Reclaim The Frame launches Give to Gain: sustain gender equity work in UK film
- Reclaim The Frame Team
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 17 hours ago
Help support the charity championing women and marginalised gender filmmakers across the UK.
As Women’s History Month begins and a major project fund concludes at the end of March, Reclaim The Frame is launching a vital funding drive to secure core support for the charity’s national advocacy, programmes, and infrastructure. At a time of significant cuts to arts and film funding, alongside widespread rollbacks in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion investment, the need for independent, values-driven organisations has never been more urgent.
While project grants and earned income support specific initiatives, the infrastructure behind RTF’s national impact - including staffing, advocacy, partnerships, and sector leadership - depends on unrestricted core funding. Without it, the organisation’s ability to champion equitable access and authorship in UK film is at risk.
Born out of the Birds’ Eye View Film Festival in 2005, Reclaim The Frame has evolved into a year-round, UK-wide campaign championing lived experience, equitable access, and diverse authorship in cinema. The charity connects filmmakers with audiences and training opportunities, supports inclusive exhibition, and works across the industry to drive systemic change.
In 2025 alone, Reclaim The Frame:
Supported 18 new releases by women and gender-expansive filmmakers
Contributed to 1.3+ million UK cinema admissions
Welcomed 33% new audiences to events, with 96% reporting they felt included
Engaged Deaf, disabled, global majority, LGBTQIA+, low-income and underserved communities
Supported over 1,000 filmmakers through panels, mentoring and workshops
Despite sector-wide efforts, just 16% of 2025 theatrical releases in the UK & Ireland were directed or co-directed by women or non-binary filmmakers, with only 7% directed by women of colour.
RTF’s work goes beyond representation - it ensures that diverse authorship and lived experience shape the stories we see, the careers that are built, and the audiences who feel welcomed into film culture.
As Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay said:
“Reclaim The Frame is a global movement to centre the voices of folks on the margins.”
Give to Gain: How Your Support Helps
Inspired by the International Women’s Day theme Give to Gain, this funding drive underscores a simple truth: when you give, we all gain.
Core donations will enable Reclaim The Frame to:
Keep programmes and partnerships active across the UK
Maintain national advocacy and campaigns amplifying underrepresented voices
Ensure filmmakers and audiences continue to benefit from equitable access, opportunity, and visibility
Sustain essential staffing and operational infrastructure
Help us spread the word! You can find copy and assets here if you’d like to share with your networks - the support of our community has never been more important.
Other Ways to Support
Consultancy, Mentoring & Advisory Services
Reclaim The Frame also works with filmmakers, producers, distributors, cinemas, and festivals to translate advocacy into market-ready audience strategies. Services include project development and pitch feedback, festival and distribution strategy, audience engagement and impact campaigns, and accessible, inclusive release planning - all subsidised and offered at a reduced cost to filmmakers to ensure this expertise remains accessible while maximising the reach and impact of their work.
Partner With Us
Reclaim The Frame welcomes creative partnerships and sponsorships, including: Co-branded screenings and events; Networking sessions and industry panels; Bespoke training initiatives; Equity-driven sector campaigns.
Partnerships are an opportunity for reciprocity: supporting the charity strengthens both your organisation and the sector as a whole.
Thank you
Your support keeps the charity running, programmes thriving, and voices amplified.
Together, we can work toward a truly inclusive UK film industry, where everyone - filmmakers and audiences alike - are seen, heard, and empowered.
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Partnerships and Media Enquiries:
Flo Cartwright, Head of Campaigns: flo@reclaimtheframe.org
General Enquiries:
