NFCT Narrative Greenhouse Women Program
for the Development of Feature-Length Films by Female Filmmakers

We are happy to report that the first Narrative Greenhouse Women Program, in collaboration with the Leir Foundation and Mifal Hapayis, ended in a festive pitching forum that took place on November 28, 2019, at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. During the event, the participating filmmakers presented their film projects to a panel made up of Israeli film executives: Ms. Lisa Shiloach-Uzrad (The Israel Film Fund), Ms. Sharon Shamir (The Gesher Multicultural Film Fund), Mr. Yoav Abramovich (the Rabinovich Film Fund), Ms. Adi Ezroni (Keshet International), Ms. Mor Eldar (YES TV), Mr. Roee Reshef-Maliach (Mifal Hapayis), Mr. Ron Goldman (NFCT).

Each filmmaker presented her project orally and then screened a sample scene – shot and edited in the framework of the program. Through these scenes, the filmmakers were able to showcase to the panel members and to the audience a glimpse into the world they are imagining, their visual concept and protagonists and thus strengthen the story and their vision conveyed through the oral pitch.

The event has already led to some potential cooperation between several filmmakers and producers, who were present during the pitching forum and there has been interest from some of the broadcasters present as well.

Over the past year, the ten filmmakers selected to the program developed film projects on a wide array of themes such as motherhood, mother-daughter relationships, lesbian relationships, grief, feminism in the Ultra-Orthodox society, female sexuality, the sanctity of the Jewish genes and more.

After the fourth and final seminar, the program’s team, led by Artistic Director Ms. Michal Aviad and program mentors Lior Nesher, Suha Arraf and Efrat Korem, continued to support the participants’ work – shooting and editing their scenes and preparing for the pitching forum.

The NFCT provided modest grants for the shooting phase and provided post-production assistance – film editors, editing rooms and sound editing services. The wonderful scenes produced through the program will play a significant part in the continued development process of each filmmaker, moving forward.

Prior to the event, the filmmakers participated in a pitching workshop, led by veteran Israeli producer and, until recently, Head of the Israel Film Fund Mr. Katriel Schory. The filmmakers pitched their projects to Schory and screened their sample scenes and he provided in depth feedback, which the filmmakers used to hone their final presentations.

The pitching forum impressed everyone who attended and everyone agreed it was a unique event and that the high standards the NFCT posed made for sweeping presentations and the overall sense there are nine wonderful projects in the making. People also mentioned the powerful effect hearing such important stories from a feminist and female point of view had on them.

We wish the filmmakers continued fruitful work on their important projects, and wholeheartedly thank our partners and supporters for enabling this wonderful program to exist!

The second program cycle will commence in early 2020 and we are proud to announce our newest partners – the Israel Film Fund – that will be joining forces with us to support the next cohort.

The Greenhouse Women Staff, NFCT