Dialogue Study: The Signal Analysis and Interpretation Laboratory at USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering recently released preliminary results of a study on the representation of gender, race, and age in a collection of about 1,000 films. One of the major goals of the study was to determine the extent to which female characters were essential to the plot of a given film by looking at language, tone and role.
Rachel Feldman: Rachel Feldman, who received the NYWIFT Ravenal Foundation Feature Film Grant for her Lily Ledbetter project Fair Fight, makes a compelling argument that there are already plenty of qualified women directors ready for prime time.
Dope Queens: I’m happy for comedian Phoebe Robinson, who brought down the house at last year’s NYWIFT Comedy Makers panel. Robinson’s WNYC podcast 2 Dope Queens, which she co-hosts with Jessica Williams, will be developed into four hour-long specials for HBO.
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Welcome to NYWIFT, Stephanie Lynn Jones! Stephanie is a filmmaker, TV writer, and multi-disciplinary creative with two decades in screen and stage storytelling. She directed the short doc memoir The Jones Twins: Bebop Souls in a Muzak™ World (BRIC TV) and launched her film career on Spike Lee’s production teams. An Emmy nominee for Nickelodeon’s Gullah Gullah Island, she has developed her own TV projects with Universal Kids, PBS Kids, and TIME Studios. With her twin, Suzanne, The Jones Twins’ performance work has appeared at major venues in NYC and beyond; they also lent their vocals to the Slamdance Festival award-winning film System Noise. Stephanie holds a B.A. from Howard University and an MFA from NYU Tisch. Read on to get to know Stephanie, learn about her roots in the industry, and get a preview of her short documentary film, The Jones Twins!
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READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Faith Trinker
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READ MORENYWIFT Member Spotlight: Kathryn O’Kane
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