NYWIFT Blog

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Cameron Kit

Let’s give a warm NYWIFT welcome to Cameron Kit! Cameron is an award-winning feminist sci-fi director living in Brooklyn whose short film Chlorine was a big hit at multiple film festivals and won “Best Cinematography” at NYCA. Altogether, Cameron’s projects have been featured at 30+ film festivals across the U.S. and Japan. From 2013 until recently, Cameron was the CEO and Artistic Director at Whiteboard Geeks in Richmond, VA. As her website highlights, Cameron’s overarching goal is to “join in the development of an art that will contribute to a world in which women, people of color, and queer folks are respected as equal citizens on Planet Earth.” To learn more about Cameron, check out her interview as we discuss the triumphs and setbacks that come with leading an animation studio, her ongoing Sci-Fi podcast They Came from Outer Space, the unyielding longevity of radio, how to make the most of your NYWIFT membership, and the magic that becomes possible when pairing feminism with science fiction!

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NYWIFT @ Tribeca: In Conversation with Producer Steffie van Rhee

Cynthia Lowen’s latest documentary "Battleground" offers an eye-opening window into the anti-choice movement, featuring three women from varying walks of life who have dedicated themselves to rendering abortion illegal. Per the Tribeca website: “Told with restraint and balance, director Cynthia Lowen seeks to clarify rather than condemn, and presents a new point of entry for this challenging topic.” While the film itself clearly aligns with progressive pro-choice advocates (who also appear throughout) it offers a fascinating perspective on the sheer systemic power of the anti-abortion movement and the perilous future, felt painfully today, of Roe v. Wade. "Battleground" was Executive Produced by NYWIFT member Ruth Ann Harnisch and co-produced by member Steffie van Rhee, who sat down with us to discuss the premiere and how this film – from this particular perspective – came to fruition.

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NYWIFT @ Tribeca: In Conversation with Filmmaker Signe Baumane

Signe Baumane’s "My Love Affair With Marriage" is a brilliant animated film for a decidedly adult audience. It’s a semi-autobiographical musical exploration of love, sex, romance, and gender as viewed through the lens of neurochemistry – not your average animated love story! New York Women in Film & Television was proud to present Baumane with a NYWIFT Ravenal Foundation Feature Film Grant for the film, and even prouder to then see it premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Festival! We sat down with Signe to discuss her wildly inventive, intelligent, and very fun film.

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Recap: NYWIFT Talks with Julie Taymor and Kimberly Guerrero About “The Glorias” and Getting Out the Vote

NYWIFT blogger Kristin Reiber Harris reflects on our powerful conversation with the team behind The Glorias, including Julie Taymor's creative process, the celebration of Native voices, and how we as women live in constant dialogue with our former selves.

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“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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Cynthia’s Picks: Sundance Fest, It’s Time, Fair Credits

Sundance Fest: Congratulations to all the NYWIFT members with films screening at Sundance! The festival opens on Thursday and runs through February 3rd.  It’s time: Variety noted the uptick in feminist stories featured in Oscar contenders this year. Of course, this female focus didn’t extend to the directing nominations – women were shut out of...

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#SummerHours #BingeWatch-Worthy Family Content: Three Fun, Feminist Picks for the Whole Family

Mellini Kantayya offers up three fun, feminist, and family-friendly binge-worthy picks for all ages and genders to fill your #SummerHours. If you're not careful, you might get even more addicted than your kids do!

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Terry’s Picks: ReFrame Stamp, Women Directors, Binge Watch

ReFrame Stamp: The ReFrame organization has created the ReFrame Stamp in partnership with IMDBpro, a badge of honor for film and TV projects that hire women in at least half of eight key production positions – writer, director, producer, lead actor, co-lead, speaking parts, department heads and crew – with double points for women of...

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Terry’s Picks: NYWIFT Grants, Abby Wambach, Follow Through

NYWIFT Grants: Applications for the NYWIFT Fund for Women Filmmakers are open now through June 22nd. The funds are: the Loreen Arbus Disability Awareness Grant, In-Kind Post-Production Grants, the Nancy Malone Marketing and Promotion Grant, and the Ravenal Foundation Feature Film Grant.  Abby Wambach: Take a few minutes to listen to or read soccer star...

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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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Chavela Director Catherine Gund Shares Lessons on Feminism, Women Filmmakers and Music

We sat down with director Catherine Gund to discuss her personal connection with the artist, how Chavela is still relevant today, and of course, the music. 

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Terry’s Picks: Empowering Advertising, What’s Next, Ideal Location

Empowering Advertising: I loved Audi’s Super Bowl ad touting the importance of equal pay, which leads with the poignant question, “What do I tell my daughter?” What’s Next: The NY Times checks in with three lauded filmmakers from Sundance 2014, to see how the festival buzz shaped their careers. Ideal Location: MovieMaker takes a look...

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WEEKLY ROUNDUP: HISTORY, INSPIRATION & THE “F” WORD

Photo via Variety / Evgenia Eliseeva With a female director, writer, composer and choreographer, “Waitress” will make Broadway history! ”It’s just bad business.” Hollywood finally agrees, gender discrimination needs to be addressed. Now. Watch Edie Falco give a one-minute explanation of why & how she became an actor. (VIDEO) Have your “original” story ideas been done before?...

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Terry’s Picks: Jennifer Lawrence, Writing Room, Women Calling the Shots

Raising Hell: Jennifer Lawrence’s scathing take-down of the Hollywood gender pay gap is just what we need – high profile women who can command serious media attention need to bring this outrageous inequity to light. By the way, she wrote it for Lena Dunham’s new Lenny Letter e-newsletter. You should subscribe – only a few...

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Terry’s Picks: Gloria Steinem on ‘The Good Wife,’ DGA Report on Diversity & ‘She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry’

http://can.cbs.com/thunder/player/chrome/canplayer.swf?pid=y_5KPwXjuz2Z&partner=cbs&gen=1 Loved: Gloria Steinem’s turn on The Good Wife last Sunday. Check it out if you didn’t see it. She continues to inspire. Enough already! The DGA reports that there has been no progress for inclusion of women and people of color in episodic television. Can’t wait to see: She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry, a film...

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‘Monster-Fighting Feminists’

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Over at RogerEbert.com, Bob Calhoun discusses the liberated women of 1950s sci-fi cinema — classics like Them! (1954) and The Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) — and why the woman scientist archetype waned in later decades: In her October 8, 2013 RogerEbert.com piece, “Visual Pleasure and Voodoo Demographics: a Reflection on...

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Tweet of the Week

On #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen; Feminism Is Not Black And White http://t.co/VBY8yRGALB #MissRep by @freedom_writer — Miss Representation (@RepresentPledge) August 13, 2013 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js – @annelabarba

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Tweet of the Week

Two is Just Too Many Women for Spiderman to Deal With | Women and Hollywood http://t.co/x6dC59SlNO — Melissa Silverstein (@melsil) June 19, 2013 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js From the @NYWIFT list NYWIFT Members. – @annelabarba

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