women in media Archives - New York Women in Film & TelevisionNew York Women in Film & Television

NYWIFT Member Spotlight: Jean Criss

Meet NYWIFT member Jean Criss, an accomplished woman in media and tech, who has founded four successful e-commerce companies, showcasing brand innovation and ability to create. With certifications in digital media, fashion, and business, Jean is a notable figure in the industry, regularly appearing on TV, podcasts, and live radio shows. She is also a philanthropist and passionate advocate for women in business, actively supporting growth and female empowerment. Jean’s commitment to emerging technologies and trends allows her to navigate these ever-changing territories with resilience and fortitude.

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Hannah Niebielski

Welcome to NYWIFT, Hannah Niebielski! Hannah is a former National Director for the Olympic Sport of Dressage, where she led 36 US Teams to earn the highest podium finish rate among Olympic medal nations at Championships and Games. She organized talent and teams for the 2016 Olympic Games, 2018 World Games, and 2019 North American Youth Championships. Now, she brings her skillset in managing talent, public relations, event operations, and hospitality to the world of film and TV. Hannah tells us about the overlaps between Olympic sports and entertainment, her passion for connecting others, and the importance of talent support.

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Oyiza Adaba

Welcome to NYWIFT, Oyiza Adaba! Oyiza is a Nigerian journalist and producer with over 20 years of experience both on and behind the camera in several multimedia productions. In 2008, she founded Africa-Related, a media and content development company operating in Lagos, Nigeria and New York City. Africa-Related is at the forefront of storytelling from an African perspective, using media platforms to enrich knowledge of the world. In 2019, she founded Ita’i: Our Cloth, a global brand that takes a modern approach to preserving, presenting, and promoting Africa’s cultural heritage. Ita’i encourages community development and empowerment with existing resources. Oyiza tells us about her dedication to community empowerment and her upcoming projects.

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Deniz Cam

After a career as a journalist for Forbes magazine, Deniz is taking her skills as a storyteller the world of film and TV. She is on the research team for The Problem with Jon Stewart on Apple TV+, a talk show about current events including climate change, the economy, and foreign policy. She is also writing and acting in a live reading of her pilot, 60 Days, about a Turkish immigrant who must get married in 60 days to keep her visa status after quitting her job. Deniz tells us about her love of New York, being an immigrant from Istanbul, and her Carrie Bradshaw moment seeing her cover story on a billboard on Fifth Avenue.

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Myra Velasquez

Let’s give a warm NYWIFT welcome to new member Myra Velasquez! Myra Velasquez is an indie filmmaker and playwright whose films have been screened across the country and abroad. Some of her awards include the Lawrence Kasdan Narrative Film Award, the Grand Prize Chicks with Flicks, the BIFF Golden Honu Audience Choice for Best Short, the HIFF Gold Kahuna, and the BIFF Family Favorites. She has also been a finalist for the Sundance Lab, the BlueCat Feature Screenplay Award, the Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference, the Big Apple Screenplay Competition, and a Cinequest Short Screenplay semi-finalist, among other notable mentions. Myra spoke to us about her latest audio drama, the best (and worst) advice she’s received, and what she hopes audiences will take away from her work.

2023 Tribeca Festival Recap

After a whirlwind trip to the 2023 Tribeca Festival, Tammy Reese offers highlights from her favorite interviews - including Dan Rather, Billy Porter, Phylicia Rashad, Morris Chestnut, Angela Bassett, Patricia Field, and much more!

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Kilara Sen

Welcome to NYWIFT, Kilara Sen! Kilara is a Japanese female stand-up comedian and actor, moving to New York this summer. Kilara currently is hosting "Japanese Whisky Lockdown" and "Japanese Whisky World" on Dekanta TV. She also appeared on international TV such as Asia's Got Talent, Paul Hollywood Eats Japan, and Welcome to the Railworld. Kilara is gender non-conforming (she/they), a "hikikomori" survivor (a form of severe social withdrawal), and had a wonderful year at Historically Black Colleges. Based on her experiences, she shares her strong and funny voice on mental health, feminism, and diversity. She believes that everyone should be as special and unique as a unicorn. Also, she is the voice breaking stereotypes of Japanese women: the New Pink. Kilara thinks of herself as a Pink Unicorn. Kilara spoke to us about breaking down stereotypes, community support, and finding liberation through comedy.

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Noelle Triano-Wertling

Welcome to NYWIFT, new member Noelle Triano-Wertling! A film lover in every sense of the word, Noelle has worked in entertainment insurance for over 10 years, writing policies for numerous films, television shows, and commercial producers. She is currently an Executive Entertainment Underwriter at Chubb Limited Insurance Company. Learn more about Noelle and her remarkable career trajectory where she has played a significant role in overseeing many film and television projects.

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: Ifeyinwa Arinze

Please join us in welcoming Ifeyinwa Arinze to NYWIFT! Ifeyinwa is a neuroscientist-turned-filmmaker from Nigeria and is currently based in New York City. Her work draws inspiration from human behavior and prioritizes intimate portrayals of Black women and girls that are grounded in generosity and care. Her short film, Two or More, premiered at the 2022 New York African Film Festival and has screened at the 2022 Palm Springs International ShortFest, 2022 Bushwick Film Festival and 2022 TIDE Film Festival, where she received the 2022 NYWIFT Outstanding Woman Content Creator Award. Ifeyinwa spoke to us about why the TIDE Film Festival is special to her, her transition from STEM to the arts, and the inspirations behind her work.

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Myrakel Baker

Let’s give a warm NYWIFT welcome to Myrakel Baker! Myrakel is a documentary filmmaker and development assistant living in Brooklyn. Inspired by her upbringing in a Black southern household, she aspires to produce character-driven stories rooted in identity and belonging with a focus on women’s voices. As a development and programming assistant, she’s worked with HBO Documentaries on George Carlin's American Dream, Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known, and The Janes to name a few. She is looking to growing as a director and development producer, expanding on her work of sensitive, vérité-led documentaries.

WIFT Around the World: Postcard from Realscreen Summit

Realscreen Summit (RSS or Realscreen, for short) is an annual global market and conference dedicated to the business of unscripted and non-fiction entertainment in film and television. Three and a half days are filled with high-level keynotes, topical industry panels, networking events, pitch competitions, awards, and programming briefs from top buyers. This year’s summit ran from January 23 - 26, held at the JW Marriott in Austin, and featured 1,350 delegates from North America and some global territories such as South Korea, India, UK, and France, among others. Panayiota Pagoulatos offers a recap, as well as an exclusive conversation with Sunita Uchil, Chief Business Officer, International Co-Productions of Zee Plus.

My First Ever Sundance Experience!

"My first time covering the Sundance Film Festival in-person was everything I expected it to be. Fun, intense, inspirational, exhausting, and such an honor. Overall, the experience lived up to indeed be the experience of a lifetime. A journalist’s dream, especially mine." Tammy Reese shares her favorite star-studded moments from her trip to Park City for Sundance 2023!

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Arielle Duran

Let’s welcome new member Arielle Duran to NYWIFT! Having been raised in Ridgewood, Queens, Arielle Duran is a proud New Yorker and versatile storyteller of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent. Since graduating from the University of South Florida's Zimmerman School, where she studied broadcasting and production, Arielle’s theatrical talents have been showcased in notable television shows such as The Calling and American Rust, among other projects. In addition to acting, Arielle is currently pursuing screenwriting as a graduate student at the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema. Arielle spoke to us about her New York roots, storytelling, and honing her craft.

Meet the NYWIFT Podcast Team: Tammy Reese

The NYWIFT Women Crush Wednesdays Podcast Team works so hard to bring the most informative, empowering, entertaining, and fun interviews to our listeners. Today we are thrilled to highlight our podcast team member and co-host, Tammy Reese. Tammy is an award-winning writer and journalist. As a multimedia professional, Tammy is best known for her epic interviews with Sigourney Weaver, Laurence Fishburne, Omar Epps, Essie Davis, Britt Lower, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Nelly, Dedee Pfeiffer, Patina Miller, and many more.

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Luchina Fisher

Let’s give a warm NYWIFT welcome to Luchina Fisher! Fisher (she/her) is an award-winning director, writer and producer who works at the intersection of race, gender and identity. She is the founder and CEO of Little Light Productions. Her feature directorial debut Mama Gloria, about Chicago trans icon activist Gloria Allen, was nominated for a 2022 GLAAD Media Award. Previously, Fisher co-executive produced and co-wrote the critically acclaimed feature documentary Birthright: A War Story, about the war on women’s reproductive health. Luchina Fisher spoke to us about her early childhood influences, her next documentary, and her hopes for the future of women in media.

The Ecuadorian Film Festival in New York Announces Lineup

Maravilla, the New York-based organization dedicated to raising awareness of Latin America through films and the arts, announces its seventh edition of the Ecuadorian Film Festival in New York (EFFNY), with the support of media partner Telemundo and includes Queens Museum, Nuyorican Poets Café, the Barrymore Film Center, and fiscal sponsor New York Women and Film & TV.

WIFT Around the World: Getting to Know WIFT Austin

When I saw that Alicia Eastes, the founder of Women in Film & TV Austin, recently joined New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) as a Dual Member, I had to know more! What followed was a wide-ranging email conversation with Alicia and WIFT Austin Board Members President Laura Annalora and Vice President Chiara McCarty about the Texas film industry, the pandemic, and what it’s like to build your own Women in Film & Television organization from the ground up.

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