Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Cecilia R. Mejia
Welcome to NYWIFT, Cecilia R. Mejia! Cecilia R. Mejia was born and raised in Brooklyn, a first-generation Filipino-American. She has worked in development for several non-profit organizations, including NGOs affiliated with the United Nations. She’s worked with several grassroots organizations focusing on underrepresented communities, which lead to her working on a short documentary about the struggles of detained undocumented families, jumpstarting her film career. Cecilia has produced a number of short films focusing on critical social impact issues like mental health and gender inequality. She’s won several awards as the lead producer for the upcoming Yellow Rose and as Social Impact Producer for the award-winning doc Call Her Ganda. She currently serves as the creative lead on several other projects working on the creative, funding and social impact components of films. Now, she is Vice President of External Affairs, American Documentary | POV. Cecilia is combining her love of film with the goal of focusing on social impact stories that inspire change, most specifically with under-resourced youth through her non-profit organization Art of Me as creative director, helping students turn their stories into high-quality short films. Get to know her in our latest interview!
READ MORECynthia’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...
READ MORE7 Tips to Building a Successful Partnership to Create an Oscar-Nominated Film
In the inaugural conversation of NYWIFT’s new series Master Collaborations: The Power of Creative Partnerships on May 23, 2018, director Kahane Cooperman and producer Raphaela Neihausen opened up about how they worked together to create Joe’s Violin – and its road to being nominated for the Academy Awards.
READ MORETrailblazing through the Decades: Sandra Osawa (1970s)
Sandra Osawa is a director, producer, and writer. She is a member of the Makah Nation of Washington State. One could argue that news coverage of Native American issues is still vastly lacking today. Thus, Sandra Osawa was a true ground-breaker in 1974 by directing, producing, and writing NBC’s first news program on Native American issues
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Swim Team, Shonda Rhimes, Nancy Malone
Swim Team: Tune in or set your DVR for Swim Team’s PBS premiere on POV at 10 PM next Monday, October 2nd! The documentary was a recipient of NYWIFT Loreen Arbus Disability Awareness Grant. Congratulations to director Lara Stolman! #SwimTeamPBS Shonda Rhimes: The must-see TV mastermind launched a new website, Shondaland. As she notes in...
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