Dear NYWIFT Community:
How you doin’? Summer seems like it’s almost here. Our kids are back from college, high school students are graduating in NYC — I love seeing them in their graduation cap and gowns — and educational calendars are coming to a close. The city feels like it is gearing up for some unique experiences with summer skies.
I hope you are making the best of whatever our situation is: we are here, we are alive today, using NYC inspiration that lies in every corner. We will not relent. We must continue, despite of the current political circumstances, to move our personal, professional and spiritual lives forward. Sending good vibes. For those that feel down, know that it will pass… it always does. Rest if you need and get back up! We need you.
Our hearts especially are with our community impacted by the unrest in LA and scary moments in NYC – it is so hard to be living through these times, but we are doing it together.
From left: speakers Lois Drabkin, Marcella Steingart, Susan Lacy, MOME Commissioner Pat Swinney Kaufman, Cynthia Lopez, and Chantel Simpson at our Behind the Lens: NYWIFT Members at Tribeca 2025 Panel
NYWIFT celebrated our 18 members that had creative work selected for the Tribeca Festival. We held our first event in partnership with Kaufman Studios on May 29 and over 120 people filled the seats for a vivacious and informative conversation with Lois Drabkin (Co-Producer & Casting Director, Ride or Die), Susan Lacy (Director & Producer, Billy Joel: And So It Goes), Chantel Simpson (Director, A Drastic Tale), and Marcella Steingart (Producer, Barbara Walters Tell Me Everything) on how their projects were made.
NYWIFT at Gracie Mansion (from left): Sibyl Reymundo-Santiago, Zenaida Mendez, Katie Chambers, Rashiek Smart-Charbonnier, and Leslie Fields-Cruz
NYWIFT Board and staff members attended the Made in NY Awards on June 16 at Gracie Mansion. The event was the first in 10 years and celebrated Michelle Buteau, Tracy Morgan, and Thomas J. O’Donnell (Local 817). Congratulations to all the honorees and a special recognition to Commissioner Pat Swinney Kaufman, Amanda Nguyen, and the entire MOME team for an incredible uplifting event.
NYWIFT Board Member Joyce Pierpoline (center) with 2025 board candidates Emelyn Stuart (left) and Luchina Fisher
Then we held our NYWIFT Meet the Candidates Meeting at Manhattan Neighborhood Network, our new headquarters spot. It was a networking event that included introducing the three candidates running for NYWIFT Board seats and a reception. If you are not a member, please become one to vote on candidates. Voting deadline: July 11.
This weekend we are partnering with the New York Indian Film Festival and NYWIFT Member Sweta Keswani will be moderating a conversation with Academy Award nominated filmmaker Smriti Mundhra at Village East by Angelika . Get tickets here.
Next up for our Fiscal Sponsorship Projects, we will host a lunch on June 30 at 1 PM in partnership with FlagStar Bank. Filmmakers will see a demo of budgeting software Conduit and it will serve as a networking opportunity. To learn more about our fiscal sponsorship program please visit this page.
On July 16 we are collaborating with the Asian American Film Festival and NYWIFT Member Veronica Reyes-Howe will represent us on the panel The Art & Commerce of Asian American Cinema. Details to come!
Attendees at the NYWIFT Meet the Candidates Night at MNN listening to speakers
Finally, we’re excited to be gather on July 15, 2025 at Penthouse 45 for a panel and reception recognizing women in the gaming industry. Speakers confirmed include: Jessica Murrey (Co-Founder and CEO, Wicked Saints Studios), Claire Lazo (Gaming and Mergers & Acquisitions, Deloitte), Naomi Clark (Independent Game Designer, Director and Chair of NYU Game Center), Elizabeth Goins (Associate Professor from the Department of English at RIT), and Alia Jones-Harvey (Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment).
On a poignant note, we did want to make the community aware of two recent losses:
One of our beloved NYWIFT Muse Awards contributors Jancy Ball has passed away. She dedicated many years helping us with all things tech and stage management behind the Muse curtain.
Jancy Ball (center) with NYWIFT’s Easmanie Michel (second from left) and community members at the 2015 NYWIFT Designing Women Awards
Jancy was a proud graduate of the Emma Willard School in Troy, NY. In her early career, she found her passion for backstage production work, and then later film productions. She then founded SHW Productions based out of the West Village, NYC.
When she moved back to Syracuse, Jancy’s love of taking care of people found several homes. At Otro Cinco restaurant she embodied the art of hospitality, creating a space where visitors and locals alike felt welcome and taken care of. Whether she was driving around town for Meals on Wheels or going for a joyride with her companion from Jewish Family Services, Jancy always brought the same level of care and intent to her work. Into her 70’s Jancy worked countless hours between all three. But that was her lifeblood, it was the people she cared for and connected with along the way that solidified her purpose. It was almost like she knew she had a finite amount of time and went to work filling it with goodness and service every day.
Her family said it best: “We are all better people because of the love, grace, and selflessness that Jancy showed us.”
Simin Minou Farkhondeh (courtesy of Democracy Now!)
Also, it has come to my attention that another leader in the documentary and news field passed away last year. Simin Minou Farkhondeh and I worked together many years ago when I worked as the Executive Director of Deep Dish TV Network. Recently, Simin was the Education Director for 2016 NYWIFT Muse Award recipient Amy Goodman’s news program, Democracy Now!
Farkhondeh was a lifelong educator, filmmaker and activist who served as Democracy Now!’s education director for 13 years, helping to bring lessons on media literacy and independent journalism to thousands of students. When the COVID-19 pandemic made in-person lessons impossible, Farkhondeh used virtual online classes to expand the reach of the education program to students in countries around the world.
Before joining Democracy Now!, she was part of a group from Deep Dish and Paper Tiger that produced a series in the early 1990s, before the Gulf War started, called The Gulf Crisis TV Project that challenged the rampant militarism that seemed to be leading to war. Her work has been featured at the Whitney Museum, the Museum of Modern Art and elsewhere. She is survived by her partner of 20 years, Eric Hiltner, and her daughter AnaLouisa.
NYWIFT members have also had some incredible losses – both Claire Shanley (NYWIFT President’s Circle Member and Producer of The Gilded Age) and our Muse Awards DJ Luv both lost their moms this week.
Our deepest condolences to all their families and friends. We wish to recognize their lives and contributions to our work. They will not be forgotten.
Onward,
Cynthia Lopez
CEO, NYWIFT
