Behind the Lens: NYWIFT Filmmakers in Focus at Tribeca

New York Women in Film & Television is proud to present in partnership with Kaufman Astoria Studios and The NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME), “Behind the Lens: NYWIFT Filmmakers in Focus at Tribeca”.

Join us for a lively conversation at Kaufman Astoria Studios showcasing the work of NYWIFT Members heading to Tribeca Festival 2025. Featuring Lois Drabkin (Co-Producer & Casting Director, Ride or Die), Susan Lacy (Director & Producer, Billy Joel: And So It Goes), Chantel Simpson (Director, A Drastic Tale), and Marcella Steingart (Producer, Barbara Walters Tell Me Everything). Moderated by NYWIFT CEO Cynthia Lopez.

Networking cocktail reception with light bites to follow.

Register

DATE
Thursday, May 29, 2025

TIME
6:30-7:30pm (Panel)
7:30 – 8:30pm (Networking Reception)

VENUE
Kaufman Astoria Studios – Studio B (34-12 36^th Street, Astoria, NY 11106)

DIRECTIONS
By Subway:
– Take the R or M train to Steinway Street. Use the 34th Avenue exit near the end of train. Walk south along Steinway Street, turn right on 35th Avenue. 
– Take the E to Queens Plaza. Transfer to the R or M and proceed to Steinway Street.
– Take the N or Q to 36th Avenue (Astoria). Walk east to 36th Street.

By Bus:
The Q66 bus stops nearby along 35th Avenue, a short walk to 36th Street.

 

Welcome Remarks from NYC Commissioner of Media & Entertainment Pat Swinney Kaufman 

Pat Swinney Kaufman serves as Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME). Prior to her appointment in July 2023, Kaufman was First Deputy Commissioner at MOME, overseeing the agency’s work in developing programmatic strategies and support for film, television, theatre, music, advertising, publishing, and digital media.

Kaufman brings a wealth of experience in economic development and fostering the entertainment industry to grow jobs and bring revenue to New York State. She served for 19 years as Executive Director of the New York State Governor’s Office for Motion Picture and Television Development and as Deputy Commissioner of Empire State Development. During her tenure, she helped craft and shepherd the legislation that created the New York State Film Production Tax Credit. She also worked to create the standalone Post-Production Tax Credit and the Commercial Production Incentive programs.

Kaufman was President of the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI) from 2003-2007 and sat on the board of the Hamptons International Film Festival and the New York Production Alliance. Her work has earned her numerous accolades including Variety’s Women’s Impact List, AFCI’s Arthur M. Loew Crystal Vision Award, the New York Women in Film and Television Muse Award, and The Gotham 50, celebrating New Yorkers who revitalize Gotham’s showbiz legacy.

In addition to her work in entertainment, Kaufman has served as President of the New York Junior League and sits on the board of the YWCA of Greater New York and Parents in Action/New York City. Kaufman received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Sweet Briar College and a Masters Degree in Instructional History from the Teachers College at Columbia University.

 

Panelists:

Lois Drabkin is a NY-based Casting Director and Producer whose work covers a wide range, notably in independent features and shorts that have premiered at prestigious festivals, including Independent Spirit Award acting-nominated features Nancy (J. Smith-Cameron), Colewell (Karen Allen) and Glass Chin (Marin Ireland), and films for first-time feature directors such as Night Catches Us (Sundance), Restless City (Sundance), Weakness (Austin), The Ranger (SXSW), and the upcoming Ride or Die (Tribeca). Other credits include the Emmy-winning first season of Showtime’s climate change documentary series, Years of Living Dangerously, and on the casting teams for Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, the acclaimed HBO Series The Wire, and Michael Mann’s Public Enemies. For Guggenheim Museum, she cast NY actors for taped guides, including Bobby Cannavale, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jeremy Pope, BD Wong and Marilee Talkington. A member of the Casting Society, Lois has been nominated for multiple Artios Awards for Outstanding Casting.

 

In 2013 Susan Lacy began a new chapter in her long and celebrated documentary filmmaking career. After nearly thirty years as Executive Producer of the acclaimed American Masters series (which she created for PBS in 1986), Susan decided to form her own company, Pentimento Productions. Now, Susan is focused solely on directing and producing. She recently completed definitive films on the lives of Steven Spielberg, Jane Fonda, and Ralph Lauren, and executive produced The Janes. These projects are part of Pentimento’s exclusive multi-picture deal with HBO. Susan is currently directing a film about the life and work of Billy Joel, which will be her fourth major film under Pentimento’s deal with HBO. The film will have a full-scale premiere on HBO networks in 2025.
As the Series Creator and Executive Producer of American Masters, Susan was responsible for the production and national broadcast of more than 215 documentary films about our country’s artistic and cultural giants — those who have made an indelible impact on the American landscape. Susan earned the series 71 Emmy nominations and 28 wins, including a remarkable 10 for Outstanding Non-Fiction Series, in addition to 13 Peabody Awards, three Grammy Awards and a nomination, and an Academy Award and four nominations. Among many other distinctions, Susan was a Governor of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for eight years, is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and a cherished member of Guild Hall’s Academy.

 

Chantel Simpson is a producer and director of commercials, branded content, and documentaries. Her most recent independent project, Children of the Zulu Kings (2024), is a short experimental film that pays homage to a living legend of NYC’s breakdancing culture. It was featured on Girls In Film
and Curation Hour. In the past, she was a video journalist at media companies including VICE where she reported on stories at the intersection of music, culture, race, and social issues. She’s based in Brooklyn, New York.

 

Marcella Garcia Steingart is a Brooklyn-based Emmy and Peabody Award-winning producer, writer, director, and showrunner with a boundless curiosity for exploring the human condition through character-driven, emotionally complex storytelling shaped by an artful sensibility. Her projects span award-winning documentaries, docuseries, short films, and branded content for clients such as Netflix, Apple TV+, Amazon Studios, ABC News Studios, Hulu, Showtime, BBC, CNN, Discovery, PBS, Harpo, GAP, IBM, and Google.
Most recently, she produced the feature documentary Barbara Walters Tell Me Everything in collaboration with ABC News Studios and Imagine Documentaries, premiering at the Tribeca Festival. Her previous acclaimed work includes the Peabody-winning film Judy Blume Forever; the Emmy winning featurette Who Are You, Charlie Brown?; the Emmy-nominated Netflix series Abstract: The Art of Design; the CNN series Death Row Stories; Showtime’s DarkNet; and the NAACP Image Award-winning Oprah’s Master Class. She also produced the Cannes Lion-winning branded series What is Watson? and directed the YouTube documentary series Prodigies, which received the International Academy of Web TV Award for Best Documentary Series.
Although Marcella works primarily in non-fiction, she continues exploring her passion for fiction. She recently finished a short screenplay she plans on directing. Marcella is a member of the DGA, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and NYWIFT. She graduated with high honors from Colgate University and received her MFA from NYU Tisch School of Film and Television, where she was the recipient of the Ang Lee Scholarship.

 

Cynthia López (Moderator) is an award-winning media strategist, and former Commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, where she implemented strategies to support film and TV production throughout the five boroughs.
Cynthia is the recipient of many coveted industry awards including: 11 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, a Special Emmy Award for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking, three Peabody Awards, and two duPont-Columbia Awards. Prior to working as Commissioner, Cynthia was Executive Vice President and co-Executive Producer of the award-winning PBS documentary series American Documentary | POV, and was involved in the organization’s strategic growth and creative development for 14 years.
Cynthia served on the Board of Trustees for the Paley Center, NYC & Company, Museum of the Moving Image and the Tribeca Film Institute Latin America Fund Advisory Board. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Color Congress, Latino Public Broadcasting, Manhattan Neighborhood Network, The Peabody Awards Board of Jurors, and Women in Film & Television International (WIFTI).

 

 

Thanks to our partners:

 

 

 

Learn more about the NYWIFT Members at the 2025 Tribeca Festival!