The Female Film Club is founded by Nicole Lieberman and Liza Van Der Smissen. They met at the BFI film festival in 2017 and have worked on an award winning short film together titled ‘Neext!’. They had an 80% female crew and everyone supported each other and was collaborative. Even though there was a clear role division, there was no hierarchy on set. This same philosophy is adapted in the Female Film Club. Every filmmaker is as valid as the other and it’s all about sharing and helping each other out. During the shoot they discovered their shared passion for films told from the female gaze and decided to keep working together on a mission to champion female filmmaking. Because of this, Liza later went on completing an LLM titled: ‘Flawed Female characters in Western 21st century film.’

They came up with the Female Film Club during lockdown as means of connecting with other female filmmakers around the world. This is especially vital as all film festivals have now been cancelled. They wanted to keep networking and asked each other the question: ‘how do we come together if the whole world is in lockdown?’ what they realised was that the world is more than ever connected through the disconnection. Everyone is in the ‘same/lockdown’ boat, so let’s be each other's support network. This was the start of the Female Film Club.

Liza and Nicole believe Female indie films need to be seen. They said ‘There are so many non-English language films that don’t get the exposure they deserve outside their own territory. Now, there’s an abundance of films online and many are wondering what to watch. So let’s celebrate these beautiful, inspiring and powerful films (and the female filmmakers!) together.’ 

The Female Film Club will provide a safe space where professional female filmmakers can connect organically. Here you can find, network and stay in touch with female filmmakers you’ve met at the film festivals / events once they start again or make new connections. So no more corporate emails or too personal Instagram exchanges!

They will host events such as child friendly coffee mornings and weekly Zoom meet-ups where they will discuss the ‘film of the week’. So far they’ve looked at films like: ‘Divines, Toni Erdmann, Animals, and Capernaum’. With each film of the week, they provide in-depth knowledge with the best interviews, reviews etc on a PDF that everyone on the email list receives.

One of the members, Anna Ruben (actor/writer) said:

Liza and Nicoles’ passion for film (and in particular female led film) is infectious! They have created a safe, dynamic and creative space where female filmmakers can connect and support each other celebrating our collective bad assery. Definitely one of the highlights of my week!

The Female Film Club app will launch in the coming weeks. Nicole and Liza really hope that the Female Film Club will allow mothers’ to network and be fully involved in the industry without spending extra time and money on things like travelling, drinks, babysitters etc, which we all know can be stressful.

If you are interested to join, or get on the email list and receive the weekly film recommendation just send a quick ‘Hi’ to info@femalefilmclub.com.

Liza and Nicole would love to hear from you.