Board Buzz: Great news from several NYWIFT board members! The Tale – produced by Simone Pero – continues to rack up award nominations, including a Golden Globe nom for last year’s Muse honoree Laura Dern and a Critics Choice nom for this year’s Muse Ellen Burstyn; Annetta Marion was selected for NBC’s Alternative Directors Program inaugural all-female class; and Jamie Zelermyer was featured on Start TV this week talking about her advocacy and career as a producer. We have some powerhouse women leading our organization!
62 Writers: No more arguments about “not being able to find a black female writer.” The Hollywood Reporter took a group photo of 62 black women writers who are working in film and TV now.
Top Performers: A new study proves that movies starring women outperform male-led films at the box office. So let’s make more of them!
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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Madison Saviano
Welcome to NYWIFT, Madison Saviano! Madison Saviano is a recent NYU Tisch School of the Arts graduate with a BFA in Dramatic Writing and a minor in Producing. She has worked on over ten early career films, primarily as a script supervisor and producer. Her produced projects have premiered at Cinema Village and earned grants from JQY and the Akhtar-Bhutta Fund, plus NYU's Student Producers Award. She is developing a short with NYU's Stonestreet Studios and was recently selected for the inaugural Sundance x TikTok micro-series cohort through Sundance Collab. Madison interned in development for Debbie Liebling and currently volunteers as a script reader for the Austin Film Festival.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Rima Das
Welcome to NYWIFT, Rima Das! Rima Das is an Indian filmmaker whose distinctive cinematic voice blurs the line between fiction and lived experience. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a Brand Ambassador for the Toronto International Film Festival’s Share Her Journey initiative, she has written, directed, shot, produced, and edited acclaimed independent films including Village Rockstars (2017), Bulbul Can Sing (2018), Tora’s Husband (2022), Village Rockstars 2 (2024), and Not a Hero (2026). Her films have premiered at Toronto, Berlin, and Busan, screened at more than 150 international film festivals, and received over 75 awards. Village Rockstars won India’s National Film Award for Best Feature Film and was India’s official submission to the Academy Awards. In our interview, Rima discusses her leap into storytelling, her journey in filmmaking, and how her Northeast Indian roots motivate her creative work.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Jennia Iordanou
Welcome to NYWIFT, Jennia Iordanou! Jennia is a New York-based entertainment attorney with a passion for storytelling and the film/TV business. Over the past several years, she’s represented actors, writers, and other creative professionals, helping them navigate talent agreements, development deals and intellectual property matters. While she’s loved advocating for creatives, her experiences have inspired her to pursue a more hands-on role in the filmmaking process. She is currently transitioning into producing, where she hopes to help develop meaningful stories and bring them to the screen. As a new member of NYWIFT, she’s excited to connect with fellow members and continue learning from this incredible community. In our interview, Jennia discusses her fascination with the film world, her love for collaborating, and her transition into becoming a producer.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Sher Bautista
Welcome to NYWIFT, Sher Bautista! Sher Bautista grew up as a third culture kid in the Middle East and the Philippines. Her work centers on themes of identity, memory, and migration. She co-produced the award-winning feature Delia and Sammy which went on to screen at international festivals including Austin, All Lights, Ortigia, and Hanoi. She co-wrote the series The Boston: A Kitchen Musical and later directed Commune, which became a finalist at Tropfest 2015. Aside from her film projects, she is also a published author, having co-written the children’s book Tasha and Pierre. She has just completed her MFA in Film and her thesis, Tales My Father Told. In our interview, Sher discusses her leap to the film world, recent collaborations, and how her international upbringing impacted her creative work.
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