A new film finance initiative aimed directly at female-centric films has just been launched at the Cannes Film Festival.

As ScreenDaily reported, Boudica, which is supported by Women in Film & TV (UK), will offer “production and completion finance for films that meet a number of criteria with the aim of increasing the employment of women in the film industry.”

Boudica is headed by Rebecca Long and Ian Davies, who have co-financed seven films including “The Falling” and “Iona.”

“We agree with the recent report of Directors UK that there is an unconscious, systemic bias towards male directors and it’s been well documented that there is a similar under-representation for women in other crew departments and in terms of lead protagonists in films,” said Long. “We hope that our investment will play a role, albeit a very small one, in helping address this issue.”

Boudica will examine the gender of a film’s director, screenwriter, producer, and lead protagonists, as well as the overall gender balance of the crew, with the aim of achieving greater female representation.

Boudica will make its first investments in September of 2016.