How can institutions ensure that women and queer people gain not only visibility but also true agency?
This conversation focuses on practical support and tools that allow filmmakers to realize their projects, expand their networks, and grow creatively, economically, and mentally.
We will discuss initiatives aimed at reshaping the industry: the UK-based Reclaim the Frame, which supports women and non-binary filmmakers in production and distribution; the Queer Short Film Fund and Lolly Awards at XPOSED Berlin, which increase visibility and access of queer cinema to wider audiences; Baltic Women in Film, a mentorship program supporting emerging women filmmakers across the Baltic countries; and the Mezipatra Queer Film Festival and their new project OUTPITCH, which opens pathways for queer stories from the Visegrad countries and Ukraine.
This discussion is meant to highlight how specific institutional practices can change the rules of the game, create opportunities, and sustain careers in cinema for those whose voices have long been less heard.
This event will be held in English with Ukrainian translation.
This event is part of the ‘Women* in film‘ and ‘Celebrate diversity‘ sections of the festival
This program is supported by the British Council Ukraine and Heinrich Boell Foundation, Kyiv Office - Ukraine.
SPEAKERS
Oli Gots (Reclaim the Frame, UK)
is a multi-hyphenate Storyteller, born in Ukraine, raised in Bulgaria, residing in the UK. She is an experienced projects producer and curator with in-depth knowledge of film festivals, site-specific arts programming, and hybrid events, and is currently Reclaim The Frame’s Programme & Events Producer.
Oli has previously helped deliver several editions of the London Korean Film Festival, Human Rights Watch Film Festival & Sheffield Doc/Fest amongst others, and spent two years programming for an independent cinema in Sofia.
IG: @artistgots
Merle Groneweg (XPOSED Berlin, DE)
is a programmer of the XPOSED Queer Film Festival Berlin. Apart from putting on events for cinephiles, Merle also writes for various independent media outlets.
Rimante Daugelaite (Lithuanian Shorts, LT)
has been the co-founder and managing director of the Lithuanian Short Film Agency "Lithuanian Shorts" since 2012, and the head of the Vilnius Short Film Festival since 2009.
She has worked in the audiovisual industry for over ten years, coordinating multiple audiovisual and film promotion projects, as well as producing several Lithuanian short films. Daugėlaitė also works as an expert for European and national audiovisual and cultural funds. Additionally, she teaches Film Festival Studies at the National Film School (KIMO) in Lithuania.
Jakub Knott Mezipatra Queer FF (CZ)
Jakub Knott is a graduate of FAMU who works in production and manages industry programs at major Czech film festivals, including the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF), Mezipatra Queer Film Festival, and Pragueshorts. Based on both his personal and professional experience, he has long perceived a lack of support for queer projects in Central and Eastern Europe. In 2025, he became Head of Programme at Mezipatra and launched the new initiative OUTPITCH, designed to support upcoming filmmakers from the V4 region and Ukraine who are developing audiovisual projects with queer topics.