Last year, a survey by Directors UK found that of 2,500 films made in the UK over the past ten years, only 13 per cent were directed by women. On average, female directors will direct fewer films in their career and are less likely to receive a second, third or fourth directing job.

In other words, numbers are low for women directors in general but they get even lower as women age. Women Over 50 Film Festival (WOFFF) is an international film festival aiming to redress the age and gender imbalance older women face in the film industry.

WOFFF is a celebration of women over 50 in front of and behind the camera, and this September is launching its third annual weekend of films and activities for older women and their friends. With the festival taking place on September 16 and 17 in Brighton, organisers are putting out the final call for short film submissions.

WOFFF has received over 90 entries from around the world so far and aims to top last year’s 105 film submissions. July 31 is the final day entries for the 2017 Women Over 50 Film Festival can be submitted.

Festival director Nuala O’Sullivan said: “One of our goals this year is to reach a wider, even more diverse audience. We want to raise awareness of our film festival – how it deals with age and gender issues, as well as how it tackles older people’s social isolation in Brighton, the UK and beyond. The rules for submitting a film to the festival are simple.

Each film must: have a woman over 50 at the heart of it on screen or have a woman over 50 in the core creative team (writer, director or producer), be no more than 20 minutes in length for drama, animation and experimental, or no more than 30 minutes for documentary, be in English or have English subtitles.

If you are or someone you know is female and over 50 and would like to submit an entry on or before July 31, go to filmfreeway.com/festival/WomenOver50 FilmFestival