NYWIFT Blog

Fiscal Sponsorship & NYWIFT for Indie Filmmakers

Musician Clarice Magalhães and producer-director Irene Walsh in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Walsh’s documentary LAPA: The Heart of Samba chronicles a community of musicians and composers as their music resurrects a Rio de Janeiro neighborhood. My first feature-length documentary, LAPA: The Heart of Samba, is a project that I have largely funded myself, with a third of...

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Member Spotlight: Kelly Glover

Kelly Glover during the production of The Contradictions of Fair Hope. You may recognize Kelly Glover’s name from her roundup posts right here on our blog, where she manages to find a compelling mix of TV, film and digital news every week. I was lucky enough to catch up with Glover to learn about her...

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Terry’s Picks: April 1, 2014

Anita playing at the Film Society of Lincoln Center Thought-provoking: and powerful, Freida Lee Mock’s Anita is my must-see of the week. Twenty years after Anita Hill sought to confidentially report Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for sexual harassment, the archival footage (and new contemporary interviews) still feels startling relevant to gender inequality in the U.S. Anticipating: an amazing...

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NYWIFT Success Story: ‘In Montauk’ and the Value of PR

Lukas Hassel and Nina Kaczorowski in a scene from In Montauk, written and directed by NYWIFT member Kim Cummings. Photo by Aja Nisenson. Independent filmmaking on a micro-budget is a lonely business. People come and go throughout the process. As the filmmaker, you’re the only constant day in and day out. It’s not that you...

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Weekly Film & TV News Roundup

//embed.gettyimages.com/embed/477632659?et=ypH3AGd2mk6QsjKiitLTPQ&sig=qYCv0zRZXUqeFAov_qAHtLjzjKyIqiTlbiAP8rKqCFo= Lena Dunham tells a SXSW crowd that “things need to change and I’m trying.” Piers Morgan met his match and her name is Chelsea Handler. (Video) Anita Hill discusses Anita, the Freida Lee Mock–directed doc about her life. Producer Paula Wagner is bringing Pretty Woman to broadway. CBS This Morning had wonderful coverage of NatGeo’s...

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Flix Not to Miss: ‘Short Term 12’

Short Term 12 is a heartbreaking look into the foster care system told through the eyes of Grace, played by the fantastic Brie Larson, who earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for the role. Grace is a former foster child, who is now a dedicated young worker supervising at-risk teens in a group foster home....

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Truth Be Told: Women In Film at Sundance 2014

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Acting Up: Lights, Camera, Audition!

In the midst of pilot season, I realized that most of my auditions sent out to LA are being put on tape. I have always found the “audition on tape” a bit elusive — what exactly is it? That’s why I leave it to the professionals and instead focus on knocking auditions out of the park. Whether...

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Weekly Film & TV News Roundup

Oscar winners Lupita Nyong’o and Cate Blanchett at the 2014 Golden Globes. Source: Instagram user lupitanyongo. Here are the 2014 Oscar, Independent Spirit, and Razzie winners! “The world is round, people,” Cate Blanchett on female-driven films. The official Presidential Proclamation for Women’s History Month 2014. NYU’s Fusion Film Festival celebrates women March 6-8. (Video) 2008 Oscar winner Marion...

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Women-Directed Films at Queens World Film Festival

Katia, directed by Anna Shishova, is a nominee for Best Documentary Feature and Best Cinematography at the Queens World Film Festival. The Queens World Film Festival runs March 4-9, 2014, in New York. Opening night will be held at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, with the rest of the films screening at...

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Flix Not To Miss: ‘Gloria’

Featuring one of the best female roles in film, Gloria, written and directed by Sebastian Lelio and starring the mesmerizing Paulina Garcia, is about a middle-aged divorcee looking for love in Santiago, Chile. The film opens with Gloria dancing in a club and our first impression of her is as a vivacious older woman looking to...

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Weekly Film & TV News Roundup

ABC screencap via Business Insider.   It’s that time again! This OSCAR ballot will get you geared up for your office pool. Female actors get less screen time than their male counterparts. Chelsea Handler responds to her parenthetical mention in an NYT article about late night TV. “Zip your lips!” and other screenwriting pitch tips learned from Shark Tank....

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Sign Up for NYWIFT’s March Events

Photo from The Supreme Price. New York Women in Film & Television’s programs in March are open for registration: NYWIFT at ReelAbilities: NY Disabilities Film Festival: Invitation to Dance Saturday, March 8, 7:30 pm The JCC (334 Amsterdam Avenue) NYWIFT is co-presenting Invitation to Dance by Simi Linton and Christian Von Tippelskirch, which received funding from NYWIFT’s...

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Terry’s Picks: February 25, 2014

Poring Over: Inkoo Kang’s wonderful Oscars post over at Indiewire, which highlights the milestones and gaps of this year’s Academy Award nominations. Channeling: British women’s liberation leader Emmeline Pankhurst should be a breeze to Meryl Streep. The multiple Academy Award winner joins Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter in the upcoming historical drama Suffragette. Congratulating: Jessica Elbaum, who’s tapped to head Gloria Sanchez Productions, a new...

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Terry’s Picks: February 18, 2014

Noted art forger Mark Landis (Photo by Shane Lavalette, courtesy of Art and Craft) TAKING A TRIP THROUGH: history, with Glamour’s The 75 Most Important Women of the Past 75 Years, which includes film and television heavy hitters like Lucille Ball, Julia Child and Barbara Walters. The magazine also approached prominent women (like actresses Rosario Dawson and Olivia...

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NYWIFT Recap: Member Screening of Sister Italy

On January 28, NYWIFT members and supporters gathered for our monthly member screening at the Anthology Film Archives. This month’s feature was Sister Italy, a heartfelt cultural comedy. As an aspiring filmmaker, I admire creators — those who defy expectations to represent new ideas and innovate storytelling. Sister Italy boldly met that admiration. Directed by Angelo Bonsignore, the film is...

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Weekly Film & TV News Roundup

Kristin Scott Thomas at the premiere of Only God Forgives in Cannes. Photo via MSN Movies.  Kristin Scott Thomas is fed up with film — so she’s quitting. Lorne Michaels speaks about the women of SNL. Fox Business News adds a new show. Congratulations, Maria Bartiromo! Reality star Lauren Conrad’s appropriate response to an inappropriate question. The Drama League...

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TV Not To Miss: ‘Orphan Black’

BBC America’s science-fiction series Orphan Black is coming back on April 19. If you haven’t had a chance to catch the first season, check it out on demand or on iTunes or Amazon. And if you’re already a fan, BBC America has just released season two’s teaser trailer. Orphan Black stars Tatiana Maslany as Sarah, Cosima, and Alison,...

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