Cynthia’s Picks: Sundance Success, Online Shorts, Ledbetter Film
Sundance Success: Thanks to all who attended our two inaugural events at the Sundance Film Festival this year! Be sure to check out the photos of our favorite moments. And congratulations to our NYWIFT community members who took home Sundance Awards – Radha Blank, who won the award for Directing for her debut film The 40-Year-Old-Version...
READ MOREOscars, Take Note: Women’s Weekend Film Challenge Arrives in LA
On January 13, 2020, the same day that the 2020 Oscars nominations were released — with not a single woman nominated for Best Director for the 87th time in 92 years — the founders of Women’s Weekend Film Challenge (WWFC) opened up applications for their first Los Angeles-based event to advance women in the film industry. The organization’s goals are to provide an intensive networking opportunity for female filmmakers while telling women’s stories on screen. WWFC founders say that the reason so many women apply to the challenge is because they know that the film industry revolves around connections — and WWFC provides the perfect opportunity to make them. Co-founder (and NYWIFT member) Katrina Medoff explains why the group is more relevant than ever.
READ MORECynthia’s Picks: DGA Report, Muse Awards, Raffle Tickets
DGA Report: Some good news to start your holiday season – the latest DGA Episodic TV Director Inclusion Report shows that in the 2018-2019 television season, half of all TV episodes were directed by women and/or minority directors. Muse Awards: You still have time to buy tickets to our 40th Anniversary NYWIFT Muse Awards on...
READ MORECynthia’s Picks: Muse Honorees, Member News, Women Directors
Muse Honorees: NYWIFT is beyond thrilled to announce the honorees for this year’s 40th Anniversary NYWIFT Muse Awards on December 10th! Please join us in celebrating actor Ann Dowd, singer and executive Gloria Estefan, Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud, director Kasi Lemmons, writer/creator Shoshannah Stern, and Tribeca Enterprises CEO Jane Rosenthal, a past Muse honoree who...
READ MOREWhat’s in Your Toolkit: Kathryn O’Kane
"In this increasingly digital age, I still really like to work on paper," says television director and producer Kathryn O'Kane. Learn what else is in Kathryn's toolkit!
READ MORE“Ask for Jane” Producer and Star Cait Cortelyou Brings Women’s History to Life on Screen
NYWIFT member Cait Cortelyou has performed on stage or film since childhood but makes a breakthrough debut as producer (and star) of Ask for Jane, which screens at the NYWIFT Member Screening Series on November 19th. Cait sat down with us to discuss how a slice of women's history inspired her to make her producing debut, and what opportunities she sees for women working in the industry today.
READ MOREWhat’s in Your Toolkit: Sini Anderson
Our new column asks our members about their favorite tool, software, article of clothing, shoes on set, favorite scriptwriting software, etc. We caught up with Sini Anderson after her short film screening at the NYWIFT Women Calling the Shots Shorts Showcase at the Hamptons International Film Festival.
READ MORETalya Tibbon’s “Sky and Ground” Puts a Human Face on the Refugee Crisis
NYWIFT Member Talya Tibbon's Sky and Ground tells the harrowing tale of one Syrian family's three-month journey from Greece to Germany feeling violence in their homeland. Facing setbacks, heartaches and threats of deportation, their determination propels them towards a better future. In advance of the film's screening as part of the NYWIFT Member Screening Series, Talya discusses her process and how being an "outsider" is an asset to documentary filmmaking.
READ MORENYWIFT Member Jill Salvino Brings LGBTQIA Documentary “Between the Shades” to Schools Nationwide
NYWIFT member Jill Salvino is an accomplished storyteller and commercial director with over 200 awards to her name, including an Emmy. But one of her proudest accomplishments is also one of her most recent – her feature documentary directorial debut Between the Shades. Profiled in The New York Times in April under the quippy headline “How Gay Are You?” the documentary asks just that, yet so much more. Salvino spoke to us about the process of making the film, working with her documentary subjects and what she hopes to accomplish with the film’s educational release.
READ MORECynthia’s Picks: Film Registry, My Update, Orange Ending
Film Registry: Our Washington, DC, sister chapter WIFV-DC launched their annual campaign to include more women-directed films in the National Film Registry. We hope you will support them by nominating some wonderful female-driven films this year. My Update: Speaking of DC, I sent out a recent update to the NYWIFT community about my first seven...
READ MOREDiane Paragas’ Timely Immigration Story “Yellow Rose” Arrives in NYC
In a media landscape dominated by outraged, emotional debates over our nation’s immigration crisis, DACA, ICE, detainment, and children’s immense suffering, writer/director Diane Paragas’ long-in-the-making film "Yellow Rose" has burst on to the scene. And it could not be more timely. Paragas discusses the film's long journey to the screen and what she hopes to contribute to our cultural conversation on immigration.
READ MORECynthia’s Picks: Women’s Soccer, Mulan Trailer, Invitation Parity
Women’s Soccer: The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team did more than just win the World Cup this weekend – they started a worldwide conversation about equal pay. They play better and bring in more income than the men’s team, but are paid less. And they’re suing. Mulan Trailer: The trailer for Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan...
READ MORECynthia’s Picks: Sarah Finn, Ava Duvernay, Olivia Wilde
Sarah Finn: Casting Director Sarah Finn may the true superhero of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – she cast more than a thousand actors in almost every single Marvel film since the first Iron Man– including all of the stars. It was a unique challenge that required thinking how the cast members might overlap in the...
READ MORENYWIFT Members use filmmaking to support the next generation of women running for political office
On November 12, 2018, just one week after a record 117 women won their races for seats in Congress, seven NYWIFT members came together with She Should Run, a non-partisan nonprofit with a mission to expand the talent pool of women running for office in the United States, hosted by HBO. NYWIFT member Kristina Teschner, who participated in the program, recently signed on as the Co-Director of Creative Strategy & New Media at the Cabán for Queens campaign, and shares more about the natural evolution between filmmaking and political campaigning.
READ MORECynthia’s Picks: Thelma Schoonmaker, Unequal Representation, Inclusion Commitment, Record Breaker
Thelma Schoonmaker: Congratulations to 1995 NYWIFT Muse honoree Thelma Schoonmaker, who was honored this weekend with a BAFTA fellowship for her incredible 50-year editing career. Unequal Representation: The Women’s Media Center’s “Investigation 2019: Gender and Non-Acting Oscar Nominations” found that women are once again missing from the picture. No women were nominated in Directing, Cinematography,...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Cynthia Lopez, Muse Honorees, Triple Nominations
Cynthia Lopez: I am so thrilled that Cynthia Lopez will be my successor as Executive Director of NYWIFT starting January 1st. I will miss my colleagues dearly, but I know I leave the organization in highly competent hands. Muse Honorees: Join us at the Muse Awards on December 13th! This year’s incredible slate of honorees includes Sarah Jessica...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Rule Breakers, DOC NYC, Carole Chazin
Rule Breakers: Listen to NYWIFT member Jennifer Fox and Board President Simone Pero, writer/director and producer respectively of The Tale on the “Rule Breakers” podcast. Jennifer and Simone talk about the film, the layered consequences of sexual abuse, what we can do to protect others and the journey to healing. DOC NYC: I am thrilled...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Catherine Hardwicke, Hamptons Award, Queens World
Catherine Hardwicke: This profile of Catherine Hardwicke will and should make you angry. It proves the rampant sexism that is still alive and well in our business. After breaking box office records with Twilight, Hardwicke should have been in demand. She was thanked with a cupcake (yes, really), labeled as “difficult,” and her career was...
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