NYWIFT Blog

Top 10 Reasons to Join NYWIFT

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  1. Discounts to High-profile Special Events Celebrating Women Calling the Shots in Television, Film & Digital Media: Attend our well-loved annual tributes to women working in the industry at the right industry insider price!

    Designing Women: A celebration of the achievements and influence of costume designers, make-up artists, and hair stylists in film, television, and digital media. And the Muse Awards: A glamorous entertainment industry luncheon honoring top women leaders in film, television, and digital media.

  2. Networking, Networking, Networking: NYWIFT Night Out is a once-a-month networking event that gives NYWIFT members the opportunity to meet new friends and collaborators over cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. We often partner with other industry organizations to broaden the networking experience. NYWIFT Member Parties are  twice-a-year fabulously festive events. Bring plenty of business cards—these are two of our most attended events, and raffles are held with amazing giveaways.

    Network Online: You can find NYWIFT in all the usual places—FacebookLinkedInTwitterVimeoYouTube and Instagram. Join the conversation using #NYWIFT. Members, you can let us know where to find you; just log in and add your social media handles to your NYWIFT profile! 

    Post-Program/Panel/Event Socializing: Just because an event is over, doesn’t mean we’re ready to go home! Stick around afterwards and chat with the expert panelists, the program’s producers, and other attendees. Some of the best connections are made at these small, cozy discussions over drinks.

  3. Guidance on Mid-Career Transitioning and Keeping Fresh on the Current Trends: Our Career Focus Group offers support and workshops for members who are experiencing career transitions. Career Focus workshops cover a wide variety of topics, including career coaching, pitching workshops, resume writing/refining, and casting your indie film. We also have affinity groups to find peer support, such the Writers’ Group and the Screenplay Reading Roundtable.

    In-depth Discussion Series: Power Player Breakfasts and ExperTeas are unique to NYWIFT. Hear from industry executives, sharing their stories, insights, career paths, and words of inspiration. Past speakers have included Sheila Nevins, ‎President at HBO Documentary Films; Jana Bennett, President A+E Networks’ FYI and LMN; Monique Nelson, Chairman and CEO, UniWorld Group; and Producer Christine Vachon. At ExperTeas, share a cup of tea with an industry executive in this intimate roundtable Q&A setting. Past speakers have included filmmaker Lucy Walker; Gail Gendler, Vice President of Acquisitions for AMC and the Sundance Channel Global; TV producer Tracey Baker-Simmons; and producer/director Annetta Marion.

    Programs: NYWIFT produces more than 50 programs a year for members and the New York film and television industry to attend. Topics cover every aspect of the entertainment industry, including working with unions and guilds, tax deductions for filmmakers, rights and clearances, diversity in casting, composing and sound-mixing, documentary filmmaking and trends in transmedia, and new technology, just to name a few.

  4. Opportunities for the Next Wave of Industry Professionals to Develop and Grow their Skills and Interests: NYWIFT’s Next Wave Program is offered especially for professionals with less than four years of industry experience. Participants in this program receive support and discover resources for enhancing their careers through programs, workshops and panel discussions.

  5. A Platform to Share Your Voice: One of the best ways to ensure that your voice is heard in shaping NYWIFT is to join a committee: Archive Project, Development, Fund for Women Filmmakers, Interactive Communications, Membership, Programming, Special Events. Committees are also great for networking and learning new skills!

    Member screenings: NYWIFT has a special screening series for member-made films. Shorts, web series, documentaries, features—if you produced, directed, edited, scored, starred in it, NYWIFT wants to know about it! Member screenings are a chance to screen your film at a prestigious New York venue. All Member Screenings are followed by a reception at a local venue—another chance to network.

  6. Business Development and Client Generation: Do you provide legal, tax or production services? Have a rehearsal space to rent? If you join at the Platinum or Leadership level, NYWIFT will list your business (complete with a brief description and link) in our Resource Guide, and email blast your company’s info out to members. This is a great way to reach future clients, not only within our membership, but within in the entertainment community at large as well. 

    If your business is filmmaking, NYWIFT supports that as well through our fiscal sponsorship and grant programs. NYWIFT’s fiscal sponsorship gives filmmakers the opportunity to apply for government and foundation grants—funding which is often only available through a nonprofit organizations affiliation. Fiscal sponsorship also permits individual donors to make tax-deductible contributions to your film or project, an added incentive!

    Additional funding for NYWIFT members filmmakers, eligible to apply for the following grants:
    The Loreen Arbus Disability Awareness Grant
    In-Kind Post Production Grants
    The Nancy Malone Directing Award
    The Nancy Malone Marketing & Promotion
    The Ravenal Foundation Feature Film Grant

  7. Give Back/NYWIFT’s Mission and Advocacy: Have a particular area of knowledge to share with those new to the industry? Become a mentor! Our Intern/Mentor program allows mentors to impart valuable real-world knowledge and experience to the next generation of industry leaders.

    By joining NYWIFT, you become one of the leading voices in an organization has supported women calling the shots in film, television and digital media. For over 37 years, NYWIFT has energizes the careers of women in entertainment by illuminating their achievements, providing training and professional development, and advocating for equity.

    Become a Corporate Sponsor, one of the best ways to show your support for women in the industry! Corporate partners enjoy many extra benefits including special sponsorship opportunities at reduced rates, presenting sponsorship of the Muse Awards, and free admission to programs.

  8. Free Screenings: All year round, members receive invitations to free screenings, including premieres. By partnering with studios, unions, and guilds, NYWIFT is able to not only allow members to see films often pre-release, but accompanied by engaging and dynamic Q&As with the films’ directors, actors, producers and writers. During award season, members may be invited to a film almost every night of the week, and bonus—members are allowed to bring a guest. Dime for dime, NYWIFT special invite screenings more than pay for the price of membership.

  9. Discounts: Industry discounts—everyone loves a good deal! NYWIFT members receive discounts on a variety of goods and services, including insurance, travel, acupuncture, dual membership in other Women In Film chapters, free or discounted membership in other entertainment industry organizations, discounted theater and film tickets, and so much more! Member-to-member discounts: Many NYWIFT members offer special discounts on their own services exclusively to other NYWIFT members. These include career coaching, photography, equipment, tickets to shows, etc.

  10. Actors Gallery & Crew Up: Unique to NYWIFT is a searchable database to expand hiring possibilities.Are you an actor, a make-up artist, or a cinematographer? Union or nonunion? Let people know how to find you by listing yourself in our exclusive online directories: The Actors Gallery and Crew Up! As a member it is as simple as logging into the Member Only section on the website and completing your profile. Both resources are searchable for anyone looking to hire for their upcoming project.

Convinced?  Join Now!

(Edited on Dec 2, 2014, at 10:23 pm EST.)

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nywift

nywift New York Women in Film & Television supports women calling the shots in film, television and digital media.

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