UK-based Women in Film and Television has appointed Sophie Balhetchet as its new chair.

Balhetchet is a founding member of WFTV and also a producer of TV dramas as well as the co-founder of Cougar Films. At Cougar, she and partner Lynda La Plante have produced the feature Imagine Me and You, to be released by Fox Searchlight in the US. They are also working on a feature film version of La Plante's TV series Widows.

"Our aim is to counter gender imbalance in our industry and to empower women: to give them more opportunities, more information, more training, more role models as well as celebration of their achievements," Balhetchet said of WFTV.