Go, ladies!: Congratulations
to Jill Soloway and Lisa Cholodenko, who
won Emmy Awards for directing a Comedy Series and a Limited Series
respectively! Despite being grossly outnumbered in nominations, exceptional women
are still taking home top trophies.
History
Lesson: Nell Scovell wrote about another golden age
for women in TV – 1990 – in The New York
Times. “There have always
been women who were successful against the odds,” she said. “Now we need to
change the odds so more women can be successful.”
Congrats,
Reed!: Acclaimed DP and director Reed Morano, who we toasted at
NYWIFT”s Women Below the Line Party this year, will direct
Ellen Page in Lioness.
nywift
Related Posts
Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Christine Oliva-Castillo
Welcome to NYWIFT, Christine Oliva-Castillo! Christine is a licensed clinician and award-winning screenwriter with over two decades of experience in substance abuse disorder treatment and public health. Drawing on lived experience and clinical expertise, she writes stories that challenge how we see addiction, recovery, and the systems people navigate to survive both. Her feature screenplay Worthy has earned recognition at the Toronto Female Film Festival, Love Wins Film Festival, Page Turner Awards, LGBTQ Unbordered International Film Festival, and the Script Hall of Fame, among others. She is currently producing YTHROW, a short film set over one night in a county jail holding cell — a story of hope that honestly confronts the barriers standing between people and the care they deserve.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Zineb Oukach
Welcome to NYWIFT, Zineb Oukach! Zineb is a Moroccan actress, writer, and filmmaker. She began her acting career in Morocco before moving to Paris to study theater at Le Cours Florent. She later relocated to New York City, where she has worked across film and television, including the feature film Rendition alongside Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep and Alan Arkin. In recent years, Zineb has expanded into writing and directing. Her short films Interruption and Fresh Kills both earned Oscar qualifications in 2023 and 2025. After watching Interruption, Sigourney Weaver praised Zineb’s work as a filmmaker. Zineb is currently writing a period drama TV series. She later relocated to New York City, where she has worked across film and television, including the feature film Rendition alongside Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep and Alan Arkin. In recent years, Zineb has expanded into writing and directing. Her short films Interruption and Fresh Kills both earned Oscar qualifications in 2023 and 2025. After watching Interruption, Sigourney Weaver praised Zineb’s work as a filmmaker. Zineb is currently writing a period drama TV series.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Rhona Silverbush
Welcome to NYWIFT, Rhona Silverbush! Rhona’s windy career path led to her co-writing the award-winning pilot for Dark Ladies, a series she and Sami Plotkin are poised to take into the marketplace. Rhona studied psychology and theater, acted regionally, became a lawyer representing asylum seekers, and worked with the Roosevelt Institute before returning to her first loves – theater and writing. She co-produced/co-directed Conversations with Shakespeare with Daniela Varon at Symphony Space. She’s written Speak the Speech! Shakespeare’s Monologues Illuminated with Sami Plotkin; ‘wichcraft: craft a sandwich into a meal–and a meal into a sandwich’ for chefs Tom Colicchio and Sisha Ortuzar; and the Terrific Toddlers picture books with Carol Zeavin. She’s also a story consultant for documentarian George Nierenberg. In our interview, Rhona shares insight on pivoting careers, the lessons she’s learned along the way, and all things Shakespeare.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Asha Dahya
Welcome to NYWIFT, Asha Dahya! Asha Dahya is a social impact filmmaker and storyteller. She is the director and producer of an award-winning short documentary about later abortion called Someone You Know, which premiered at the 2024 Athena Film Festival. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for My Name Is Siri, an autism awareness documentary that premiered on PBS. In 2025, Asha executive produced and co-hosted an award-winning audio and video series about Latin America’s Green Wave abortion rights movement called Green Tide Rising. Her latest short documentary is A Tiny Revolution, the story of how Meg Crane invented the first home pregnancy test.
READ MORE
