NYWIFT Blog

“Work” Re-Tells the Mythical Story of Lilith with a Modern Feminist Twist

Two NYWIFT members have joined forces with a team of immigrant women filmmakers to tell the story of ​WORK​, a short film written and directed by Aoife Williamson. ​WORK​, a comedy-drama, follows Lilith, a musician scrambling to create a song in one day to submit for a job that could sky-rocket her music career. It just so happens that this day is a very busy day at her money job... and it just so happens that her “money job” is as a sex worker, named Eve.

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7 Tips to Building a Successful Partnership to Create an Oscar-Nominated Film

In the inaugural conversation of NYWIFT’s new series Master Collaborations: The Power of Creative Partnerships on May 23, 2018, director Kahane Cooperman and producer Raphaela Neihausen opened up about how they worked together to create Joe’s Violin – and its road to being nominated for the Academy Awards.

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Heather Taylor on Crowdfunding for Pay to Stay and the Importance of Onscreen Diversity

"I want to have representation across different sexualities and different races in my films because that is the world I see when I walk down the streets of New York," says NYWIFT member Heather Taylor. Katrina Medoff sat down with Taylor to talk diversity in filmmaking (both onscreen and off) as her crowdfunding campaign for her horror short Pay to Stay draws to a close.

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The Ask for Jane Filmmakers on Telling a Little-Known Story from Women’s History

When NYWIFT member Cait Johnston first heard about the Jane Collective — a real-life group of women who helped others get abortions before Roe v. Wade — at a NYWIFT screening, she knew it was a story she had to tell. She teamed up with fellow member Rachel Carey, a screenwriter and director she know through a NYC theater company called The Shelter, to create Ask for Jane, a narrative feature film that they are currently crowdfunding for on Seed&Spark.

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Terry’s Picks: Spark Diversity, Rachel Feldman, Sundance Women

Spark Diversity: Crowdfunding and distribution platform Seed & Spark announced the #100DaysOfDiversity initiative, a movement joining creators, audiences, brands, festivals and organizations to actively increase representation in entertainment in 100 days. Rachel Feldman: Deadline has a wonderful interview with Rachel Feldman about her fight to get Fair Fight, about the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act,...

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Terry’s Picks: Muse Awards, Kirsten Johnson, Funding Women

Muse Awards: We’re thrilled to announce the honorees for this year’s Muse Awards: Mary-Louise Parker (actor), Debi Mazar (actor), Martha Plimpton (actor), Marica Smith (President of Firelight Media) and Jacki Kelly (Chief Operating Officer of Bloomberg Media). The Loreen Arbus Changemaker Award will be presented to Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!, pictured above). Join us on...

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Filming Close (or Maybe a Bit Too Close) to Home

Making make believe is difficult and costly. So heading home to Asbury Park, where encouragement and support is offered freely, was the right choice for Jersey girl (and NYWIFT member) Christina Eliopoulos. She tells us about free hot dogs, meddling neighbors and why mothers make the best publicists.

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Drive Your Own Career: Producers of ‘The Kids Menu’ Talk Collaboration

Photo credit: Shane Maritch. A common frustration for many actors is the constant grind of looking for work, auditioning, and then waiting for the phone to ring (or the email to appear). So, ten women and myself decided to take our careers into our own hands and independently produce projects together. Our first collaboration is...

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NYWIFT’s May Events: Reality TV, Crowdfunding, and More

//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/132037876?et=icW4txOvQHdEavSB5nAJxA&SeoLinks=off&sig=xMCXtqKMEzUUksWEohaXF06lItNujTkOruxSvSGgjqw= Sign up for New York Women in Film & Television’s programs in May: Producing a Dynamite Sizzle Reel: The Key to the Sale Thursday, May 1, 6 pm Tribeca Film Center (375 Greenwich Street) TV and digital packaging agent Jim Arnoff will moderate an expert panel who will give you the insider’s take on how...

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NYWIFT Recap: Create the Buzz, Audience Will Follow

Cheree Dillion, Kristin McCracken, Gary Hustwit, Roz Murphy, Marisa Vitale, Angela Tucker, Elisabeth Holme, and Jorge Rivera.  The power of social media in independent film is undeniable. Which is why filmmakers want to know how can social media can increase their film’s visibility and audience reach. Held on November 21, Create the Buzz, Audience Will...

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NYWIFT Panel Recap: Filmmakers Talk Film Funding

On April 30, NYWIFT partnered with the International Documentary Association (IDA) at Tribeca Film Center to present a lively panel discussion with filmmakers discussing how they funded their films. Photograph by Jennifer Silverman. The amazing panel included Mary Dore, Nancy Kennedy, Susan MacLaury, Megan Smith-Harris, John T. Trigonis, and moderator Savanna Washington. They all had great...

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