NYWIFT Blog

By Jessica Moskowitz

Welcome to NYWIFT, Sydney Sidner! Sydney is an award-winning filmmaker, screenwriter and educator with an impressive resume of work appearing on TV, film and in the theater. 

In our interview, she encourages creators to be both passionate and flexible. Read on to learn more. 

What brings you to NYWIFT? 

I have heard about NYWIFT for years and finally got around to it.

You’re such an experienced TV pilot and screenwriter. What are three tips you usually share with people trying to break into these areas? What else would you share with mid-career professionals? 

Tips. Hmmmm. Keep creating. Write and/or make stories you would love to see and really want to share. Find ways you don’t hate to support yourself that make that possible. If you can.

You’ve also directed theater for renowned companies both nationally and internationally. What qualities do the best directors possess?

I think great directors listen, watch, encourage, have a specific plan – and are willing to toss it out. 

Can you talk about the Pond Hill Writers’ Retreat, where you are an instructor? How do you think NYWIFT members could benefit from participating in an opportunity like this? 

I think any writers’ retreat that gives you the chance to take risks in like-minded company while unplugging from your daily life is a good thing. 

What projects are you working on going into fall and early next year? Anything to promote or brag about? 

I just got a job writing for NBC’s reboot of The Rockford Files. The writers’ room starts in July and the show airs in January. I’m incredibly excited to help make it great if I can. I’m also currently writing and producing an indie feature titled My Problem With Marriage to be directed by Peter Hedges and produced by Maven Screen Media. 

Connect with Sydney Sidner on her website at sydneysidner.com.

About Sydney Sidner

Sydney Sidner has taught TV pilot writing and screenwriting at Columbia film school, NYU film school and Stony Brook’s M.F.A. Manhattan film program. She taught acting, improv and directed at The Dalton School and taught both theater and screenwriting classes at Northwestern University’s National High School Institute (NHSI).

After receiving a BFA in acting from Carnegie-Mellon, she went to New York and began directing plays at venues including Manhattan Class Company, Circle Rep, Lincoln Center, The National Theater of London, and Williamstown Theater Festival, where she was awarded the Boris Sagal Directing Fellowship. She was also awarded grants from The Drama League of New York, Circle Rep Lab and New York Foundation for the Arts.

She went on to earn an MFA in screenwriting from Columbia Film School, where her short THE RITE won ‘Best Film’ at the Columbia Film Festival, and was a finalist for The National Board of Review’s ‘Best Student Film.’ 

(All images courtesy of Sydney Sidner)