On the road this week with NYWIFT CEO Cynthia Lopez
Dear NYWFT Community:
How do we keep our creative projects thriving and fundraising goals on track despite the current news cycle?
From the constant barrage of alarming environmental incidents, the assault on public media, and slashed women’s health care options, to the global impact of current wars, new US immigration policies, and the fragile economy… these issues are keeping many of us up at night. We are all struggling to focus and stay motivated.
Our arts organizations are all working to balance these heavy loads collaboratively, in spite of it all.
From Left: NYWIFT Senior Director of Community & PR Katie Chambers, NYWIFT Board Member Neyda Martinez, Michèle Stephenson, Carla Gutiérrez, Christina Norman, NYWIFT Board Member Sibyl Reymundo-Santiago (Photo Credit: Albert Ferreras)
Recent NYWIFT Happenings
At NYWIFT, we were thrilled to bring together trailblazing executives and storytellers Carla Gutiérrez (RBG, FRIDA), Christina Norman (The Moth), and Michèle Stephenson (Rada Studio) to share insights on balancing creativity, storytelling, and strategic business approaches to achieve success in their projects at our Salon Conversation: The New Mainstream. Thank you to our friends at The New School for hosting the panel and lively networking reception, including Professor and NYWIFT Board Member Neyda Martinez, who also moderated.
We quickly followed that in-person gathering with a virtual one welcoming our friends from WIFT Atlanta (WIFTA) to Zoom to share information about our organizational initiatives and enjoy fun speed networking. Thank you WIFTA President Robyn Watson – a former NYWIFT Board Member herself! – for helping to organize.
We are so grateful in these post-pandemic times to be able to make the most of both in-person and virtual opportunities to bring our communities together in interesting and meaningful ways… near and far.
Courtesy of Film at Lincoln Center / Photo by Sean DiSerio.
Pedro Almodovar Inspires
Last week, the Charlie Chaplin Awards were held at Lincoln Center on Monday April 28 – it was an absolutely a breathtaking experience when Pedro Almodovar received his 2025 lifetime achievement award. An impressive list of creatives paid homage to Almodovar’s brilliant career and artistic contributions to the industry, including Antonio Banderas, Martin Scorsese, Dua Lipa, Penelope Cruz, Rossy de Palma, John Turturro, and Mikhail Baryshnikov – to watch Baryshnikov dance Spanish Flamenco was a vision that will remain etched in my memory for years!
During dinner, I was able to meet the new president of Film at Lincoln Center, Daniel Battsek, and look forward to new opportunities for NYWIFT and FLC to work together. Thank you to the Lincoln Center team that produced such an inspiring 50th Anniversary event. Bravo! Check out the trailer.
As so many of you know, Pedro Almodovar’s portrayal of women and community is like no other – humorous, authentic, and tugs at your heart – while making us critique ourselves and reevaluate our notions of love and acceptance. I encourage our NYWIFT members to search out and watch his films to help alleviate the stress of our current times. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is definitely one of my favorites.
Learning about Innovative Strategies at The Paley Center
On Tuesday, April 29, I attended The Paley Center’s Media Council Lunch – Dialogue: A Conversation with Kristin Dolan, CEO, AMC Networks, sponsored by Accenture. Kristin was interviewed by Variety Co-Editor-in-Chief Cynthia Littleton. It was a riveting conversation about the direction of the network that includes their linear channels, streaming services, and their cross-platform advertising and audience capturing techniques.
Kristin was authentic, honest, and forthcoming about her leadership style and the company approach about what is to come in 2025 and beyond. The audience was not only fed a healthy tasty lunch but a bevy of AMC clips of upcoming season programming including Dark Winds – one of my favorites – directed by Chris Eyre, who also directed Smoke Signals. Thank you, Maureen, and the Paley team for your excellent and uplifting programming. I look forward to an evening conversation this week featuring Shonda Rhimes.
(Photo Credit: Asia Pimentel for NDWC)
Happy Birthday, Zenaida! + A Special Honor
On Saturday, May 3, I attended NYWIFT Board Member Zenaida Mendez’s 70th Birthday Celebration held at the Dream Hotel in Chelsea. The celebration which was both a fundraiser for the National Dominican Women’s Caucus (NDWC) and a celebration of Zenaida’s creative contributions to the media community as well as her political career, including working at City Hall for Mayor Dinkins, to her leadership of the MNN’s El Barrio Firehouse, and the founding of the NDWC.
The event was so inspiring and well… what can I say? It was black tie and Dominicans know how to party! In attendance were so many VIP’s in the Latino community I can’t list them all here, but I assure you the A-List included the first female Dominican US Judge Faviola Soto. I was thrilled to meet her and dance in her presence.
Gail Brewer and I were selected by the NDWC to be recognized for our work and dedication to Latino community. I was presented with the Ilka Tanya Payan Award for years of championing the Film & TV industry in the US, supporting creative endeavors, and leading NYWIFT during the pandemic.
Actress Tanya Payan was born in Santo Domingo, and was one of the founders of Hola (Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors) and an entertainment attorney. She was an activist who worked tirelessly to advocate for better healthcare for those with HIV. She herself died of AIDS at only 53. I was humbled and grateful to receive such a distinction. Thank you, Zenaida, and the NDWC for your support.
While these events were motivational and show that the media community continues to thrive, we also had some major professional and downright painful losses recently.
Photo Courtesy of Variety
Remembering Andrew Karpen
Bleecker Street CEO Andrew Karpen, who passed away at only 59 from glioblastoma. Andrew founded Bleecker Street as an NYC-based independently financed studio in 2014, having released more than 75 films including titles like Logan Lucky, Leave No Trace, The Assistant, Rumours, Mass, The Starling Girl, Captain Fantastic, Trumbo, Hard Truths, and many more. He navigated Bleecker through COVID, streaming, and other immense after having previously served as the co-CEO of Focus Features.
He had joined Focus in 2002 as COO before being promoted to president in 2006. He was responsible for the company’s finance, operations, and strategic planning and with his promotion added domestic marketing, publicity, and distribution, and he also handled the international sales and distribution arm for Focus.
I first met Andrew in-person at the 2023 Muse Awards when NYWIFT recognized Sharon Stone, Danielle Brooks, and Janet Yang, among others, when we announced our partnership with Bleecker Street Media. He and Kent Sanderson approved a $45,000 contribution to NYWIFT Scholarship Fund to support three film students. I received the news of his death via text on Tuesday when I was entering the Paley Center… I had to clear my throat and force myself to enter the venue.
From what I read in Variety, his condition was painful and heart-wrenching and he and his family did everything to fight for his life. Although I had only known Andrew briefly from several zoom conversations and our MUSE event, his elegant, humorous and welcoming style touched my spirit.
Our deepest condolences to his wife and children. The family would appreciate donations made in Andrew’s name to the Lenox Hill Brain Tumor Center or Fairfield County Hospice House.
Photo Courtesy of Goddard Riverside
Remembering Lee Hunkins
NYWIFT also mourns the loss of longtime member Lee Hunkins. Lee was a fixture at our events and frequent Muse Awards volunteer. She was 95.
As a writer, Lee’s stage works include Freedom Is My Middle Name (Open Eye Theater); The Best of Strangers and Sequestered (American Folk Theatre); Anybody I Want to Be and Just One Step (Plays for Living); Revival (Family Classics Theatre); and The Dolls (Afro American Total Theatre). Television productions include “Hollow Image,” a two-hour teleplay for ABC-TV; “The Sign Painter’s Dream,” “Uncle Jed’s Barbershop” and “Always My Dad” (PBS Reading Rainbow Series). Published works include The Best of Strangers (Broadway Play Publishing); Freedom Is My Middle Name (Dramatic Publishing); and Revival (Sea Urchin Press).
Lee was the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship and two Emmy nominations. She was a member of the Writers Guild of America, East; The Dramatists Guild; the League of Professional Theatre Women, in addition to NYWIFT.
Lee’s warmth, kindness, and good humor was infectious, and she is remembered so fondly by our staff. You can feel in this interview with Goddard Riverside, where she talks about her love of volunteering to serve the needy at the holidays… and her fascination with the art of DJ’ing at age 87. She will be missed.
While these losses are a sobering reminder of life’s fragility, they are also a signifier of the beauty of our NYWIFT community – rich, strong, and filled with delightfully passionate personalities working together for the greater good.
Please hold your loved ones and each other close as we weather the current storm. And please continue to support the media & arts organizations you love, as they bring vital services to creatives and enrich our lives for the better.
Onward,
Cynthia Lopez
CEO, NYWIFT
