Inspiring Muse: Thanks to all who joined us at the Muse Awards last week, particularly special guests MOME Commissioner Julie Menin and New York’s Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, who had the audience on their feet and cheering!
Sheila Nevins: Longtime NYWIFT member and supporter Sheila Nevins, who has hosted countless NYWIFT events and given her time and wisdom at our Power Player Breakfasts, announced she will step down from her role as President of HBO Documentary Films after nearly 40 years with the company. Sheila, your friends at NYWIFT wish you all the best with your next adventure!
Golden Globes: Despite stellar reviews for Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman, Dee Rees’ Mudbound, and Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird in 2017, all three directors were shut out of the “Best Director” nominations for the Golden Globes, which remained an exclusively all-male group. We still have so far to go.
Related Posts
Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Rachel Fleit
Welcome to NYWIFT, Rachel Fleit! Rachel is a writer, director, and producer known for her intimate, character-driven storytelling across documentary and narrative film and television. With a background in fashion and business, Rachel brings both creative sensitivity and an entrepreneurial mindset to her work, balancing artistic vision with thoughtful leadership. Rachel directed the acclaimed documentary Introducing, Selma Blair and has helmed projects including Bama Rush and Sugar Babies, each reflecting her commitment to emotional honesty and layered storytelling. Her latest award-winning documentary, The Slightest Touch—which follows the extraordinary friendship between Emma Fogarty, who lives with epidermolysis bullosa, and actor Colin Farrell—has been acquired by HBO Documentary Films and is slated to premiere later this year on HBO Max. In our interview, she reflected on building trust with her subjects, navigating personal and cultural storytelling, and the creative directions she’s most excited to explore next.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Alyssa Lomuscio
Welcome to NYWIFT, Alyssa Lomuscio! Alyssa Lomuscio is a TV editor, story producer, and assistant director based in NYC. Her work as a story producer has earned her two Daytime Emmy award nominations in the Outstanding Lifestyle Program category. She is also a science fiction writer of short stories, novels and screenplays under the pen name A.M. Lomuscio. A 2019 Clarion writer’s workshop alum, her short fiction can be found in Apex magazine and Uncharted. In our interview, Alyssa discussed her time balancing being an AD and a writer and shared stories of working in TV.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Aurora Caruso
Welcome to NYWIFT, Aurora Caruso! Italian-Belgian artist and former journalist and production assistant Aurora Caruso works with video to explore the relationship between reality and art. After several years in the Italian film industry, she is currently studying Communication and Art & Design at John Cabot University, an American university in Rome. Driven by her passion for cinema, she moved to New York to continue her studies at The New School and has just returned to Italy after a semester there, with the goal of finding work in the United States. She aims to become a director, and her work is shaped by innovation, curiosity, and critical thinking.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Carol Welter
Welcome to NYWIFT, Carol Welter! Carol grew up in the United Kingdom, steeped in classical theatre, before crossing the Atlantic in 1977 and making the United States her home. Trained on the English stage from girlhood, she spent years acting and directing before discovering that writing was her true creative playground. Through Masters-level workshops and decades of artistic exploration, she turned her talents toward stage plays, screenplays, and poetry—crafting stories that blend imagination, humor, and heart. A woman who has worn more hats than a Shakespeare festival costume rack, Carol has directed, designed, and shaped productions from the ground up. Now a spirited senior storyteller, she writes across continents and galaxies, drawn to tales of transformation, unlikely heroes, and tender love stories. In our interview, Carol reflects on her journey from the stage to the page, the themes that inspire her work, and the new projects she’s most excited to share.
READ MORE