NYWIFT Blog

Cynthia’s Picks: Muse Honorees, Member News, Women Directors

Muse Honorees: NYWIFT is beyond thrilled to announce the honorees for this year’s 40th Anniversary NYWIFT Muse Awards on December 10th! Please join us in celebrating actor Ann Dowd, singer and executive Gloria Estefan, Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud, director Kasi Lemmons, writer/creator Shoshannah Stern, and Tribeca Enterprises CEO Jane Rosenthal, a past Muse honoree who will receive our first-ever Career Impact Achievement Award.

Member News: We are proud of the achievements of our incredible community of women in the industry – don’t forget you can see some of their latest accomplishments on our ever-updating Members in the News page on our website.

Women Directors: In their recent Variety “Actors on Actors” conversation, Mindy Kaling and Constance Wu discussed the subtle ways having a female director enhanced their most recent projects.

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Cynthia Lopez

Cynthia Lopez Cynthia Lopez is the Executive Director of New York Women in Film & Television and an award-winning media strategist.

View all posts by Cynthia Lopez

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