Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Edna Luise Biesold
Welcome to NYWIFT, new member Edna Luise Biesold! Edna is a German-born and New York-based filmmaker who honed her craft at NYU Tisch School of the Arts with a special focus on cinematography. She received the Franz Wieser Grant from ARRI as DP for the fantasy short film The Molok. She co-wrote and co-directed The Color of Time, and is presently developing 3 Monkeys, a screenplay which earned her a Creative Career Design Fellowship from NYU's Production Lab in 2022. Most recently, Sunscreen, her first film in ASL, has won her a Best Narrative Short award at 1904 Deaf Film Festival and the NYWIFT Award for Excellence in Directing at the 2022 SOHO International Film Festival. Edna spoke to us about her favorite collaborators, the challenges of lighting 16-foot tall puppets, and exploring the subtleties of communication throughout her work.
READ MORERecap: 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.
READ MOREBest Practice Advice for Targeting Corporate Sponsorship to Help Fund Your Film
Learning the ins and outs of corporate sponsorship for your film projects can seem daunting, but Kim Skildum-Reid lays out all best practice principles to help you create a compelling pitch.
READ MOREState of the Industry: A Conversation of Lydia Darly of the Nova Frontier Film Festival and Lab
The voices of Black, Middle Eastern, and Latinx artists have long been marginalized. But at Nova Frontier Film Festival and Lab, they take center stage. Actor, filmmaker, writer, producer, and film programmer Lydia Darly discusses why she co-founded the festival (where NYWIFT is proud to present an Outstanding Female Content Creator Award), and what she hopes to see from the 2020 edition which, like so many recent events, is going virtual.
READ MOREState of the Industry: A Conversation with Theatrical Booker Clemence Taillandier
Clemence Taillandier is an independent film distribution veteran, having worked as a theatrical booker for over 15 years. She now operates her own distribution services company and provides theatrical, festival booking and consultation services to boutique distributors including Film Movement and Distrib Films, two distributors specialized in foreign films and documentaries. She has been at the forefront of moving the cinema experience to a virtual space in the wake of COVID-19.
READ MOREState of the Industry: A Conversation with Film Critic Andrea Thompson
Andrea Thompson is a Chicago-based writer, editor, and film critic who is also the founder and director of the Film Girl Film Festival. She discusses how the COVID-19 quarantine is affecting her livelihood
READ MOREWhat’s in Your Toolkit: Lisa Reznik
Traditional film houses are transitioning to virtual cinema screenings since art houses have temporarily closed their doors to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Learn what Film Society of Summit Founder Lisa Reznik found in her toolkit!
READ MOREState of the Industry: A Conversation with Film Festival Alliance
For many Americans, regional festivals are their gateway to independent film and filmmakers. How are local festivals continuing to connect artists to audiences during the pandemic? Lela Meadow-Conner, Executive Director, and Barbara Twist, Director of Membership of Film Festival Alliance update us on the rapidly changing industry.
READ MORETop Takeaways: Preserving Your Mental Health During Challenging Times
As a director and producer, NYWIFT board member Kathryn O'Kane is a planner and she's used to solving problems. The biggest challenge she's finding during the COVID-19 crisis is that there’s not enough information to be able to plan. She attended the NYWIFT “Mental Health and Career Sustainability in the Doc World” panel because to learn how producers can come to terms with that and how to relax into the uncertainty of the moment when it goes against our nature. She offers her top takeaways.
READ MOREShifting the Conversation: Mental Health and Career Sustainability in the Doc World
Living in survival mode and keeping it all together for their crew and subjects is what documentary filmmakers are good at, but it often comes at great costs to their own mental health and physical well-being. Member Janine McGoldrick offers a recap of NYWIFT's recent panel on mental health in the doc world, and how some leaders are starting to shift the conversation to address what was once a taboo subject.
READ MOREState of the Industry: A Conversation with Ariel Wan of the Michigan Theater Foundation
Ariel Wan, Director of Programming, Marketing and Sales at the Michigan Theater Foundation offers insight into how local art house theaters have been affected by the COVID-19 crisis, and what they are doing in order to survive.
READ MOREWhat’s in Your Toolkit: Adetoro Makinde
The trip to the Sundance Film Festival can be daunting - but NYWIFT Member and Women Independent Producers (WIP) President Adetoro Makinde has ventured to Park City eight times, so it is safe to say she is a Sundance pro! We caught up with her on the eve of the festival to try to glean some wisdom...and see what's in her toolkit both at Sundance and on set.
READ MOREWIFT Around the World: A Conversation with Verena Gräfe-Höft
Our NYWIFT member abroad, Heidi Philipsen, sits down with WIFT Hamburg co-founder Verena Gräfe-Höft to talk the state of the industry and her new film Pelican Blood, which is making waves at both the Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals.
READ MOREFeelin’ Like Film Distribution Reality Bites? Bite [Me] back! Four ‘A’ Takeaways from the NYWIFT Bite Me Panel
The team behind the independent feature Bite Me recently joined NYWIFT for a panel case study on how they flipped the film distribution paradigm from something you “get” into something you “do.” As they journey on their 40-city Joyful Vampire Tour of America, we recap some key nuggets of wisdom.
READ MOREIndependent Filmmakers are Like Farmers and Bakers
What can independent producers learn from farmers and bakers? A lot more than you might think, according to NYWIFT member Jane Applegate.
READ MORESandra Schulberg Receives Berlinale Camera Award
Marking the 40th anniversary of the IFP (Independent Filmmaker Project), Sandra Schulberg, IFP founder and a long-time activist on behalf of filmmakers working outside the Hollywood studios, was awarded the Berlinale Camera for her 40 years of service to the field at the EFM (European Film Market). NYWIFT member Heidi Philipsen sat down with Schulberg to reflect on her legacy of film preservation, and how much work is left to be done.
READ MORECynthia’s Picks: Agnes Varda, Ravenal Grant, Amy Poehler
Agnes Varda: I was so saddened to hear about the passing of legendary filmmaker, documentarian and cinephile Agnes Varda. Indiewire offers up a list of where to watch eight of her best films. Ravenal Grant: Congratulations to directors Lydia Dean Pilcher and Suzanne Guacci, both recipients of this year’s NYWIFT Ravenal Feature Film Foundation Grant. We are...
READ MOREMy Film Angels
It takes a village to make a film. Here, NYWIFT member Jane Applegate give thanks to all those who lended a hand - literally and figuratively - over the years.
READ MORE
