NYWIFT Blog

Terry’s Picks: Film Financing, Designing Women, Women CEO’s

Film Financing: This Friday, June 16, learn how successful indie producers can get their dramatic feature films financed in our intensive all-day seminar presented by our friends at Entertainment Partners. Designing Women: Last week’s Designing Women gala was a joyous celebration of the best and brightest in NYC’s hair, makeup and costume design community. If...

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Terry’s Picks: Wonder Woman, Vanessa Redgrave, Indie Stats

Wonder Woman: Indiewire reports that Wonder Woman may be the best DC universe film yet! Vanessa Redgrave: The legendary actor explains how the refugee crisis inspired her to step behind the camera for the first time…at the age of 80. Indie Stats: Dr. Martha Lauzen of the Center for the Study of Women in Television...

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Terry’s Picks: WIFTI Conference, Thanks BWFF, The List

WIFTI Conference: I’m writing to you from the WIFTI (Women in Film & Television International) Conference in London, where women in film chapters from around the world are gathering to network, share ideas and collaborate on our goals! Thanks BWFF: The Brooklyn Women’s Film Festival has graciously offered to donate proceeds from their ticket sales...

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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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Women in Film & Television History: Meet Tressie Souders, Director, Producer, Screenwriter

The story of Tressie Souders, or perhaps more accurately, the lack of details about Tressies Souders’ life and work exemplifies the need to research and rescue early film-works of women and women of color.

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Women in Film & Television History: Meet Marion E. Wong, Film Company President, Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Actor, Costume Designer

During the silent film era, Marion E. Wong started the Mandarin Film Company, the first Chinese-American film company. The company’s feature film The Curse of the Quon Gwon: When the Far East Mingles with West (1916) is credited as being the first American film made with an all-Chinese cast and company as well as one of the first films directed by a woman.

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Women in Film & Television History: Meet Lucille Ball, Actor, Comedian, Producer

Most people are familiar with the extensive body of work that made Lucille Ball famous. I Love Lucy is one of the most popular television shows of the 1950s, and she co-starred with her husband, Desi Arnaz, for 10 years. But did you know that Ball was also a savvy business woman?

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Coming Soon: PA TVee Will Teach Production Assistant 101

Producer and NYWIFT member Jane Applegate offers a sneak preview of PA TVee, her new online video series that teaches young people the ins and outs of being a production assistant. Inspired by a real life 16-year-old PA (who also hosts), the videos offer a humorous but educational take on paying attention, the film set chain of command, and the importance of craft services.

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Terry’s Picks: Nina Jacobson, Ryan Murphy, Reel Film

Nina Jacobson: The New York Times ran a great profile on producer Nina Jacobson, who talks about her career-long battle with Hollywood’s “old boys’ network.” Ryan Murphy: Kudos to Ryan Murphy, whose TV directors are now more than 50% female. Reel Film: Kodak has introduced a website and app called Reel Film, which helps users...

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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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The Art of First Impressions and Movie Trailers

NYWIFT Board of Directors member Maura Kelly writes about female entrepreneurs in tech and entertainment for The Huffington Post. She recently sat down with Evelyn Brady-Watters and her sister Monica Brady, the founders of the Golden Trailers Awards (GTA's) as they gear up for the live ceremony on May 4th in LA.

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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...

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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...

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First Shoot Day

5 TIPS TO SAVE SANITY AND TIME ON THE FIRST DAY OF PRODUCTION – by Claudine Marrotte Your actors, crew, schedule and locations are locked and now it’s time to actually shoot. From my experience the most exciting part of filmmaking is being on set making the script come to life. The first day of...

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NYWIFT Member Spotlight

Behind-the-scenes with Costume Designer Ornella Chiossone  – by Margarita Cortes   Through the power of social media, I was contacted by an up and coming costume designer, Ornella Chiossone, who was working on a film project in Brooklyn. She met me on the first day of production inside the trailer, nestled between the wardrobe she...

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Terry’s Picks: Gun Control, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Ashley Judd

Loved it: Watch out for NYWIFT member Abigail Disney’s amazing film The Armor Of Light, which I saw at the Hamptons International Film Festival. It brings the issue of gun control to a whole other level. Congrats, Gina: Gina Prince-Bythewood, one of the mentors from our Writers Lab, will write and executive produce an event...

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NYWIFT ON MOVING FORWARD: Focus on TV Directors

Recently, the Directors Guild of America (DGA) made a call to action to hire more new women and minority TV directors in an effort to level the playing field within the industry. This call subsequently came weeks after the DGA revealed their latest Six-Year Study which showed 82% out of 611 new TV directors were...

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WEEKLY ROUNDUP: MARTHA DEALS, NATALIE INSISTS & SCI-FI FEMINISM ARRIVES

Photo: PatrickMcmullan.com Rumors aside, Martha Stewart Omnimedia will sell for triple-digit millions. That’s a good thing! Finally, there’s a new normal in television… she’s smart, diverse and complex. Natalie Portman insisted On The Basis Of Sex be directed by a woman. Marielle Heller is that woman. Another Period co-creator Natasha Leggero hates Facebook, loves Tina Fey. Writer/Director Jennifer Phang makes...

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