Madrid Films by Women Festival is an international feature film event held annually in Madrid since 2018. Its main objective is to highlight the work and perspectives of women in film creation and the audiovisual industry. While it is open to all audiences, the festival pays special attention to future generations by offering female role models that inspire real progress toward gender equity.
The festival is promoted by both women and men committed to enriching culture through a diverse and inclusive lens, helping to reduce gender inequality in the film industry. It celebrates the ability of female directors to explore a wide range of themes and styles, free from gender-based prejudice and without limiting women to stereotypical roles. In short, it is a film festival made BY women — not FOR women, nor ABOUT women, as such a cinematic category does not exist.
For its 8th edition, the festival is preparing a diverse selection of approximately 70 feature films, both international and Spanish, across fiction, animation, and documentary. Most of these films are multi-award-winning and will be screened at 17 prestigious venues in central Madrid. Additionally, much of the program will be available online via Filmin, and 8madrid TV will complement the event with a curated selection of films by women from its archive.
Each edition features a guest country to showcase recent film productions from a specific territory. In this 8th edition, FOCUS FRANCE 2025 will highlight the work of contemporary French women filmmakers.
Professional and educational activities are essential pillars of the festival’s programming. Since its first edition, the festival has organized industry meetups, roundtables, masterclasses, and film presentations to spotlight the role of women across all stages of the filmmaking process: creation and training, production and postproduction, promotion and marketing, distribution and commercialization, as well as consumption and accessibility.
Taking advantage of their presence at the festival, we have the opportunity each year to speak directly with the professionals who attend.
Some of these interviews, as well as professional and educational activities and highlights from the 7th edition, are available on the festival’s official YouTube channel. Don’t miss it!
See the gallery of images of the festival gala ceremonies
