Filmmakers Shamim Sarif and her wife Hanan Kattan are developing a kickass project for a male-dominated genre.

Enlightenment Productions is raising funds via Kickstarter to finish pre-production development of their revolutionary new female-centric action thriller movie, The Artemis Protocol.

The Artemis Protocol is an all-female film, with intriguing lesbian characters taking the lead in a strong storyline: a group of six influential women run a rogue organization using highly-trained female operatives.

The story moves from militia camps in West Africa to the slums of Eastern Europe and takes on human trafficking from the perspective of women who will go to extreme lengths to make a real difference.

The film’s underlying theme is about trying to remain accountable and finding the courage to live with integrity when integrity might not be popular.

Women are rarely leading in action films.

Behind the camera, women direct fewer than 6% of movies in the world. In the action genre, this percentage is even lower.

The team at Enlightenment are looking to change that and bring gender parity to the filmmaking process and to the big screen.