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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Brianne Neira

Let’s say hello to the fabulous Brianne Neira! She is a director and video editor with a commitment to representing and giving a voice to women and the queer community through her work. Since graduating with a BFA from Emerson College’s esteemed Media Arts Production program in Boston, Brianne’s most celebrated projects include the feminist short film Rotten Meat and her award-winning directorial debut A Place for Ashes. Get to know Brianne better as we chat about her fascination with horror and the genre’s ability to facilitate a platform that can engage an audience and simultaneously raise awareness on social issues, the warm reception A Place for Ashes received at film festivals, and the importance of loving your work while setting healthy boundaries.

NYWIFT at DOC NYC: In Conversation with Luchina Fisher

NYWIFT member Luchina Fisher’s powerful new film The Dads features fathers tackling tough, complex issues of parenthood, masculinity, and more – learning to love and support their children the best they can. On a fishing trip with Matthew Shepard's father, five disparate dads discuss their love, hopes and fears for their trans kids in this short documentary. The film is screening now at DOC NYC, where is was named to the festival’s influential awards short list. We spoke to director and producer Luchina Fisher about her personal connection to the dads, her exciting Netflix opportunity, and the film’s superstar supporter.

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Rose Vincelli Gustine

Welcome to NYWIFT, Rose Vincelli Gustine! Rose Vincelli Gustine is Director of Operations and on the faculty of the School of Visual Arts (SVA) MFA Social Documentary Film program. She is currently producing the feature documentary The Sum of Our Parts and was consulting producer for Busy Inside (PBS America Reframed, 2020). She directed the documentary short What We Discover Along the Way, which is looking ahead to 2024 festivals. Rose was a programmer for filmmakers’ support organization IFP (now called The Gotham) and for AFIDocs Festival. She lives, cooks, and walks in Brooklyn with her family and cats. Rose spoke to us about what it means to be a filmmaker advocate, her own creative practice, and what she loves about the art of documentary filmmaking.

NYWIFT @ Tribeca: In Conversation with Director Julie Cohen

NYWIFT member and Academy Award-nominated, Emmy-winning director Julie Cohen is no stranger to tackling hot button issues and profiling fascinating people in her work, from Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Julia Child to Pauli Murray and more. With each of her stories, she offers audiences a powerful and intimate look at a different slice of humanity, and empowers us to expand our horizons and learn from those from different walks of life. In her latest film, Every Body, produced with NBC News Studios, Cohen focuses her lens on the intersex community. The film will premiere at the Tribeca Festival and be released theatrically by Focus Features on June 30. Cohen is one of 15 NYWIFT members with projects premiering at the 2023 festival.

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Priya Mishra

Welcome to NYWIFT, Priya Mishra! Priya is an award-winning screenwriter and director. She wrote, directed, and co-produced her debut short film Bath Bomb in 2019. Currently, Bath Bomb and Only Business, the second film she directed, are both having successful runs on the festival circuit. A queer second-generation Indian immigrant, and a girl who lost her mom during her junior year of college, Priya’s work centers love, grief, acceptance, social-critique, and embracing your anger. Priya hopes that her work will make audiences feel more connected with other human beings, more angry at the state of the world, and more willing to improve it by embracing vulnerability and kindness. Priya spoke to us about identity, wildly fun times on set, and exploring grief through her creative work.

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Seeley Björkstén

Welcome to NYWIFT, Seeley Björkstén! Seeley is an NYC-based filmmaker and digital artist who is mostly interested in telling impactful nonfiction stories through film. Their passion for incorporating animation and other types of unconventional creativity into their work is reflected in their short film Who I Wasn’t, among other projects. Having studied at American University and FAMU, one of the oldest film schools in the world, Seeley is currently the Marketing & Social Media Manager at the Bushwick Film Festival. As someone who believes that art has the power to change the world, they consider their creations to be a form of activism. Seeley spoke to us about what drew them to animation, their creative journey, and their most personal project to date.

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Amanda DiMartino

Let’s give a warm welcome to new NYWIFT member Amanda DiMartino! Amanda is a director, producer, and editor committed to audience engagement. Some of her career highlights include collaborations with brands such as Harper’s Bazaar, Peloton, NBCUniversal, SYFY, Complex, KIDZ BOP, The Berlin Film Festival, Standard and Poor’s, and The Hollywood Reporter. Altogether, the 500-plus videos she has worked on have garnered more than one billion clicks and views while generating more than $1 million in revenue. She spoke to us about working with Bad Bunny and Usher, and why exploration is key to success!

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Achiro P. Olwoch

Please join us in welcoming Achiro P. Olwoch to the NYWIFT community! Olwoch is a queer artist in exile from Gulu in Northern Uganda, currently living in New York. She is an award-winning writer, director, and producer with several series and shorts to her name, and is currently writing a novel and two memoirs. Her play The Survival recently had its debut performance at Lincoln Center, produced by the National Queer Theatre. She spoke to us about living in exile, her artistic journey, and her resilience.

NYWIFT @ Tribeca: In Conversation with Editor Véronique N. Doumbé

Longtime NYWIFT Member Véronique N. Doumbé comes to the 2022 Tribeca Festival as the editor of Carrie Hawks' short film Inner Wound Real, which was supported by Black Public Media. The 15-minute experimental animated short relays the story of three BIPOC folks who self-injure, then find new ways to cope. Doumbé discusses the editing process and what she hopes audiences will take away from this powerful film.

Misha Calvert’s New Comedy “Strut” Centering on Female Sexuality Premieres on Revry TV June 18

Revry TV’s new original series Strut slashes through taboos at every level, from its relatable, sex working ensemble to the female creative team, queer creator, and LGTBQ-heavy crew. From award-winning creator NYWIFT Member Misha Calvert (writer, star), Strut explores the complexities of sex work from the female gaze

Recap of Denise Ho: Becoming the Song Virtual Event with Sue Williams

Filmmaker Sue Williams has a love affair with the city of Hong Kong. So when a friend introduced her to the Cantopop superstar Denise Ho, she knew she had the subject of her next film. But, what happens when current events upend the planned story arch of your film at the end of production?

Cynthia’s Picks: Designing Women, Rachel Chavkin, Queer Women

Designing Women: Thank you to all our honorees, presenters, supporters, volunteers and attendees for a truly fabulous 20th anniversary Designing Women Awards last week. Be sure to check out our photo highlights and stay tuned for videos of the inspirational ceremony. Rachel Chavkin: Hadestown director Rachel Chavkin’s fiery Tony Awards acceptance speech (she won Best...

Three unique and historic approaches to exploring gender on film

In their seventh program in the series From the Vault: Women’s Advocacy on Film, the Women’s Film Preservation Fund and UnionDocs present three significant films of the 1970s which consider ideas around gender in various contexts. WFPF Co-Chair Kirsten Larvick offers a sneak preview.

Trailblazing through the Decades: Cheryl Dunye (1990s)

Twenty years ago a young artist set out to make a documentary about women like herself: black queer filmmakers. She found nothing but homophobia and omission, and then… inspiration. The resulting film The Watermelon Woman marked Cheryl Dunye’s 1996 debut – a hybrid of autobiography, documentary, and comedy. It defies categorization and was the first feature film directed by an African American lesbian.

#SummerHours Throwback Thursday (#Pride Edition): The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love

NYWIFT #SummerHours offers its first Throwback Thursday - #Pride Edition! - with this sweet '90s teen rom-com.

#SummerHours TV Episodes to Watch (#Pride Edition): Master of None: “Thanksgiving”

Goodbye, winter caps—hello, summer hats! It’s that glorious time of year where many of us can switch from content creators to content consumers. NYWIFT members Mellini Kantayya and Kathryn O’Kane have put together #SummerHours, a series of fun summer books, movies, and TV shows by or about women. We kick off this series with a special #Pride Edition, focusing on Master of None's coming-out story "Thankgiving" as the first of #SummerHours' TV episodes to watch.

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.

Terry’s Picks: A Discrimination Primer, New Faces, Freeheld

Discrimination 101: Check out this informative primer on the ACLU investigation into Hollywood’s gender discrimination to learn about the cycle – and how to break it. Kudos: Filmmaker Magazine named its 25 New Faces of Independent Film – and 11 of them are women. #LoveIsLove: Looking forward to the timely film Freeheld, starring Julianne Moore...

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