The Women of the Sea Film Fund is granting £10k to tell femme-focused surfing stories
- Text by Isaac Muk
- Photography by Finisterre
Finisterre x London Surf / Film Festival — Open exclusively to women to tell stories about other women, applications are open until March 8.
Surf clothing brand Finisterre and the London Surf / Film Festival have announced that they are teaming up for the fourth edition of the Women of the Sea Film Fund.
Applications are now open, running up until International Women’s Day on March 8, exclusively for women to pitch a short film between 10 to 15 minutes, which celebrates stories of women making waves in the surfing world.
The winner will be given a grant of £10,000 to help bring the project to life, and the film will be premiered at the London Surf / Film Festival 2026. It’s open to both emerging and established women filmmakers based in the UK, Ireland, USA and Canada.
- Read next: Inside Liberia’s nascent surf scene
Previous winners of the Women of the Sea Film Fund are Alice Ward, with her film SALT, an autobiographical film on the role of salt and the ocean as a person surfs and makes films while living with cystic fibrosis, Leah Rustomjee’s film on The Granny Grommets – a group of over-50s women who meet every Friday to surf – and Karen Song’s Surf, Eat, Repeat that highlighted the diversity of the New York City surf scene.
Commenting on the opening of the 2026 edition Bronwen Foster-Butler, CMO of Finisterre, said: “The Finisterre x LS/FF Women of the Sea Film Fund has championed extraordinary filmmakers who celebrate the determination, joy and resilience of women in the water, and who challenge the traditional male-dominated surf culture.”
She continued: “We’re proud to partner with LS/FF for a fourth year, opening doors for female-led storytelling. Finisterre was born from cold-water surfing, so we’re especially eager to see stories from cooler climes or rugged coastlines.”
Demi Taylor, award winning filmmaker and London Surf / Film Festival director said: “We’re delighted to be working with our friends at Finisterre to bring this incredible opportunity for women in filmmaking to life and elevate these untold tales on a global platform. A recent study revealed that, at the current rate of progress, it will be decades before gender parity is reached across key creative positions in filmmaking, which is why a fund like this is so important in helping to change the narrative both in the ocean and in the creative industries.”
Submit your pitch to the Women of the Sea Film Fund at the London Surf / Film Festival website.
Isaac Muk is Huck’s digital editor. Follow him on Bluesky.
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