NYWIFT Blog

Three unique and historic approaches to exploring gender on film

In their seventh program in the series From the Vault: Women’s Advocacy on Film, the Women’s Film Preservation Fund and UnionDocs present three significant films of the 1970s which consider ideas around gender in various contexts. WFPF Co-Chair Kirsten Larvick offers a sneak preview.

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Terry’s Picks: Spring Drive, Sandra Oh, Cool Kids

Spring Drive: If you’re not a NYWIFT member yet, now is your chance! Join NYWIFT by May 18 to take advantage of our Spring Membership Drive discount. Sandra Oh: Former Grey’s Anatomy star Sandra Oh discusses her return to television as the star of BBC America’s Killing Eve and the importance of Asian representation on...

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Camerawoman Angela Murray Gibson Films Herself into History, 1921-1925: Marsha Gordon and Buckey Grimm

Angela Murray Gibson, a silent era filmmaker receives due attention at Orphan Film Symposium’s line-up this April 11th – 14th, 2018 at the Museum of Moving Image. That Ice Ticket (1921), a recent NYWIFT Women’s Film Preservation Fund and Kino Lorber preservation, will screen on April 13th as part of the presentation, Camerawoman Angela Murray Gibson Films Herself into History, 1921-1925. Here, its presenters Marsha Gordon and Buckey Grimm offer some insights into this distinguishing filmmaker and her broader mark on American cinema.

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Terry’s Picks: Pilot Season, Tribeca 2018, Diversity Wins

Pilot Season: Women are directing 24 of the 75 broadcast TV pilots this year, which amounts to 32 percent. This is a huge improvement – last year, only 6 out of 70 were directed by women. Tribeca 2018: We have so many NYWIFT members with films headed to Tribeca this year – be sure to...

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Trailblazing Through the Decades: Maleni Chaitoo (2010s)

NYWIFT member Maleni Chaitoo is an actress and a producer. She is known for her appearance in the “New York, I Love You” episode of Master of None and her role as Kayla on the web series Don’t Shoot the Messenger, on which she is also an executive producer.

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Terry’s Picks: S.W.A.N. Day, Lena Waithe, Chloë Sevigny

S.W.A.N. Day: Join NYWIFT for our annual screening, Q&A and reception this Saturday in honor of Support Women Artists Now (S.W.A.N Day), co-presented with our friends at SAG-AFTRA, the School of Visual Arts Film Department, FF2 Media, ImageNation Cinema Foundation, Women in the Arts & Media Coalition (WAMC), African-American Women in Cinema (AAWIC), Women Make...

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Trailblazing through the Decades: Gina Prince-Bythewood (2000s)

In 2000, writer, director, and past NYWIFT Writers Lab mentor Gina Prince-Bythewood blazed a trail with her film Love and Basketball. Not only was the film a critical and commercial success, it won the Humanitas Prize and an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature.

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Trailblazing through the Decades: Cheryl Dunye (1990s)

Twenty years ago a young artist set out to make a documentary about women like herself: black queer filmmakers. She found nothing but homophobia and omission, and then… inspiration. The resulting film The Watermelon Woman marked Cheryl Dunye’s 1996 debut – a hybrid of autobiography, documentary, and comedy. It defies categorization and was the first feature film directed by an African American lesbian.

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Trailblazing Through the Decades: Jessie Maple (1980s)

Jessie Maple is the first black woman to join the union of International Photographers of Motion Picture & Television (IATSE) in New York. Her book, How to Become a Union Camerawoman , is an instructional guide illustrating the obstacles that she endured to get into the union. It details the court case she initiated to fight discrimination after she became a member.

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Trailblazing through the Decades: Sandra Osawa (1970s)

Sandra Osawa is a director, producer, and writer. She is a member of the Makah Nation of Washington State. One could argue that news coverage of Native American issues is still vastly lacking today. Thus, Sandra Osawa was a true ground-breaker in 1974 by directing, producing, and writing NBC’s first news program on Native American issues

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Writer Patty Carey Gets the #Greenlight from NYC

NYWIFT member Patty Carey discusses MOME, her #GreenlightHer pilot competition win, life as a multi-hyphenate, the NYWIFT New Works Lab and more!

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Terry’s Picks: NYC Pilots, Good News, Overlooked Women

NYC Pilots: Business is booming in New York, with 11 hour-long pilots shooting here this year. This ties with the previous record year, 2012. Good News: Although Ava Duvernay’s A Wrinkle in Time wasn’t able to beat Black Panther at the box office, the films still made history, as both the #1 and #2 spots...

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Trailblazing Through the Decades: Ida Lupino (1950s)

British-American actress and producer Ida Lupino, got her start directing when the director of the 1949 film Not Wanted suffered a heart attack during pre-production. Lupino stepped in and shot the film guerilla style to keep the movie on budget and on schedule. Budgeted at just over $150,000, the film grossed $1 million, and Lupino’s reputation spread through Hollywood studios even though the original director retained credit.

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Trailblazing through the Decades: Hedy Lamarr (1940s)

During WWII, a hobbyist inventor worked to help the military come up with a secure communication system to combat the Nazis. By manipulating radio frequencies at irregular intervals between transmission and reception, the invention formed an unbreakable code that prevented classified messages from being intercepted by enemy personnel. This patented form of frequency hopping revolutionized modern communications and formed the foundation for Wi-Fi, cell phone, and Bluetooth technology. The inventor’s name was Hedy Lamarr, and she was also a Hollywood star during MGM’s “Golden Age.”

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Terry’s Picks: Feminist Films, Inclusion Rider, Patty Carey

Feminist Films: Celebrate Women’s History Month by watching these 30 feminist films. Inclusion Rider: Despite record Oscar nominations for women, not as many won as we had hoped – the fewest, in fact, since 2012. But kudos to past NYWIFT Muse honoree and Best Actress winner Frances McDormand, who made of a point of recognizing...

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Trailblazing through the Decades: Esther Eng (1930s)

In honor of Women's History Month, NYWIFT looks back at some of the remarkable women who have shaped the film, television and digital media industries through the decades. We kick off the series in the 1930s. Esther Eng was a film director who also worked as a writer, producer, and distributor. She had an international career, making films both in the United States and Hong Kong. She was the first woman to direct Chinese language films in the U.S.

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Terry’s Picks: Easmanie Michel, The 94%, Man’s World

Easmanie Michel: Congratulations to NYWIFT Finance and Special Events Associate Easmanie Michel, who is the winner of the Fifteenth Annual American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest! From more than 1600 entries received, judge Francis Ford Coppola and the Zoetrope staff have selected Easmanie’s Caroline’s Wedding as the winning script. We are proud to say “we knew her...

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The Brookside Women’s Club of Harlan County

In 1973 the 13-month Brookside Strike brought almost 200 workers to battle Eastover Coal Company’s Brookside Mine and Prep Plant, a company owned by Duke Power. When filmmaker Barbara Kopple traveled to Harlan County, Kentucky, the resulting Academy award-winning documentary, Harlan County, U.S.A. (1976) captured a historic story. We look back on the film, which screens this Sunday, February 25th at UnionDocs.

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