NYWIFT Blog

Meet the New NYWIFT Board Members: Kerry Fulton

With her company Evenfield Entertainment, producer Kerry Fulton is looking to do just that: even the playing field. That's a mission we can certainly get behind. She brings her experience working in the global TV and film market to NYWIFT as one of the newest additions to our Board of Directors.

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Cynthia’s Picks: Help Line, News & Doc Emmys, Walking Dead

Help Line: NYWIFT is proud to announce that we have partnered with Women in Film and the Actors Fund to bring expanded hours and New York area resources to WIF LA’s Help Line for Sexual Harassment. If you need guidance or support, please call. You are not alone. News & Doc Emmys: Congratulations to all...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Jamie Zelermyer, Writers Lab, TV Writers

Jamie Zelermyer: Please join me in welcoming new Board President Jamie Zelermyer! We are thrilled to have her leading NYWIFT’s next era. Writers Lab: Congratulations to the 12 women screenwriters over 40 selected for The Writers Lab 2019! TV Writers: Positive news from the WGA West – women and minorities showed slight gains in the...

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NYWIFT 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.

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Cynthia’s Picks: Emmy Noms, Tom Donahue, Member News

Emmy Noms: Congrats to all the NYWIFT members nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards this year! Can’t wait to watch and cheer you all on.  Tom Donahue: Check out this great interview with NYWIFT member Tom Donahue on his recent documentary This Changes Everything (exec produced by Board President Simone Pero) and the importance of male...

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Cynthia’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...

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New Kids’ Series Featuring Native American Character Launches This Summer

Indigenous representation is scarce in children’s programming – and TV programming in general. The new PBS animated children's series "Molly of Denali" hopes to change that.

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Throwback Thursday: NYWIFT on No Rest for the Weekend

This Spring, NYWIFT Community Engagement Director Katie Chambers sat down with host Jason Godbey on his indie film podcast No Rest for the Weekend to discuss the rise of women in media, the continued challenges they face, NYWIFT's mission and how the organization creates a supportive network for women to get ahead in their careers. 

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Cynthia’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...

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Cynthia’s Picks: NYWIFT Summit, Media Workshop, Yellow Rose

NYWIFT Summit: Thank you to all who attended last week’s first inaugural NYWIFT Summit. The theme of the 2019 Summit was Inclusion, Equality and Safety, and it established forward-moving strategies to create change in these areas with an eye towards mobilizing support and leadership for the future. We had many meaningful conversations and I look...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Nancy Schwartzman, Maybe Representation, Audition Inclusion

Nancy Schwartzman: Last week NYWIFT hosted a Twitter chat with director Nancy Schwartzman of Roll Red Roll, available now on PBS’ POV. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s a must-watch, especially if you have kids. Its harrowing look at rape culture in a high school is unusual for a true-crime doc in that it...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Mindy Kaling, Booksmart Buzz, Thumbs Down, Designing Women

Mindy Kaling: CBS Sunday Morning profiled Mindy Kaling, who spoke candidly about not seeing people like herself represented on screen, and how her new film Late Night is one of the first comedies all about workplace inclusivity. Booksmart Buzz: The disappointing box office returns from the Olivia Wilde-directed comedy Booksmart, which had been hotly anticipated...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Latinx Stars, Expanded Opportunities, Listen In

Latinx Stars: The Hollywood Reporter wisely points out…amid the call for diversity in entertainment, particularly inclusive casting, why don’t we have more Latinx movie stars? Part of it, of course, comes down to unconscious bias – which we all need to work on identifying and correcting. Expanded Opportunities: The Academy has voted to expand the...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Muses-on-the-Move, 21 Leaders, Draft Diversity

Muses-on-the-Move: Great news from two past NYWIFT Muse Honorees: Lucy Liu will be the second-ever Asian-American woman to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (the first was Anna May Wong in 1960), and Judith Light will receive the Isabelle Stevenson Award at the Tony’s in June in tribute to her advocacy to...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Barbara Hammer, Self-Advocacy Skills, Rotten Reviewers, Provincetown Summit

Barbara Hammer: Our industry lost a legend this week, pioneering queer experimental filmmaker Barbara Hammer. A recent Vanity Fair interview highlighted the inclusive spirit that was a hallmark of her work: “There is room for everyone.” Self-Advocacy Skills: Five powerhouse women offer advice on how to advocate for yourself – how to speak up about...

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Cynthia’s Picks: NY Women, Gender Parity, Captain Marvel

NY Women: Congratulations to the NYWIFT members selected to receive some of the first round of grants in the Mayor’s Office of Entertainment and Media’s “Made in NY” Women’s Film, TV & Theatre Fund. Gender Parity: Kudos to the Tribeca Film Festival, whose 2019 lineup for competition films achieved gender parity for the first time....

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WIFT Around the World: Report from Berlinale (Part 1) – Adriana Shaw on Gender Parity

Is true gender parity in film on the horizon? Women in Film & Television International (WIFTI) hopes so. NYWIFT member filmmaker/journalist/actress Heidi Philipsen attended the 2019 Berlinale International Film Festival, where the 10% for 50/50 gender parity initiative was introduced. Philipsen spoke with longtime member Adriana Shaw, who also attended the fest, about what this could mean for the future of our industry.

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Cynthia Picks: Be Natural, NYWIFT Podcast, Meet Jane

Be Natural: NYWIFT is proud to co-present a special screening of Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché – the first female filmmaker and inventor of many modern filmmaking techniques – at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, in honor of Women’s History Month. The documentary features clips from several Guy-Blaché films preserved by...

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