Clockwise from top left: Stills from American Mother, Fist Bump, Sora, We Against the World, Underdogs, and The Blind Reggaetonera
NYWIFT Announces Recipients of Six Grants to Support Women Directors and Producers
Women filmmakers will receive cash and in-kind services through the Ravenal Foundation Grant, Loreen Arbus Disability Awareness Grant, and Bridge Multimedia In-Kind Grant
New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) is proud to announce the presentation of six grants to support women directors and producers through three of its grant initiatives. These opportunities provide crucial cash and in-kind support to women directors and producers creating new and innovative work across several genres and represent NYWIFT’s ongoing commitment to fostering film professionals at every stage of their careers.
“New York Women in Film & Television is so happy to provide support to these six talented creatives as they bring a diverse range of stories to the screen. These directors and producers will educate, enlighten, and entertainment audiences and we are proud to have played a small part in their journey,” said NYWIFT CEO Cynthia Lopez.
Projects were selected from a wide range of applications submitted by women filmmakers from around the country. The recipients of the 2025 NYWIFT grants are:
The NYWIFT Ravenal Foundation Grant
The NYWIFT Ravenal Foundation Grant supports a woman documentary or narrative feature film director or producer over the age of 40, in recognition of the unique challenges women face mid-career in the entertainment industry.
“While women have stormed the ramparts in the last several years, barriers to women directors and producers working at full capacity and equal pay still exist. This is true in many industries. But in media and entertainment, there’s an additional obstacle: ageism,” said Cornelia Ravenal of the Ravenal Foundation. “We hope that these grants encourage more women directors and producers in the prime of their lives to forge ahead.”
Two first place winners receive $5,000 each:
Kristin Fairweather, director and producer of the feature documentary American Mother: American mothers have been sold a lie with devastating emotional and economic consequences that they can and should “have it all.” American Mother investigates the burnout, structural inequities and personal stories of women imprisoned by this fantasy while unearthing the new and radical ways women are fighting back.
Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar, writer and producer of coming-of-age romantic comedy We Against the World: Whip-smart Mala and NBA hopeful Doug collide at their mostly white, almost Ivy League, and decidedly Southern university. Mala tutors Doug to stay on the basketball team. He ignites her inner poet. An unlikely duo, their friendship raises eyebrows. Could they also be something more?
“Being a woman and a mother in America is becoming more and more treacherous. American Mother documents our radical fight to mother in a nation that systematically abandons us- breaking families and fracturing our economy in the process,” said American Mother director and producer Kristin Fairweather.
“Independent cinema has always been a lifeblood for audiences and filmmakers. Organizations like NYWIFT and grants like the Ravenal Foundation’s are more important now than ever,” said We Against the World writer and director Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar.
And two second place winners also receive $2,500 each:
Heidi C. Bordogna, writer, director and producer of Underdogs: Underdogs is about a pack of stray dogs who get into mischief and mayhem in the often unnoticed, underground and underfoot “animal world” of New York City.
Claudia Murdoch, producer of Sora: Directed by April Xiong, Sora celebrates the power of community, and the beauty of diversity, dance and music.
“I’m so grateful to be a recipient of the Ravenal Grant. I’ve been able to use it to travel to Los Angeles and France to connect with producers, sales companies and distributors,” said Underdogs writer, director, and producer Heidi C. Bordogna. “While I’m still looking for funding for the film, being a recipient of the Ravenal Grant has been helpful in promoting my project during these very turbulent times in our industry.”
“Independent film has been influencing our society’s collective values, advocating for justice, igniting change, and, thus, contributing to the direction of our democracy. I feel truly honored to be chosen with our film Sora as the NYWIFT Ravenal Foundation Grant Runner-Up Recipient, and I am grateful to NYWIFT for giving voice to women and other underserved communities. Grants are so important to an artist’s ability to produce meaningful work and are even more appreciated in the time we are finding us now,” said Sora producer Claudia Murdoch.
The NYWIFT Loreen Arbus Disability Awareness Grant
The NYWIFT Loreen Arbus Disability Awareness Grant provides a $6,500 film completion grant, through the generosity of Loreen Arbus, to a woman director or producer of a film on physical or developmental disability issues.
The award is presented to Director Madeleine Farley for Fist Bump, the moving story of Marcus Knight’s fight for an education – a basic right he was unfairly denied. This powerful feature documentary sheds a crucial light on the systemic bias faced by people with disabilities, and the need for greater empathy and change, making it an essential narrative in the conversation about disability rights.
“Media has the power to influence hearts and minds. Films like Fist Bump remind us why inclusive storytelling is essential to give voice to those too often left out of the conversation. They can foster awareness, open the door to meaningful change, and bring us closer to a future where disability is represented with honesty, dignity, and depth,” said Loreen Arbus.
Additionally, courtesy of Michele Spitz, Woman of Her Word will produce Fist Bump’s audio description asset as a post-production in-kind grant. Her generous donation will allow the film to be accessible to blind or visually impaired audiences.
“I’m honored to grant the production of the audio description for low vision and blind audiences to accompany this very important and meaningful film. All audiences collectively can equally value experiencing our shared stories that elevate awareness,” said Michele Spitz.
ReelAbilities Film Festival, the largest disabilities film festival in North America, will provide captioning service for Fist Bump as well as support for the film’s outreach and distribution through the ReelAbilities North American network of festivals and beyond.
“We are incredibly honored to accept this award, which is a powerful tribute to Marcus Knight’s courage and resilience,” said Fist Bump director Madeleine Farley. “Our deepest thanks to NYWIFT and the Loreen Arbus Foundation for providing a platform to share his story and champion understanding, empathy, and justice within the disability community.”
The NYWIFT Bridge Multimedia Grant
NYWIFT is happy to continue its partnership with Bridge MultiMedia, which will provide in-kind post-production services to a film. The winner of this award is Director River Zhang for her film The Blind Reggaetonera, a feature documentary about a blind reggaeton artist defying societal barriers to pursue her musical dreams, redefining disability perceptions while mentoring young students, proving that passion and determination can transcend physical limitations.
“I am beyond grateful to NYWIFT for awarding me the in-kind film finishing grant. Having my work acknowledged by such a remarkable organization that is doing fantastic work to support female filmmakers means the world to me,” said River Zhang. “As I move forward with making my film more accessible and bringing it to its full potential in post-production, this grant will be a great help. I’m excited to see this vision come to life with the support of NYWIFT and Bridge MultiMedia.”
Matt Kaplowitz, Bridge Multimedia’s CEO and Chief Creative Officer, said, “It’s important that Precious Perez’s message reaches all people. River Zhang’s film is a timeless tonic and we are proud to help expand BlindReggaetonera’s audience through accessibility.”
Learn more about NYWIFT grants at https://www.nywift.org/fund-for-women-filmmakers/.
Meet the Recipients
NYWIFT Ravenal Foundation Grant
First Place Winners:
American Mother: Feature documentary that explores motherhood and the systemic issues contributing to extreme labor disparity in the United States, showcasing filmmaker Kristin Fairweather’s commitment to socially impactful narratives. American mothers have been sold a lie with devastating emotional and economic consequences that they can and should “have it all.” American Mother investigates the burnout, structural inequities and personal stories of women imprisoned by this fantasy while unearthing the new and radical ways women are fighting back.
Kristin Fairweather (Director/Producer, American Mother) is an award-winning, independent filmmaker whose experience in politics, advocacy, and women’s empowerment creates a unique lens for her critically-acclaimed work. Kristin holds a Master’s degree in Politics from University of Pennsylvania and served as a senior campaign strategist and Gubernatorial appointee. She is an avid supporter of the nationally recognized Girls on the Run program and other initiatives promoting equity and inclusivity. This background informs Kristin’s cinematic perspective as an accomplished director, writer, and producer of successful film, television, and commercial work. Kristin is currently in development on a documentary feature. She has directed five features, most recently Breaking Girl Code, which premiered on Lifetime in the Spring of 2023.
We Against the World: Whip-smart Mala and NBA hopeful Doug collide at their mostly white, almost Ivy League, and decidedly Southern university. Mala tutors Doug to stay on the basketball team. He ignites her inner poet. An unlikely duo, their friendship raises eyebrows. Could they also be something more?
Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar (Writer/Producer, We Against the World) is a South Asian American novelist, scholar, and screenwriter, with a PhD in English, who tells women-centric stories in unusual settings. In her routines and writing, audiences experience what it means to be brown and female in a supposedly post racial era. Mohana creates humorous feminist and cultural content like in her solo show Being Brown is My Superpower, in which she channels a lifetime of cultural misunderstandings. An award-winning novelist, she writes compelling characters in diverse settings. Named a SheWrites New Novelist, with several Best Indie book titles, in the Crimes in Arabia series, she explores the seams of life in the Arabian Gulf through the eyes of a female Arab detective and her grumpy cop sidekick turned husband. Her screenwriting has also been recognized by the Austin Film Festival, Humanitas Awards, WrapWomen Pitch Fest and BRIC Open TV Pitch competition. Most recently, she wrote and produced Me Against the World, a collegiate romantic comedy, with diverse leads and a sports element which has been named a Best American Short, Best Romantic comedy, and an official selection at 8 international film festivals and winner at 5. In her second short film, American Baby, an Indian expat couple tries to order tacos for the first time and inadvertently holds up the lunch line. She is also founder and creative director of the Short Film Lab, an incubator for first time female filmmakers in their teens and twenties based in the Middle East.
Second Place Winners:
Sora: A heartbroken Asian woman struggles to come to terms with the loss of her partner. As summer turns to spring, she reinvents her life through Brazilian zouk dance and encounters with diverse New Yorkers. Written and directed by NYU Abu Dhabi graduate April Xiong, Sora celebrates the power of community, and the beauty of diversity, dance and music.
Clauda Murdoch (Producer, Sora): Having grown up in Post-World War II Germany with the legacy of the Holocaust, Claudia has always been particularly interested in working with directors from diverse backgrounds, highlighting stories from a variety of cultures, and celebrating inclusiveness. As a co-founder of Cup of Joe Film, she produced Peter Azen’s first feature film, Cacaya, an Official Selection of the Montreal World Film Festival 2017 and Rio de Janeiro’s Festival Ecrã 2018, and she was an Executive Producer on Natasha Kermani’s sci-fi feature film, Imitation Girl, which premiered at Cinequest 2017, before screening at Dances With Films in West Hollywood, and Fright Fest London, and being nominated by the Leonardo Da Vinci Society for Best Film and Best Acting Performance Female at the Milan International Film Festival in the same year. Claudia also produced Bryan Powers’s short film, Time is the Longest Distance, and Mateo Marquez’s short film, The Invaders, which together screened at over 55 film festivals in nine countries, including the prestigious British Film Institute’s London Film Festival, Fantasia International Film Festival, March on Washington Film Festival, Woods Hole Film Festival, and NewFest New York. Both Imitation Girl and The Invaders were nominated for the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards 2019. She is currently in development with the narrative feature film Bird Woman with Ambarien Alqadar as a writer and director, with which Claudia has most recently been selected for the gotham’s Women Owning It Pitch-Deck Accountability Challenge. She works as a Senior Human Resources Associate at the Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC) in Pleasantville, NY, where she also supports\ artist development programs. She is a member of the screening committees of BAFTA North America, Dances With Films LA and NY, Woodstock Film Festival, and Atlanta Film Festival.
Underdogs: Underdogs is about a pack of stray dogs who get into mischief and mayhem in the often unnoticed, underground and underfoot “animal world” of New York City. They strive to have owners, collars, be “upscale” dogs, but what they will come to realize by the end of the series, is that they already have something even better – freedom.
Heidi C. Bordogna (Writer/Director/Producer, Underdogs): Heidi is a film and television producer/director/writer. She produced the feature film, Asockalypse!,and co-produced the feature, Confidence Game. She wrote and produced a sitcom pilot, Exiled Out East and most recently wrapped production on Echoes, and audio drama starring John O’Hurley (Seinfeld), Adam Pascal (Rent), Jackee Harry (227) and Bret Ernst (Cobra Kai). She has two projects involving sophisticated puppets, Underdogs and The Guardians of Molly, both in development. Her short documentary, Controlling Tourette’s Syndrome, can be seen on ABC NewsNow and her documentary feature, Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler! premiered at the Acadiana Film Festival domestically and internationally at the SaulieuNuitsCajun et Zydeco in Burgundy, France. Her script, TODD AND LOVETT won Best TV/Webseries Horror at the Big Apple Film Festival, and other work of hers has placed in The New York Television Festival, ITVFest/Catalyst, The Atlantic City Cinefest, The Fade-In Awards, and other film and screenplay festivals. Ms. Bordogna teaches production and screenwriting at Fordham University.
NYWIFT Loreen Arbus Disability Awareness Grant
Fist Bump is the moving story of Marcus Knight’s fight for an education – a basic right he was unfairly denied. This powerful feature documentary sheds a crucial light on the systemic bias faced by people with disabilities, and the need for greater empathy and change, making it an essential narrative in the conversation about disability rights.
Madeleine Farley (Director, Fist Bump) started out as a photographer. Trained by Ansel Adams’ protégé Ellie Kaufman, she began her career as a regular photographic contributor to US fashion magazine, ‘Flaunt’. After several years as a successful professional photographer, Madeleine heeded the call to influence not only the captured image, but the subject matter itself. In the early 2000s, London’s ‘Proud Gallery’ saw an exhibition of her work entitled ‘Movie Tips’. The premise is disarmingly simple: great moments from iconic motion pictures reinvented with Q-Tips playing the leading roles. The fresh approach and quirky, playful imagery made the exhibition an instant success. Further exhibitions followed at Manhattan’s ‘Tribeca Print Works’ and Frank Pictures at ‘Miauhaus’ in Los Angeles. Among the exhibits on show was an animated short film: ‘Psycho’, a tongue in cheek homage to Hitchcock’s greatest work, with the parts played by the ubiquitous Q-Tip. In the wake of her successful shows, Rankin published a well-received book of Madeleine’s photographs. The plight of the homeless of Los Angeles captured her imagination and she directed her first feature film, the critically acclaimed documentary ‘Trollywood’. This brave, honest look at the down and out of Tinseltown was nominated by BIFA for Best Documentary 2004 in the UK and won Best Documentary that same year at both Cinemania and the Oslo Film Festival.
Her work with The Aspinall Foundation, an internationally renowned animal conservation charity dedicated to protecting rare and endangered animals and returning them to the wild, spanned over two decades. And in 2009 the opportunity of a lifetime presented itself in the form of ‘Gorilla School’, a 13-part television series for Discovery Channel. Madeleine lived and worked in the remote jungles of West Africa for over a year directing and shooting for the acclaimed series which aired in May 2010. Her YouTube short film, in which Damian Aspinall is emotionally reunited in the wild with a young male gorilla after years of separation, is a moving example of the power and grace of the work she achieved. Today the video has had over 30 million views. Inspired by her adventures with her gorilla family, Madeleine began work on a new exhibition called ‘Endangered’. The new work, unveiled at Maddox Arts in London’s Mayfair, draws attention to the plight of gorillas in the wild and was once again received with both commercial and artistic appreciation. Her feature documentary “Stooge” premiered at the 25th Raindance Film Festival and was nominated for ‘Best UK Feature’. The film is about the illusive god of rock and roll; Iggy Pop and his obsessive super fan, who never grew up. Stooge is a truly heart-warming story of one man’s passion, and a tragically funny testament to keeping the dream alive, no matter who, or how old you really are.
NYWIFT Bridgemultimedia In-Kind Grant
The Blind Reggaetonera is about a blind reggaeton artist defying societal barriers to pursue her musical dreams, redefining disability perceptions while mentoring young students, proving that passion and determination can transcend physical limitations.
River Zhihui Zhang is an aspiring documentary filmmaker, editor, and video journalist. She has lived in multiple countries across continents and is currently based in New York City. The camera is her gateway to exploring human experiences, and her goal is to use audiovisual storytelling to better understand diverse lived stories. Her work focuses on themes of human rights, environmental issues, gender, and diaspora. She holds an M.A. in News and Documentary and a B.A. in Journalism and Cinema Studies from New York University. Learn more: www.riverzhang.com/
(all images courtesy of the respective filmmakers)
