Women in Film: Changemakers of Film and Screen

Book Tickets

Monday 12 May

Venue

Sheldonian Theatre, Broad Street, Oxford, OX1 3AZ

Tickets

Free to attend, but booking is required.

Online ticket sales will close 3 hours before the event. There may be a limited number of tickets available on the door on a first come, first served basis.

Accessibility

Wheelchair Access

Performances

1pm (120 minutes)

Please arrive 15 minutes before the start time

Doors Open: 12.30pm

An afternoon of talks and conversations from world-leading practitioners and industry professionals, including actors, film producers, casting directors, executives and researchers

Celebrate how women are shaping change and progress in the film industry, and how perceptions of the roles women and those with protected characteristics inhabit, both on and off screen, are changing.

The afternoon will draw on the ground-breaking research from University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, which is focused on creating impactful solutions for systemic change.

Hear from an inspiring lineup of industry leaders across talks and conversations, including a panel discussion with French-British actor and producer Oriane Pick (The Date), twice Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning producer Finola Dwyer (Brooklyn, An Education), renowned Casting Director Lucy Bevan (Barbie, The Batman), chaired by TV and Radio Broadcaster Neev Spencer.

Dr. Stacy L. Smith, Founder of the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, will be in conversation with Bridgerton star Simone Ashley, who most recently starred in Picture This (Amazon Prime), following an interview with BIFA award-winning actor Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who recently led the second season of Apple TV+’s Surface.

Produced by the Cultural Programme at the University of Oxford in partnership with Dr Stacy L. Smith, The University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and Ghetto Film School

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About Women in Film

Produced by the Cultural Programme at the University of Oxford in partnership with Dr Stacy L. Smith, The University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and Ghetto Film School.

Women in Film is a day of screenings, talks and conversations celebrating the incredible women working in the film industry – from bold, new emerging voices to the industry leaders shaping cinema today. Explore how the perception and representation of women and gender minorities, both on and off screen, is changing and what more can be done.

Experience new work by filmmakers in exclusive screenings. Go behind the scenes with filmmakers as they break down their creative process. Follow conversations and hear about research that inspires, challenges and sparks change in the industry. Whether you’re here to learn, to connect, or simply to be moved by the future of filmmaking and gender equality, you’ll leave with new perspectives, fresh inspiration, and great connections.

All welcome, come as you are.

Plan your visit

Address

Sheldonian Theatre, Broad Street, Oxford, OX1 3AZ

Core Visitor Information

The Sheldonian Theatre is located in Oxford city centre on Broad Street, OX1 3AZ. It is approximately a 10-minute walk from Gloucester Green bus station and a 15-minute walk from Oxford railway station

Opening Times

Full opening information here

Accessibility

Please take a read of our accessibility guide.

Speakers

Simone Ashley

Actor

Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Actor

Dr Stacy L. Smith

Founder, USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative

Stacy L. Smith, Ph.D. is the foremost disrupter of inequality in the entertainment industry and a recipient of the 2025 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award. Dr. Smith is the Founder of the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative (AII), the leading global think tank studying inequality in entertainment. Her groundbreaking research and solutions span film, TV, and digital platforms, the music business, and economic analyses investigating the relationship between inclusion and financial performance. She has authored over 150 reports, papers, and book chapters and is routinely consulted as an expert on entertainment. Dr. Smith served on the Recording Academy Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion following the release of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative’s inaugural study on the music industry and is Founding Board Member of She Is The Music, and the TIME’S UP Global Leadership Board. LA Weekly named Dr. Smith the most influential person in Los Angeles in 2015. In 2019, the Hollywood Reporter named her one of 50 Agents of Change, and in 2021 Billboard listed Dr. Smith as an industry Change Agent.

annenberg.usc.edu/research/aii

Neev Spencer

TV and Radio Broadcaster

With a daily radio show on Kiss FM, Neev commands a daily audience of 1.5 million in her 8th year at the station. From interviewing the likes of Pink, Rihanna, 1D, David Guetta and even David Cameron to name just a few, Neev is well know for her down to earth attitude and larger than life personality. Off air, she has headlined in Ibiza for the last three years and DJ’s every week in the UK’s coolest spots and super clubs. Neev is also the official DJ for Nike Women and is booked frequently to DJ for brands such as River Island, London Fashion Week, Red Bull, Grazia magazine and Nokia.

As well as her show, DJ gigs and voiceover work, Neev is kept busy by her role as ambassador for several charities. She works with Dance4Life, Mencap, Women of the Future, and The Princes Trust. In 2009 Neev was named Young Achiever of the Year at the Asian Women of Achievement Awards, leading to an invitation to Buckingham Palace.

Lucy Bevan

Casting Director

Lucy Bevan is a multi-award winning Casting Director whose credits include; ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy’, ‘Barbie‘, ‘The Batman’, ‘Belfast’, Apple TV’s ‘Masters of the Air’ and the upcoming HBO ‘Harry Potter’ series. She has worked with established directors including frequent collaborator Kenneth Branagh, Greta Gerwig and Steven Spielberg.  

Finola Dwyer

Producer

Finola Dwyer ONZM is a twice Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning producer for BROOKLYN and AN EDUCATION. She entered the industry as a film editor in her native NZ before turning to producing. Her personal life took her to London, and her producing credits include Iain Softley’s BAFTA-winning debut BACKBEAT, on the early days of The Beatles, with a formidable soundtrack by über music producer Don Was; Stephan Elliott’s cult favorite WELCOME TO WOOP WOOP, which played in competition at Cannes; Chris Menges’ THE LOST SON; Sandra Goldbacher’s award-winning ME WITHOUT YOU, starring Michelle Williams, Anna Friel, and Trudie Styler; Antonia Bird’s Emmy-nominated THE HAMBURG CELL; and Bharat Nalluri’s Golden Globe- and BAFTA-winning TSUNAMI: THE AFTERMATH, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Toni Collette, Sophie Okonedo, and Tim Roth.

She went on to produce the multi-Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning AN EDUCATION, which featured a breakout performance by Carey Mulligan. This was followed by Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut and box office hit, QUARTET, with a stellar cast led by Maggie Smith, and A LONG WAY DOWN, starring Pierce Brosnan, Toni Collette, and Aaron Paul. Finola received her second Oscar nomination for the three-time Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning BROOKLYN, starring Saoirse Ronan. Ritesh Batra’s OUR SOULS AT NIGHT for Netflix followed, starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda, premiering at the Venice Film Festival.

Finola produced Kristin Scott Thomas’ directorial debut, MY MOTHER’S WEDDING, starring Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller, Emily Beecham, and Scott Thomas, and most recently, JOY, the story of IVF, starring Thomasin McKenzie and Bill Nighy, which premiered at the London Film Festival before going straight to No. 1 on Netflix.

Finola is a former Chair of the BAFTA Film Committee and a BAFTA Board member and trustee. She is a member of AMPAS and has served on the Academy’s Producers Branch Executive Committee.

Oriane Pick

Actor and Producer

Candid Broads is a BAFTA-nominated production company founded in 2020 by French-British producer Oriane Pick. The company aims to revolutionise the industry by bringing unspoken truths from underrepresented communities to the forefront. Shortly after its inception, Development Producer Anais Ferrato joined the team, furthering Candid Broads’ commitment to ensuring diverse female representation both in front of and behind the camera. In 2024, Pick was shortlisted as one of the 3 Finalists of Film London Lodestars in the Producer category and won Business Woman of the Year at the SME Awards.

Upcoming features from Candid Broads include the highly anticipated TO THE GIRL I ONCE KNEW, starring Calvin Demba, recognised as a Screen Star of Tomorrow; Folk Horror BLACK SAMPHIRE starring Cathy Tyson and Stephen Fry, in co-production with Silicon Gothic. The slate also includes ARTHUR & CLARA starring CJ Beckford and BAFTA Nominee Mirren Mack, the debut feature by Kieran Bourne; and amongst other projects, BELLE, a feature documentary exploring intergenerational trauma and women’s rights (currently in post-production).

In the short film arena, Candid Broads is working with Warner Brothers Discovery on the groundbreaking documentary FATIMA’S GOAL (WIP title), a story hailed by The Guardian as “a modern-day Schindler’s List” in 2021; SWIM SISTAS documentary about the swimming journeys of three very different Black girls/women as barriers are broken down in the water both films shot in March 2025; and the new comedy THE CONTRACEPTION FAIR, featuring Screen Star of Tomorrow Ronke Adekoluejo and DERRY GIRLS Kathy Kiera Clarke, shooting in April 2025. Their recent success, THE DATE earned acclaim as a 2024 BAFTA Cymru Breakthrough Nominee and won the Best Film Award at BIFA-qualifying Exit6 Film Festival. It has been screened at prestigious festivals, including the BFI and Aesthetica, and is now in early development for a feature-length adaptation with Olivier-nominated director Amy Hodge and BAFTA-nominated writer Bethan Marlow.