NYWIFT Award Winning Films (clockwise from top left): Miles Away, All That’s Left of You, An Unquiet Mind, and Me Period (Images Courtesy of Urbanworld, Hamptons International, and ReelAbilities Film Festivals)
New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) was proud to present 11 NYWIFT Festival Awards to emerging and established filmmakers across six New York-area festivals throughout 2025. The organization provides complimentary association memberships to filmmakers as part of its ongoing commitment to supporting women content creators in narrative and documentary filmmaking. Winners will also be welcomed as guests at NYWIFT’s Muse Awards celebrating women of vision and achievement in March 2026.
NYWIFT presented festival awards for Excellence in Directing across various categories to:
Suzannah Herbert (Natchez)and Cherien Dabis (All That’s Left of You) at the Hamptons International Film Festival; Shonali Bose (A Fly on the Wall) and Rima Das (Village Rockstars 2) at the New York Indian Film Festival; Rachel Immaraj (An Unquiet Mind) at ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York; Elena Neuman (Looking UP) and Kerstin Karlhuber (After All) at SOHO International Film Festival; Lisa Cunningham (Me Period) and Jackie Quinones (Miles Away) at Urbanworld Film Festival; and Sarah Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni (Cutting Through Rocks) and Rachel Israel (The Floaters) at the Woodstock Film Festival.
“At the heart of NYWIFT is community: filmmakers supporting filmmakers. We are honored to recognize these talented creators and to welcome them into a vibrant network built on collaboration, mentorship, and shared purpose. Their work reflects the power of storytelling when artists are connected to a community that believes in their voices and champions their creative journeys,” said NYWIFT CEO Cynthia López.
The organization originally established its festival awards initiative in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, to provide support to filmmakers demonstrating remarkable achievements in narrative and documentary directing. Past recipients have included Jennifer Esposito for Fresh Kills, Madeleine Gavin for Beyond Utopia, Eunice Lau for Troll Storm, Signe Baumane for My Love Affair with Marriage, and Ellie Foumbi for Our Father the Devil, among many others.
Meet the 2025 NYWIFT Festival Award Winners
Hamptons International Film Festival
Suzannah Herbert – Natchez
A sharp look at the American South’s unreconciled history through Natchez, a Mississippi town that mixes antebellum tourism with a community deeply divided over its past.
Suzannah Herbert’s directorial debut, Wrestle (Oscilloscope/Independent Lens), was nominated for two News & Documentary Emmys, named one of the top 5 documentaries of 2019 by the National Board of Review, and hailed as a NYTIMES Critic’s Pick. As an editor, she has collaborated on various Bob Dylan, Tony Bennett, and Lady Gaga projects, music videos, and award-winning films like A Woman on the Outside(SXSW 2022, PBS America Reframed). ITVS, Catapult Film Fund, Ford Foundation, Rooftop Films Fund, CIFF Points North Fellowship, Logan Nonfiction Fellowship, Yaddo, True False Catapult Rough Cut Retreat, and Film Independent have supported Herbert’s sophomore feature, Natchez. Natchez has been awarded over a dozen awards on the festival circuit, including Best Documentary Feature at the 2025 Tribeca Festival, Middlebury New Filmmakers, Philadelphia, Macon, Fairhope, and Sidewalk Film Festivals. Natchez will be released theatrically by Oscilloscope Laboratories and broadcast on PBS’s Independent Lens.
Cherien Dabis – All That’s Left of You
After a Palestinian teen gets swept up into a West Bank protest, his mother recounts the family story of hope, courage, and relentless struggle that led to this fateful moment.
Cherien Dabis is a critically acclaimed and award-winning Palestinian American film and television director, writer, and actress. Born in the U.S. and raised in Ohio and Jordan, Dabis studied film at Columbia University’s School of the Arts. Dabis was Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series for the critically acclaimed and groundbreaking episode “The Boy From 6B” on Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building. She wrote and directed her debut feature, Amreeka, which premiered at Sundance in 2009 and went on to win the coveted FIPRESCI International Critics Prize in the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes. Her second feature, May in the Summer, opened the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. A true multi-hyphenate, Dabis is known for standout episodic directing work on Emmy award-winning television shows such as Hulu’s Ramy and Netflix’s Ozark, as well as her writing and acting for television. Past writing credits include Empire, Quantico, and The L Word, and in the world of acting, she just wrapped on Scott Z. Burns’ upcoming Apple TV+ anthology series Extrapolations.
New York Indian Film Festival
Shonali Bose – A Fly on the Wall
As Shonali is tasked with filming her friend Chika Kapadia’s physician-assisted suicide, Nilesh Maniyar asks Shonali to turn the camera toward herself, too.
Born in Kolkata, Shonali Bose is a writer, director, and producer – she has an MA in Political Science from Columbia University and an MFA in Directing from UCLA Film School. She has written and directed three feature narrative films: Amu, Margarita with a Straw, and The Sky is Pink. Amu, which was based on her own novel of the same name, explores the suppressed history of the genocidal attacks on Sikhs in Delhi in 1984; it had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival. Her next film, Margarita with a Straw, made waves for its unconventional portrayal of the self-discovery that uplifts the spirit of a rebellious young woman with cerebral palsy. Shonali’s next feature, The Sky is Pink, starring Priyanka Chopra and Farhan Akhtar, is an adaptation of a best-selling novel. All three films had critically acclaimed theatrical releases in India and North America, amongst many other countries, and won major international awards (including at Sundance and TIFF, where they premiered). The Sky is Pink was the only Asian film in the Gala section at TIFF. She has also previously been commissioned by Anonymous Content and Paramount Pictures to write the pilot and bible for a global series based on Diksha Basu’s book The Windfall. Shonali has directed one of the six films featuring Fatima Sana Shaikh in Amazon Prime’s anthology series Modern Love: Mumbai. She has currently co-directed (along with Vasant Nath) an Amazon Original series, Ziddi Girls, produced by Pritish Nandy Communications. This is a riveting YA drama set in the world of Delhi University. Shonali lives between Los Angeles and Mumbai and is most proud to be the mother of her two sons, Ishan and Vivan.
Rima Das – Village Rockstars 2
As Dhunu faces the bitter and sour moments of life, she stands on the threshold of leaving her once-happy childhood behind.
Rima Das is an Indian filmmaker from the Northeastern state of Assam. Her films Village Rockstars and Bulbul Can Sing premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and were screened at over 120 prestigious film festivals around the world, winning over 70 Awards, including the National Film Awards in India. Village Rockstars was also India’s Official Entry to the Academy Awards 2019. She has worn multiple hats as writer, director, producer, cinematographer, and editor on her projects.
ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York
Rachel Immaraj – An Unquiet Mind
Shattering common myths about OCD through the interweaving stories of Vinay and Natasha, a reality far more complex than perfectionism or repetition is revealed.
Rachel Immaraj is a filmmaker from Austin, Texas who works in set decoration for narrative films, television, and commercials. She has always been interested in how spaces and design affect characters in movies. Her recent work includes shows such as A24’s Mo on Netflix and 1923 on Paramount +. Movies she collaborated on have premiered at Sundance and SXSW, and commercial clients she has designed for include Hugo Boss, ESPN, Shiner, and Instagram. An Unquiet Mind is Rachel’s first feature documentary to direct, and she has thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with her filmmaker friends to share these important stories.
SOHO International Film Festival
Elena Neuman – Looking UP
Eitan Armon, a young man facing encroaching blindness, decides to let go of everything he can’t control and climb Yosemite’s most epic granite wall, El Capitan.
Elena Neuman is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and founder of NeumanFILMS, based in New York City. Elena’s short film about four Holocaust survivors, People Forget, New Haven Remembers, about four Holocaust survivors, was broadcast on Connecticut Public Television and is streaming on CPTV. Elena has also produced content for many educational and nonprofit organizations. Looking UP marks Elena’s feature film directorial debut. The film won the jury award for Best Documentary Feature at the Lonely Seal Film Festival. Elena co-produced/directed Wishmakers, a short film about an award-winning wine produced by mentally handicapped adults. The film won the International Gold Medal from the World Humanitarian Awards and an award of merit at IndieFEST. Previously, Elena was an associate producer at Manifold Productions where she worked on three PBS films: The Fall of Newt Gingrich, Rediscovering George Washington, and God and the Inner City. A graduate of Cornell and Yale Universities, Elena spent her early career as a print journalist before segueing into documentary filmmaking.
Kerstin Karlhuber – After All
When Ellen returns to her hometown to care for her ailing mother and estranged teenage daughter, three generations of women struggle to reconnect and find the courage to forgive.
Kerstin Karlhuber is an award-winning filmmaker. Her first feature film, Fair Haven, has been called, “deftly and meticulously directed…A Don’t-Miss Indie” –Film Independent, and “A stirring, well-acted, tenderly wrought story” -LA Times. The film received US and European theatrical releases and was acquired by Showtime. Fair Haven was selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to be featured in the permanent Core Collection at the Academy Film Archive and Library. It has an extensive worldwide fan base and became a #1 bestseller on Amazon in multiple territories. Kerstin’s second feature film, After All, starring Erika Christensen and Penelope Ann Miller, will release theatrically across the US in October 2025. Early reviewers state, “A gut-wrenching story told through incredible photography and direction….there wasn’t a trivial moment.” -ABC7-TV Los Angeles. “A throwback to when movies made you feel something emotionally…Christensen gives a performance so real, so raw, you’ll want to reach up and give her a hug after you wipe away your tears.” -KTLA-TV Los Angeles. Her third feature, Mrs. Strissel and the Dogs, is currently in pre-production. She holds an MFA in film production from Boston University and undergraduate degrees in musical theater from The American Musical and Dramatic Academy and The New School.
Urbanworld Film Festival
Lisa Cunningham – Me Period
Through the eyes of everyday families and celebrity mothers like Sheryl Lee Ralph and Tabitha Brown, Me Period explores the beauty and complexity of how we navigate sensitive conversations about our bodies and our periods.
Lisa Cunningham is the EVP of Marketing & Communications at Black Women’s Health Imperative and a motivational speaker, Diversity Event producer, and LGBTQ Influencer. She is a sought-after Producer and Director with 20 years of active involvement in Atlanta’s production community. With a strong footing in health and social justice digital content, Lisa has produced and directed projects for McDonald’s, Ford Motors, W Hotels, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport, The City of Atlanta, The History Channel, and many more. In her work with the Black Women’s Health Imperative, she has developed digital content for national breast and cervical cancer awareness campaigns with talent such as Mary J. Blige and Ciara. She directed the documentary Me Period, featuring Sheryl Lee Ralph and Tabitha Brown, in collaboration with the Black Women’s Health Imperative to spark conversation around menstrual health and equity.
Jackie Quinones – Miles Away
A socially awkward rideshare driver with Hollywood dreams, navigates eccentric passengers and relentless family chaos, only to realize she’s become the spectator of her own unraveling life.
Jackie Quinones is a multi-hyphenate talent – writer, director, actor, and producer – whose work centers on emotionally rich, character-driven stories exploring identity, trauma, and resilience. She crafts hybrid-genre narratives that explore social and political issues through the lens of fractured relationships and complex family dynamics. Committed to amplifying unheard and underrepresented voices, her work is both personal and thought-provoking. Jackie’s debut feature film, Miles Away – a heartfelt comedy about resilience, executive produced by and starring Luis Guzmán and Andre Royo, which she wrote, directed, produced, and also appears in – premiered to a sold-out audience at the Austin Film Festival in October 2025. The film has also earned her the 2025 Best Narrative Feature Honorable Mention at the Urbanworld Film Festival and is currently still on the festival circuit.
Woodstock Film Festival
Sarah Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni – Cutting through Rocks
The first female councilor in her Iranian village, Sara Shahverdi, challenges tradition by teaching girls to ride motorcycles and fighting child marriage, while facing doubts about her motives.
Sara Khaki is the Grand Jury Prize winner of the world cinema documentary award of the Sundance Film Festival for her feature documentary, Cutting Through Rocks. Her co-directed film, Our Iranian Lockdown, streaming on the Guardian, received an IDA nomination. Her co-directed Netflix original, Convergence, received an Emmy nomination. A Chicken & Egg Films and Sundance Alumni, Sara is a director, producer, and editor with a dedication to stories about gender equity.
Mohammadreza Eyni is the Grand Jury Prize winner of the World Cinema Documentary Award of Sundance Film Festival for his feature documentary, Cutting Through Rocks. A Sundance and Tribeca Alumnus, Mohammadreza is a director, producer, and cinematographer whose career and cinematic approach bridge boundaries and elevate underrepresented voices, connecting diverse perspectives globally. A co-founder of Gandom Films Production, Mohammadreza has earned an IDA nomination and international recognition.
Rachel Israel – The Floaters
The Floaters follows struggling musician Nomi who accepts a last-resort job from her overachiever best friend Mara: mentoring misfit campers, the “Floaters,” at their childhood Jewish summer camp.
Rachel Israel is a New York-based writer and director. Her feature debut, Keep the Change (2017), world premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the U.S. Narrative Feature and Best New Narrative Feature Director. It also won Best Debut Film and the FIPRESCI Award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Keep the Change opened in theaters internationally in 2018 as a NY Times Critic’s Pick, which described it as “a landmark motion picture” that “deserves to be widely seen;” it was critically acclaimed for being a fresh take on the romantic comedy, and an authentic and nuanced portrayal of characters on the autism spectrum. Rachel has taught both screenwriting and directing actors at Columbia University’s Graduate Film Program and Rhode Island School of Design. She is represented by Verve Talent & Literary Agency.
(All images courtesy of the festivals/filmmakers)
