Beginning in 2007, the group annually gives awards to the best (and worst) in film, as voted on by its members. These awards are called EDAs in honor of AWFJ founder Jennifer Merin's mother, actress
Eda Reiss Merin. EDA is also an acronym for Excellent Dynamic Activism. These awards have been reported on in recent years by a number of mainstream media sources including
Time,
USA Today, and
Variety, and are also included in
The New York Times movie reviews awards lists. In 2007, AWFJ released a Top 100 Films List in response to the
American Film Institute revision of their
100 Years, 100 Films list. In creating their list, the AWFJ was motivated by the fact that only 4.5 out of 400 films on AFI's ballot were directed by women. In addition to awards for achievement granted regardless of sex (Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Screenplay Adapted, Best Documentary, Best Animated Film, Best Ensemble Cast, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Film Music or Score, and Best Non-English-Language Film), there are also "EDA Female Focus Awards" (Best Woman Director, Best Woman Screenwriter, Kick Ass Award For Best Female Action Star, Best Animated Female, Best Breakthrough Performance, Best Newcomer, Women's Image Award, Sexist Pig Award (which focuses on slandering men), Hanging in There Award for Persistence, Actress Defying Age and Agism, Lifetime Achievement Award, Award for Humanitarian Activism, Female Icon Award, and This Year's Outstanding Achievement by a Woman in the Film Industry) and "EDA Special Mention Awards" (Hall of Shame Award, Actress Most in Need of a New Agent, Movie You Wanted to Love But Just Couldn't, Unforgettable Moment Award, Best Depiction of Nudity, Sexuality, or Seduction, Most Egregious Age Difference Between Leading Man and Love Interest, Bravest Performance Award, Best Leap from Actress to Director Award, Cultural Crossover Award, Sequel or Remake That Shouldn't Have Been Made Award, and Best of the Fests). ==EDA Best of Awards winners and nominees==