Introduction & History of WMW

　Women Make Waves Film Festival was born in 1993, when Taiwan was going through a decade of democratization and rapid change. After the lifting of Marshal Law in 1987, social forces that had long been suppressed began to break out, including feminist discourse and actions. The first half of the nineties can be defined as the years when Taiwanese people from all walks of life released a tremendous amount of energy into sensitive social issues such environmental protection, labor rights, educational reform, media reform, parliamentary reform and gender equality. This was the age of political awakening and people power.

　It is therefore no surprise that Women Make Waves Film Festival came into being with the help of female filmmakers and Women's Awakening-a pioneer women's movement organization. The "waves" these women wished to make, along with other "waves" dashing to the shores of many social movement battlegrounds, have helped shaped the greatly diverse and highly democratized society of Taiwan today.

WMWFF Reaches Out to All of Taiwan

　Since 1993, Women Make Waves Film Festival has been held every year except for 1995, when the time of the festival was moved from autumn of the previous year to spring of the following year. The festival has been international from the very beginning, presenting works by Taiwanese women filmmakers and inviting renowned women filmmakers from abroad for showcase sections. For a film to be selected, it would have to meet at least one of the following criteria: produced by a female director, with a focus on women's issues and with a feminist point of view. Of course, all films have to be creative and in good quality.

　In recent years, Women Make Waves Film Festival has increasingly broadened its appeal by moving into more and more cities and towns. In 2001, the festival was held in 8 cites and towns. In 2002, the event grew to the size of 15 cities and towns, reaching out to Hakka and aboriginal Communities. And in 2003, we visited 17 locations with our films.

Panel Discussion Enriches the Film Festival

　Roughly more than seventy percent of our audience are women who consider such events as opportunities to learn and grow. Such is the phenomenon for all sorts of adult learning programs in Taiwan, where women greatly outnumber men in participation. In our film festival events, however, where every screening is followed by a panel discussion session, women have the opportunity to see stories told by other women as well as discuss issues that are of particular interest to them. In 2003, approximately 19,000 viewers participated in WMWFF, 7,000 in Taipei and about 12,000 in other locations.

　As for the budget, it has always been difficult and challenging to find enough money for a decent and growing film festival. Over the years, we have learned to be more resourceful, trying to find money from more diverse sources than before. Take last year for example, we managed to get the consent of half a dozen central government agencies to sponsor the film festival, plus the support of various local governments, private organizations and universities. About three fifth of our funding came from central government agencies, one fifth from local governments, and another one fifth from box office income.

Organization has been transformed into a National One

　Riding into our eleventh year, Women Make Waves Film Festival will continue to grow by gaining more expertise in organizing the film festival and trying more creative ways to find funding for the event and more importantly, reaching out to even more audience so women's stories can be widely heard and women's creative power duly appreciated.

　The organization that holds WMWFF used to be Taipei's Women Filmmakers'Association and has been recently transformed into a national organization-Taiwan's Women Filmmakers' Association.