Pay Gap: Newsweek spells out the startling pay gap between white and minority actors on television.
Likeability Factor: Read this smart interview with Amy Landecker, who plays Sarah Pfefferman on Amazon’s Transparent. She talks about playing a “hot mess,” sexism, and how “fully formed humans” aren’t always 100% likeable.
Maya Angelou: WIF LA member Rita Coburn-Whack’s documentary film Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise opens in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles on Friday. This intimate and personal portrait of Dr. Maya Angelou’s life is a touching and moving tribute to her legacy.
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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Seohee Lee
Welcome to NYWIFT, Seohee Lee! Seohee is a filmmaker, content curator, and marketer working at the intersection of storytelling, cultural exchange, and audience engagement. Based in New York, she works at the Korea Creative Content Agency New York Center, where she leads international marketing strategies and content-driven programs connecting Korean creative industries with global audiences. Her work spans promotional video direction, film program curation, and large-scale cultural collaborations with institutions such as the Korean Cultural Center New York and the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea. Seohee holds an M.F.A. in Film Directing and an M.A. in Arts Management from Carnegie Mellon University. Drawing on both creative and strategic experience, she focuses on enhancing the global reach of cultural storytelling and fostering cross-border dialogue through media and programming. In our interview, Seohee Lee discusses her journey as a filmmaker and content curator, her work in international cultural programming, and the projects she hopes to explore next.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Chicava Roslyn Tate
Welcome to NYWIFT, Chicava Roslyn Tate! Chicava is a burlesque artist, actor, producer, and leading scholar of Black women in burlesque. For more than 15 years, she served as Creative Producer of New York City's Brown Girls Burlesque, developing political and theatrical shows across the United States and internationally. She holds an MFA from Goddard College, where her studies focused on Black burlesque herstory, Taoism, and sacred sexuality. Chicava’s work spans performance, film, and scholarship, including directing The Skin I’m In, co-writing and directing Becoming Betty Page, and developing the docu-series Black Bombshells, which explores the history and cultural legacy of Black women in burlesque and pinup. As an actor, she has appeared in Chock Full Till Empty, Nicole Franklin’s Title VII, and Spike Lee’s film She Hate Me. In our interview, Chicava reflected on her creative journey, the overlooked history of Black women in burlesque, and the projects she is developing to preserve and celebrate this cultural legacy.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Andrea Ocampo
Welcome to NYWIFT, Andrea Ocampo! Andrea is a first-generation Colombian filmmaker. She is drawn to the quiet forces that have shaped her: obsession, memory, and identity in flux. She is a proud artist who directs with a lens for the psychological and surreal, blending documentary realism with fiction laced in intimate mystery. Her latest short Blackout is a psychological thriller set in the NYC subway, and it premiered to a sold-out crowd on September 13th, 2025, at Imagine This Women’s Film Festival. She navigates global crises and inner landscapes with equal urgency. Her work has a raw, honest, and quietly haunted feel to it. Chances are you’ll feel it before you understand it. We spoke to Andrea in late Summer. She recounts her experience in the film industry, tracing her path from a passionate young filmmaker in her early childhood to the successful professional she has become.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Kilara Sen
Welcome to NYWIFT, Kilara Sen! Kilara is a Japanese female stand-up comedian and actor, moving to New York this summer. Kilara currently is hosting "Japanese Whisky Lockdown" and "Japanese Whisky World" on Dekanta TV. She also appeared on international TV such as Asia's Got Talent, Paul Hollywood Eats Japan, and Welcome to the Railworld. Kilara is gender non-conforming (she/they), a "hikikomori" survivor (a form of severe social withdrawal), and had a wonderful year at Historically Black Colleges. Based on her experiences, she shares her strong and funny voice on mental health, feminism, and diversity. She believes that everyone should be as special and unique as a unicorn. Also, she is the voice breaking stereotypes of Japanese women: the New Pink. Kilara thinks of herself as a Pink Unicorn. Kilara spoke to us about breaking down stereotypes, community support, and finding liberation through comedy.
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