NYWIFT Blog

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Aisha Amin

By Katie Chambers

Welcome to NYWIFT, Aisha Amin!

Aisha is an NYC-based writer and director. As a director, her work expands across narrative, documentary, and experimental forms to tell authentic stories built from real experiences. Her past film projects have explored and highlighted overlooked communities particularly in New York City, including formerly incarcerated mothers and communities struggling with the presence of gentrification in their neighborhoods.

In addition to her directing, Aisha is an emerging screenwriting and was selected to participate in Cine Qua Non’s 2022 Screenwriting Lab. She is a 2022 recipient of NYFA’s Tomorrowland Grant and a 2021 recipient of the NYFA Women’s Fund grant. She was a recipient of the 2019-2020 Sally Burns Shenkman Woman Filmmaker Fellowship at the Jacob Burns Film Center where she directed two short documentaries. She is also a recipient of The Shed’s Open Call Fellowship where she expanded her film practice to installation art.

Aisha spoke to us about her favorite styles of storytelling, the intersection of narrative and documentary, and her latest projects.

 

NYWIFT Member Aisha Amin

 

Tell us about yourself – give us your elevator pitch!

I’m Aisha! I’m a NYC based writer and director. I was born in Nairobi, Kenya and my family moved to New York when I was really young – so this city is a huge part of my life and my work. I’m interested in telling stories about community resilience within immigrant communities. I work across documentary, narrative and experimental forms of filmmaking and I am interested in exploring new modes of watching and experiencing film and storytelling. 

 

 

You work across many mediums and genres, from narrative to documentary to commercial to experimental. What is the throughline that ties all of your work together? How do you shift gears when switching from one type of work to the next?

All of my storytelling is very much rooted in truth and authentic experiences. I find that the more specific and detailed we are with our experiences, the more universally they are received. I’m interested in having a conversation with an audience and using film as a form of education and awareness, but also as a filmmaker, it’s my attempt at fostering connection and I think that can be done across a diverse array of genres and forms of storytelling. 

 

 

I saw you were selected for Issa Rae’s inaugural Color Creative For your People Program. That’s amazing! What was that experience like? How did it help you develop as an artist?

Actually, we are going into production on a short film that was funded through this production in the Winter of 2023. It has been a wonderful experience and the first time I have directed a film that I didn’t also write. While challenging, it taught me some really valuable people skills, communication skills, and made me really aware of how my ideas will come across to those that don’t necessarily share the same references of experiences I do. 

 

 

Congratulations on your recent recognition as a NYWIFT Outstanding Content Creator at the Katra Film Series! Tell us more about that project.

Thank you! Screening at Katra was wonderful – I am grateful to be a part of a community that values short filmmaking and independent storytellers – it’s rare that shorts get much attention within the industry but it’s my favorite form to work in, and for Katra to be able to celebrate that means a lot to me. 

 

What kinds of projects excite you?

I’m most excited by working with non-actors, and exploring that line between fiction and documentary. I love using locations that are real and lived-in, and I am excited by projects that are integrated with real lived experience. 

 

 

What is the best advice you ever received? And the worst?

Best: Your worth isn’t tied to what you make

Worst: Go out there and film something on your iPhone, it’s just as good!

 

And what is next for you?

I have a couple more short narrative films in the pipeline and am working on finishing up writing my first feature film!

 

Connect with Aisha Amin on Instagram at @aisha____amin and on her website www.aishaamin.com.

PUBLISHED BY

Katie Chambers

Katie Chambers Katie Chambers is the Senior Director of Community & Public Relations at New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT). She is also a regular contributing writer for From Day One, an outlet focused on innovations in HR. She serves on othe Board of Directors of the New Jersey State Federation of Women's Clubs and is a freelance writer, copyeditor, and digital marketing strategist. Follow her @KatieGChambers.

View all posts by Katie Chambers

Comments are closed

Related Posts

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Guneet K. Singh

Welcome to NYWIFT, Guneet K. Singh! Former NYWIFT intern Guneet K. Singh is a producer and writer with a passion for diverse storytelling. She was most recently the producer for the poignant play, Irreparable, which premiered at the Act One One-Act Theater Festival. She has worked in television development for NBC and Peacock, working on programs such as That’s My Jam, Password, Joyelle Nicole Johnson: Love Joy and 5 More Sleeps ‘Til Christmas. Her first producing role was as the Digital Producer for the Emmy nominated The Kids Tonight Show. She began her career as an NBC Page, working on shows like Saturday Night Live and The TODAY Show. In our interview, Guneet discusses her exciting time in NBC’s legendary Page Program, the power of networking, and finding her calling as a writer and producer.

READ MORE

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Monique Gabriela Curnen

Welcome to NYWIFT, Monique Gabriela Curnen! Monique Gabriela Curnen is an actor and producer known for a string of critical and commercial successes, including Half Nelson, The Dark Knight, Contagion and Birth/Rebirth. While working with Warrington Hudlin at the Black Filmmaker Foundation, she started producing short films. She continued producing independently, including the Joe Holt short Noël, which sold to ShortsHD. She served as executive producer on the award-winning feature documentary, A Run For More (PBS, Amazon) directed by Ray Whitehouse. She’s currently in development on the narrative feature Sheila & the Punk Rock, written and directed by K. Lorrel Manning. Monique discusses the roots of her career, her experience working on large-scale productions, and how she overcomes challenges within these realms. Get to know her in our latest interview!

READ MORE

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Sonia Malfa

Let's give a warm welcome to new NYWIFT member Sonia Malfa! Inspired by nature and myth, Sonia Malfa is a writer/director who creates visually poetic films that draw from her Puerto Rican-American roots. From music video and commercials to documentary and narrative film, her directing work has been featured in Tribeca Festival, AdAge, Vogue Italia, and won both Webby and Clio Awards. Sonia is currently in development on her narrative feature debut, It's Always Sunni, which was selected for the Gotham Project Market and Film Independent’s Fast Track. Most recently, Sonia was selected for the NALIP/Netflix Woman of Color Film Incubator and the Actors Studio Directors Unit. In our interview, Sonia discusses her deep connection to nature, commercial projects, the importance of creative community, and her road trip film - with a twist!

READ MORE

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Melissa Roxburgh

Welcome to NYWIFT, Melissa Roxburgh! Melissa Roxburgh is a Sagittarian (12/10/92), actress and Canadian. Her parents moved to Canada from the United States and founded a church in Vancouver. Roxburgh is the second oldest of four children; she has two sisters and one younger brother. While pursuing acting roles in Vancouver, Roxburgh studied communications at Simon Fraser University. She is an alumna of the William Esper Studio. Roxburgh landed her first major role in Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules and has worked steadily in television and film. She is currently portraying Rebecca "Bex" Henderson, an FBI Special Agent, in The Hunting Party, a procedural crime drama on NBC. Melissa spoke to us about her creative journey, family roots, favorite actors, and her directing dreams.

READ MORE
JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER
css.php