Our Next Program
NYWIFT Virtual Hangout with WIFT Austin
30 Jul 2025 @ 07:00pm
Gather together online with your NYWIFT colleagues at our July 30th virtual speed networking mixer. We will be joined by our Southern friends from Women in Film & TV Austin! Come ready to share creative ideas, suggestions, and contact info for further engagement.
We will begin the evening with a ten-minute salon conversation to discuss WIFT Austin’s latest opportunities and initiatives, followed by about 90 minutes of speed networking, during which you will be randomly paired off with other attendees to network one-on-one. This is a great opportunity for NYWIFT members to network with their WIFT sisters.
NYWIFT hangouts are a safe space to ask entertainment related questions, seek advice, employment and other industry opportunities. Prep your elevator pitch and get ready to make connections! As always, all members are welcome and encouraged to attend and mix, mingle.
LATEST blogs
NYWIFT Member Spotlight: Kathryn O’Kane
Today, we’re shining a spotlight on former NYWIFT Board Member Kathryn O’Kane! Kathryn is the co-director and co-writer of the short comedic film Subtext, which has been accepted into the 2025 LA Shorts International Film Festival, screening July 26 at 7:45 p.m. LA Shorts is the longest-running short film festival in Los Angeles. The festival screens over 400 films and attracts 10,000 attendees each year, including Hollywood industry professionals and emerging undiscovered independent filmmakers. Subtext follows Eric, who is running late to his first date with Sara, and he just can’t stop texting. A feeling so many of us, unfortunately, are bound to relate to. Kathryn sat down with co-director, co-writer, and editor Christopher Raby to talk to us about their creative process.
Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Christine Stoddard
Welcome to NYWIFT, Christine Stoddard! Christine Stoddard is a filmmaker, TV personality, and video artist named one of Brooklyn Magazine’s Top 50 Most Fascinating People. Her latest film is 5 Ways I Didn’t Marry You, directed by Tom Dunn. A 2025 graduate of Columbia Journalism School and the Columbia Painting Intensive, she creates imaginative films, deeply reported TV programs, and playful videos. Currently, she hosts the TV show Don't Mind If I Don't with Aaron Gold. She also runs the YouTube channel Stoddard Says and terrorizes the Internet with her alter ego Art Bitch. Her feature film, Sirena's Gallery, is streaming on Amazon and Tubi and was featured in The Brooklyn Rail. As founder of Quail Bell Press & Productions, her film and theater projects have been recognized by the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, the Puffin Foundation, the Brooklyn Arts Council, and other organizations. Get to know Christine, her roots in the film industry, and her experiences as a TV host!
Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Andrea Frierson
Welcome to NYWIFT, Andrea Frierson! Two-time Helen Hayes Award nominee Andrea Frierson is a Dramatists Guild Fellow, a NYSCA grant recipient, and a Library of Congress Award-winner (Ethnographic Research, American Folklife). Her plays and musicals have been produced by Lincoln Center Theater and the York Theatre Company in NYC, among others. As an actor, her Broadway productions include: The Lion King, Once on This Island, Bring in ‘Da Noise/Bring in ‘Da Funk, Eubie!, For Colored Girls, Marie Christine, and Julie Taymor’s Juan Darien: A Carnival Mass. Television appearances include: Quantico, Pose, Red Oaks, Elementary, and Harlem. Andrea was a series regular on the Nickelodeon TV series, Allegra’s Window. In our interview, Andrea discusses her experiences as a writer, actor, and singer, and her journey writing her memoir.
Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Mari SanGiovanni
Welcome to NYWIFT, Mari SanGiovanni! Mari is an award-winning LGBTQ filmmaker, screenwriter, director, and owner of Love Is Love Productions, LLC. She is also a published author of four novels and multiple screenplays, two of which have been produced as short films: The Sibling Rule (picked up by a LGBTQ streaming service, Lesflicks) and Retreat, which will be in festivals in 2025. In our conversation, Mari discusses her roots in the film industry, her experiences as a writer, and how she advocates for the LGBTQ+ community through her work.
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