soothe us, but whatever - they make us feel.
With HBFF we aim to do just that. We have over 500 years of non-conformist history in the valley so it seems fitting that our theme is "Hope and Resistance". We will be championing the stories of those who exist in the margins, sit outside the mainstream or just plain don’t fit in. With the advent of the all too timely #metoo movement, it will not surprise many of you to know that statistics for women in film remain shockingly low. According to the BFI, in Britain in 2017 only only 4.5% of all films produced were directed by a woman. And the figures for LGBTQ, working-class and BME filmmakers and filmmakers with disabilities also remain very low.
HBFF is proud to be an F-Rated film festival. The F Rating is given to any film written by a woman, directed by a woman or featuring women in significant on-screen roles. Any film that meets all three criteria is awarded a Triple F Rating.
We are committed to BFI diversity standards and to delivering a programme of excellence, featuring international and homegrown films and unique events with industry professionals, as well as supporting and fostering local talent. And while we can't be the biggest, most glitzy festival out there, we can bring filmmakers and film lovers together in the wonderful community spirit that Hebden Bridge is famous for.
We cannot wait to bring you a weekend of exciting new films that will challenge, surprise and delight you. Come and join us on 24-26 March 2023.
You’ll be glad you did.
With HBFF we aim to do just that. We have over 500 years of non-conformist history in the valley so it seems fitting that our theme is "Hope and Resistance". We will be championing the stories of those who exist in the margins, sit outside the mainstream or just plain don’t fit in. With the advent of the all too timely #metoo movement, it will not surprise many of you to know that statistics for women in film remain shockingly low. According to the BFI, in Britain in 2017 only only 4.5% of all films produced were directed by a woman. And the figures for LGBTQ, working-class and BME filmmakers and filmmakers with disabilities also remain very low.
HBFF is proud to be an F-Rated film festival. The F Rating is given to any film written by a woman, directed by a woman or featuring women in significant on-screen roles. Any film that meets all three criteria is awarded a Triple F Rating.
We are committed to BFI diversity standards and to delivering a programme of excellence, featuring international and homegrown films and unique events with industry professionals, as well as supporting and fostering local talent. And while we can't be the biggest, most glitzy festival out there, we can bring filmmakers and film lovers together in the wonderful community spirit that Hebden Bridge is famous for.
We cannot wait to bring you a weekend of exciting new films that will challenge, surprise and delight you. Come and join us on 24-26 March 2023.
You’ll be glad you did.
WHO WE ARE
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Louise WadleyLOUISE WADLEY is the Festival Director. Louise was a long time board member of the MardiGras Film Festival, and has served as a jurist for a number of film festivals, including Women in Film and Television (Australia). Louise graduated from the National Film and Television School in the UK and was a semi-finalist in The Academy Nicholl’s Scriptwriting competition and shortlisted for the Sundance Script Lab. Her debut feature All About E was released in 2016. Frustrated by the lack of roles for women she formed Girls’ Own Pictures with her partner Jay Rutovitz to develop and produce original stories with distinctive and exciting female lead characters.
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Jay RutovitzJAY RUTOVITZ is the Festival General Manager. She is a director of Girls’ Own Pictures. Jay has experience of managing large budgets in the energy sector. Jay has also worked as a producer, a gaffer, and a 2nd assistant director, alongside her career in renewable energy. She produced All About E (2015), a low budget narrative feature set in Sydney and the outback. Jay oversaw one of Australia’s most successful crowd funding projects for feature films, raising over $93,000 for All About E in a 2013 Pozible campaign, and raised $220,000 in private investment.
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OUR BOARD
MARY AGNES KRELLMary is an artist, a Professor of Creative Media and a leader. She has been producing events around the world for more than two decades. She is a Director of Education for Media, Film & Music in the school of Media, Arts and Humanities at the University of Sussex. Mary has been a board member for arts and community organisations in the UK and the USA. She is also the Producer and Director of the multi-award-winning Grand Northern Ukulele Festival (GNUF), a group in receipt of a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, “the MBE for voluntary groups".
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DONNA SIDONIO"I have lived in the Upper Calder Valley for almost 30 years and love being part of this community. I worked for many years in the public sector before moving on to new opportunities, including volunteering. My lifelong passion for cinema dates from my very first cinema outing at the age of five, watching “Swiss Family Robinson” at the West Norwood Regal. I am delighted to be actively supporting the Hebden Bridge Film Festival. I am also on the Friends of Hebden Bridge Picture House Committee."
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