
Raising Hell:
Jennifer
Lawrence’s scathing take-down of the Hollywood
gender pay gap is just what we need – high profile women who can command serious
media attention need to bring this outrageous inequity to light. By the way,
she wrote it for Lena Dunham’s new Lenny Letter e-newsletter. You should subscribe – only a few
issues in, it’s featured great interviews with Hillary Clinton, Gloria Steinem
and more.
Writing Room:
Women
& Hollywood talked to screenwriter
Emma Donoghue about her “deeply feminist” film Room,
which she adapted from her novel. Many NYWIFT members attended free screenings
of this film last week – they say it’s incredibly powerful.
Join
us: This is a fantastic time to join our dynamic community of successful
women calling the shots! Join
NYWIFT during our Fall Membership Drive (through December 1st)
and save 50% off the initiation fee and attend our Muse Awards luncheon for the
member price.
Related Posts
Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Sen-I Yu
Welcome to NYWIFT, Sen-I Yu! Sen-I Yu is a New York-based, award-winning filmmaker originally from Taiwan. Her feature directorial debut My Heavenly City garnered international recognition, including a NETPAC Award nomination at the 43rd Hawaii International Film Festival, Best Picture and IndiePix Vision Award at the 2025 Winter Film Festival, among others. The film secured worldwide theatrical distribution in 2023 throughout Taiwan, Hong Kong, with limited releases in North America and the UK. The Guardian called it a “fresh, thoughtful take on immigrant experience, Sen-I Yu’s sympathetic and humane film traces three loosely woven stories of people dealing with loneliness in New York City…” In our interview, she discusses her debut feature, how her immigrant experience influences her creative process, and the types of stories that inspire her.
READ MOREMeet The NYWIFT Member: Melody Tally
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READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Jamie Kiernan O’Brien
Welcome to NYWIFT, Jamie Kiernan O’Brien! Jamie is a filmmaker based in New York City and a current M.F.A. candidate at New York University’s Graduate Film program. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., she began her career as an actor before shifting her focus behind the camera. Jamie’s films have screened at Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival, Wicked Queer Boston, and TRANSlations Film Festival in Seattle. She loves highly stylized work that plays with and subverts genre, having made films inspired by horror, screwball comedy, erotic thriller, and melodrama. Her debut short film, an adaptation of The Yellow Wallpaper (in which she also stars), won several awards in the festival circuit and premiered at TRANSlations Film Festival in Seattle in 2022. Her most recent short, Egg, debuted at Wicked Queer in Boston, and went on to screen at Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival and World Pride DC. She received her B.A. in English Literature from New York University. Jamie is an openly trans woman. In our interview, Jamie discusses her transition from acting to directing, recent projects, and the filmmakers who have inspired her work!
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Rudaba Zehra Nasir
Welcome to NYWIFT, Rudaba Zehra Nasir! Rudaba is a Pakistani-American, conservatory-trained actress, writer, and singer as well as a humanitarian and life coach based in Manhattan. She is currently producing her solo show Halal-ish which is about her journey from Pakistan to America to find love. On screen, she has starred in award-winning films The Foreign Patriot and The Train I’m On, and was a series regular in Kabhi Na Kabhi (Someday) on Hum TV. Her New York theater credits include sold-out, Off-Off Broadway shows such as Novecento (Paradise Factory Theater), Arsinoe IV (Chain Theatre), Talk of the Town (The Players), and Measure For Measure (Resident Acting Company). Rudaba spoke to us about how she uses art to cultivate connection, finding her voice as an actor, and her humanitarian initiatives.
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