Badass hacking skills? Check. Ability to leap over buildings? Check. Relegation from cool, capable heroine to Neo’s love interest by the end of The Matrix trilogy? Also check. This is what Tasha Robinson calls “Trinity Syndrome”: the trope of the strong female character “who never once becomes as independent, significant, and exciting as she is in her introductory scene.” This panel explores the roles and responsibilities of the glut of ‘Strong Female Characters’ seen in the action and sci-fi blockbusters of recent years and questions whether these renegade woman are progressive – or phoney.

The panel will be chaired by Simran Hans and speakers include Shelley Cobb, Nida Manzoor and Noemi Gunea.

Shelley Cobb is the author of ‘Adaptation, Authorship and Contemporary Women Filmmakers’ and lectures on women in film at the University of Southampton.

Nida Manzoor is a director and screenwriter. Her short film ‘Arcade’ screened at last year’s Underwire Festival and she is currently working on a pilot for Channel 4 with Brian Elsley (Skins).

Noemi Gunea is an actress and model. She recently starred in Cristian Mungiu’s ‘Beyond the Hills’, which won the award for Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival 2012.

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Girls on Film is a day of panel discussions focusing on the representation of women in film, in partnership with Little White Lies and Underwire Festival.