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True Crime: Relationships and Responsibilities

There is no doubt that the “true crime” documentary genre is thriving and that such film and television projects are enjoying unprecedented buzz. Studies show that women are their biggest audience, and broadcasters are taking notice. By the nature of their work, non-fiction storytellers are always considering how to present and represent their subjects through the creative process. But how is that further complicated in the “true crime” space, when the stakes might literally be life or death? Where do they draw the line between journalism and entertainment?

Terry’s Picks: Swim Team, Shonda Rhimes, Nancy Malone

Swim Team: Tune in or set your DVR for Swim Team’s PBS premiere on POV at 10 PM next Monday, October 2nd! The documentary was a recipient of NYWIFT Loreen Arbus Disability Awareness Grant. Congratulations to director Lara Stolman! #SwimTeamPBS Shonda Rhimes: The must-see TV mastermind launched a new website, Shondaland. As she notes in...

Creating Empathy in Virtual Reality: 10 Takeaways

NYWIFT’s Documentary Committee brought together a panel of Virtual Reality producers and filmmakers who are conquering this emerging vehicle for storytelling in powerful ways on May 9th, 2017, with Creating Empathy in Virtual Reality: The Challenges and Success of Immersive Experiences. Brittany Rostron offers the top ten takeaways.

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...

The Women’s Film Preservation Fund 2016 Grants are awarded to five groundbreaking works from the 1920s and 1970s

The NYWIFT Women’s Film Preservation Fund's (WFPF’s) 2016 grants have now been awarded. The films include three shorts from the 1920’s by pioneering filmmaker Angela Murray Gibson and two important films from the 1970’s, SISTERS! by Barbara Hammer and Women’s Happy Time Commune by Sheila Paige. WFPF Steering Committee Co-Chair Ann Deborah Levy explains why these particular films are important to women's legacy, and how you can help.

A Filmmaker is Born: How the Power of One Immigrant’s Story Inspired a Musician to Go Visual

Filmmakers create great stories every day. But once in a while, a truly great story will create a filmmaker. Such was the case with Patricia Shih and her debut film, Undocumented. The inspiring documentary, which was screened on March 16th at the Queens World Film Festival as part of NYWIFT’s Women Filmmakers: Immigrant Stories series, showcases the realization of the American Dream through the unique story of undocumented-immigrant-turned-successful-cardiac surgeon, Dr. Harold Fernandez.

Meet Kahane Cooperman, the Director of Oscar-nominated Short Doc Joe’s Violin

Director and producer Kahane Cooperman discusses the inspiration for her short documentary Joe's Violin, her Oscar nomination, and the support she received from New York Women in Film & Television.

Terry’s Picks: Viola Davis, Caroline Waterlow, Joi McMillon

Viola Davis: Congratulations to Viola Davis, who became the first black actor to win an Oscar, Emmy and Tony Award this weekend. And with her role in Fences, she is only the second person in history to win a Tony and an Oscar for playing the same role but in different categories. (The first? Yul Brynner...

Terry’s Picks: Anna Hozian, Nicole Kidman, Download Now

Anna Hozian: Congratulations to Anna Hozian, whose screenplay Anchor Baby, about a 13-year-old growing up in the Arizona Border Militia, has been acquired by Lynmar Entertainment (The Lost City of Z, Pawn Sacrifice). Hozian developed the script at The Writers Lab in 2015. Nicole Kidman: In an interview with The New York Times, the star...

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...

NYWIFT Panel: Streaming Stories: Short Docs for the Web

NYWIFT's Streaming Stories: Short Docs for the Web panel explored how the medium of documentary film is adapting to a marketplace where an increasing number of films are reaching audiences online and viewers’ attention spans are getting shorter. In recent years, both producing documentary content for the web and releasing documentary shorts online have emerged as successful ways to increase mainstream viewership and promote filmmakers' work. Watch the full panel now - for FREE - on NYWIFT's YouTube channel!

NOW ON VOD – FEBRUARY 2016

This month, NYWIFT members are offering some feature length film suggestions to your VOD queue - plus a film screening in NYC today, one coming up very soon, and one you can pre-order for digital download while simultaneously supporting its Kickstarter campaign for wide release. So show some love to members of New York Women in Film & Television and check out these films...

NOW ON VOD – Jan 2016

Indie projects available to watch now from #NYWIFT members. This month you can watch a comedic web series about NY women entrepreneurs selling weed, a documentary about losing virginity, a feature drama about 30-somethings trying to get laid, a short holiday film and more...

#TBT Flix Not to Miss: ‘The Gleaners & I’ (2000) by Agnes Varda

The Gleaners, an oil painting by Jean-François Millet. In her documentary The Gleaners & I (2000), Agnes Varda’s point-of-departure is a 1857 painting by Jean-Francois Millet portraying three women gleaning the fields. The painting, hanging in the Musee d’Orsay in Paris, is captured in the film through crowds of onlookers. While in his painting Millet sought to give a voice to...

Fiscal Sponsorship & NYWIFT for Indie Filmmakers

Musician Clarice Magalhães and producer-director Irene Walsh in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Walsh’s documentary LAPA: The Heart of Samba chronicles a community of musicians and composers as their music resurrects a Rio de Janeiro neighborhood. My first feature-length documentary, LAPA: The Heart of Samba, is a project that I have largely funded myself, with a third of...

Oscar Madness: Cutie and the Boxer

Noriko and Ushio Shinohara in Cutie and the Boxer (Photo via The Guardian) Love is a ROARRRR. In the documentary Cutie and the Boxer, this is the name of the first joint show by the film’s subjects, Japanese artist couple Ushio and Noriko Shinohara. It doubles as a fitting title for their four decades-long relationship, explored...

Flix Not To Miss: ‘The Square’

The Square, shortlisted for an Oscar in the documentary competition this year and winner of the 2013 Sundance audience award, is a courageous feat of filmmaking by Jehane Noujaim. Noujaim’s documentary begins in 2011 and follows a group of young people nonviolently protesting in Tahrir Square, advocating for political change to the Mubarek regime. We...

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