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AfriAmerican Immigrant Screening: Local Stories, Global Themes

In Astoria’s historic Kaufman Studios, filmmakers from the African diaspora shared local stories that reverberated deep into universal themes and questions as part of New York Women in Film & Television’s Women Filmmakers: Immigrant Stories screening on May 31, 2018. Featured in the fourth season of this NYWIFT series highlighting narrative and documentary films about the New York immigrant experience, these short films tackled issues ranging from the #MeToo movement, to President Trump’s travel ban, to the immigrant experience, to what it means to be American, among many more.

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...

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...

Terry’s Picks: Deadline Extended, Diversity Matters, Broadway Exclusion

Deadline Extended: We have extended the deadline for submissions to The Writers Lab this year. Women over 40, you now have until 11:59 PM EST on March 5th to send us your scripts! Diversity Matters: As hoped, Marvel’s Black Panther had a wildly successful opening weekend – proof that gender and racial diversity can and...

Terry’s Picks: Reed Morano, Lena Waithe, Silent Revival

Reed Morano: Congrats to The Handmaid’s Tale director Reed Morano, the first woman to win for the Emmy for drama series directing in 22 years. Lena Waithe: Kudos to Lena Waithe, who is the first black woman to win an Emmy for best comedy writing for her spectacular Master of None episode, “Thanksgiving.” (Our own...

Terry’s Picks: Casting Couch, Create NYC, Sherry Lansing

Casting Couch: The Guardian sheds light on the all-too-common phenomenon of the “casting couch culture,” featuring important insight from NYWIFT member Meissa Hampton. This has to stop, and kudos to Meissa and all the other women who speak out about it. Create NYC: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom...

Sound Bite: Actor Carmen Ejogo at Designing Women

Our exclusive red carpet moment with acclaimed actor Carmen Ejogo, who offered her take on how women of color can persevere in the film and television industry.

Terry’s Picks: Diversity Reports, Swim Team, Stony Brook

Diversity Reports: In a push to encourage diversity across New York State’s film and television industry, applications for the New York State Film Tax Credit Program now include two new forms that will provide critical information to support that effort. Swim Team: Catch NYWIFT member Lara Stolman’s documentary Swim Team it at its Oscar-qualifying run...

Terry’s Picks: New Law, #SummerHours, Abigail Disney

New Law: Kudos to the New York State legislature, which passed a new law on Wednesday allocating up to $5 million in new tax incentives to encourage the hiring of women and people of color as TV writers and directors. #SummerHours: Yesterday we launched NYWIFT’s new #SummerHours blog series focusing on content created by and/or...

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.

Terry’s Picks: Representation Matters, Sheila Nevins, Box Office

Representation Matters: Kathryn O’Kane was among the five NYWIFT board members who joined me at the Women’s Media Summit in Provincetown, MA, last month. She recaps it for our Huffington Post column, as we look ahead to what’s next. Sheila Nevins: NYWIFT member Sheila Nevins, President of HBO Documentary Films, sat down with Lesley Stahl...

Moving Forward: Representation Matters: NYWIFT at the Women’s Media Summit

NYWIFT Board member Kathryn O'Kane was among the six NYWIFT representatives who attended the historic Women's Media Summit in Provincetown, MA, last month. She offers a recap, including the opinions and takeaways of fellow board members, and looks ahead at what's next.

Women in Film & Television History: Meet Ethel Payne, Journalist & First Female African-American National Network News Commentator

Ethel Payne was known in as “the first lady of the black press” and was described by journalist Gwen Ifil as “the most influential journalist and activist most people have never heard of.”

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,...

Terry’s Picks: Pay Gap, Likeability Factor, Maya Angelou

Pay Gap: Newsweek spells out the startling pay gap between white and minority actors on television. Likeability Factor: Read this smart interview with Amy Landecker, who plays Sarah Pfefferman on Amazon’s Transparent. She talks about playing a “hot mess,” sexism, and how “fully formed humans” aren’t always 100% likeable. Maya Angelou: WIF LA member Rita...

Meet the New Board Members: S. Casper Wong

NYWIFT member S. Casper Wong left a cushy Silicon Valley job as IBM corporate counsel to become a filmmaker, and has since written, directed and produced both shorts and features; founded The Peace Pod Project; and founded (and currently chairs) Asian American Women Media Makers. Now, she brings her passion and activism to the NYWIFT Board. Join us as we get to know one of the new additions to NYWIFT's Board of Directors.

Terry’s Picks: Busting Sexism, Girl Power, Cultural Change

Busting Sexism: Paul Feig’s all-female Ghostbusters reboot premiered this weekend and sparked an important conversation about the importance of women’s voices in film criticism, diversity in Hollywood, and how children are affected by seeing themselves represented on screen. Girl Power: Can’t stop watching the new amazing feminist makeover the Spice Girls’ hit “Wannabe.” Check it...

Terry’s Picks: Under Pressure, Reverse Renaissance, Hollywood Power

Under pressure: Reese Witherspoon talked to Entertainment Weekly about how, due to lack of opportunities and added scrutiny, women directors aren’t allowed to fail. Reverse Renaissance: A new study from the Writers Guild of America shows that “progress has been slow at best for women and minority writers in an era of television renaissance, while...

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