The NYWIFT Member Screening Series comes to SOHO International Film Festival with a selection of six short films showcasing talented members of the New York Women in Film & Television community in key creative roles. Showcase screening followed by a conversation with the artists moderated by NYWIFT Senior Director, Community & PR Katie Chambers.
Date: Thursday, October 9, 2025
Time: 5:10 PM ET
Location: REGAL Union Square Theater 14 (850 Broadway)
Cost: $10 minimum (pay-what-you-can)
Join us for a reception at the filmmaker lounge at Sugar Mouse (47 Third Ave) after the Q&A!
About the Films
#1 Bad Dad
Director: Natalie Camou
Executive Producer: NYWIFT Member Shakera Robinson
2024, Comedy, 11 min
After spending time behind bars, jaded superhuman Sal Cortez tries to live life quietly by leaving his criminal life in the past. But when Holly, his estranged superhuman 12-year-old daughter, comes to him for help, he is forced to take her under his wing and reopen old wounds.
Shakera Robinson is a bi-coastal creative producer with a passion for bold, character-driven stories. She was a 2023 Women in Film Business Executive Fellow and a Creative Executive in Film Independent’s Project Involve Fellowship. Shakera has held roles at NBC and Amazon Studios, following earlier positions at A&E Networks, Fox Networks, and National Geographic Studios. She has also produced music videos, and short-form content.
Martorell: Sculpting a Poem
Director/Producer/Writer: NYWIFT Member Melissa Ramos
Executive Producer: NYWIFT Member Shakera Robinson
2024, Documentary, 8 min
Martorell Sculpting a Poem is a short documentary piece that features Artist Antonio Martorell as he creates the monument ‘My Cry Into the World’. Located in Manhattan’s Battery Park, the monument was dedicated to the victims of Hurricane María in 2017, and was inspired by groundbreaking Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos’ words and some of nature’s most unforgiving forces. Through a deeply introspective journey, Antonio Martorell creates a stunning piece of art for all audiences to connect with and enjoy.
Melisa Ramos is the founder of BeKreative, a multimedia company with offices in New York City, San Juan, and Madrid. Born in Puerto Rico, she’s a post-production editor, animator, and film professor with 11 years in NYC. She’s taught at Pratt Institute and led community outreach at NYCHA. Her work includes a CUNY TV series on Hurricane María and post-production for Montefiore Hospital’s Objetivo Tu Salud on Telemundo. Her pandemic docuseries From Performers to Spectators aired on PBS. She’s currently developing Hoop Warrior, a feature film about her nephew’s journey from street basketball to international success.
Bible Camp
Director: Philip DeRise
Writer/Executive Producer: NYWIFT Member Hyon Jung Lee
Producer and Casting Director: NYWIFT Member Sibyl Reymundo-Santiago
2024, Dramedy, 14 min
In a small town in Upstate NY, three cousins are dropped off at a discount daycare. Casey looks after her newly arrived Korean cousins Hyeon-joo and “Eugene,” who are apprehensive about their first American “camp” experience. They meet a cool musician counselor named Dave, and his sanctimonious brother-in-law, Ward. As Hyeon-Joo and Eugene assimilate to all things American, learning how to play baseball and squeeze mustard on burnt hot dogs, Casey is busy protecting her cousins from microaggressions from mean local kids. The kids grow bored of “camp,” but with Ward out of earshot one afternoon, Dave and the young immigrants bond in the garage with some rock vinyl. The kids settle into Bible camp, but when Ward discovers that Dave’s been drinking on the job, Ward forces Dave to destroy his beloved vinyl records in front of the children, triggering unexpected reactions.
Hyon Jung Lee is a Korean-American writer, producer, and a die-hard New Yorker. She’s committed to telling underrepresented stories about identity, class, and belonging.
Death By Numbers
Director: Kim A. Snyder
Producer: NYWIFT Member Janique L. Robillard
Co-Producer: NYWIFT Member Cynthia Kane
2024, Documentary, 33 min
A rare collaboration between shooting survivor / writer Sam Fuentes and Academy Award® nominee and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Kim A. Snyder – Death by Numbers breaks through an American society increasingly inured to gun violence and seemingly impervious to a nation of traumatized youth. Interweaving Sam’s evocative poetry and her shooter’s harrowing sentencing trial that will determine whether he lives or dies, we follow Sam’s journey to reclaim her power. As she prepares to confront her shooter who left her wounded and killed classmates with an AR-15 in her Holocaust Studies class, she and her teacher examine complex questions of collective hate and what restorative justice looks like for the victims involved.
Kim A. Snyder (Director/Producer) is an Academy Award® nominee and Peabody Award-winning Director / Producer whose latest feature, THE LIBRARIANS, premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and will release globally in late 2025. Her Oscar-nominated short DEATH BY NUMBERS, co-created with gun-violence survivor Sam Fuentes, has won multiple awards. Snyder’s acclaimed films include US KIDS (Sundance 2020), LESSONS FROM A SCHOOL SHOOTING (Netflix Original), and NEWTOWN (Sundance 2016, Peabody Award, PBS). Her earlier work includes WELCOME TO SHELBYVILLE (PBS) and I REMEMBER ME (Zeitgeist Films). She also associate produced the Oscar-winning short TREVOR, which spawned The Trevor Project. Snyder holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from Johns Hopkins SAIS and lives in New York City. (Photo by Erik Tanner/Contour by Getty Images)
Sam Fuentes (Writer & Key Film Participant) On February 14, 2018 a gunman wielding an AR-15 entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and fired on students, faculty, and staff. Seventeen people lost their lives and many others were wounded. Sam Fuentes was amongst the injured in the Parkland tragedy, and while fortunate to be alive, her body and life changed forever. She has bullet shrapnel permanently embedded in her legs and behind her right eye, and currently manages symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). She lost revered friends and faculty members. Despite these tragic events, today, Sam is resolved and committed to a poignant mission: to make sure that no child or adult is devastated by senseless and preventable gun violence ever again. She is currently a film student at Hunter College and lives in New York City.
The River
Director: NYWIFT Member Herrana Addisu
2024, Experimental, 18 min
The River is an award-wining film that pays homage to culture and the experiences of women through the lens of Ethiopia and draws inspiration from Herrana’s childhood home, Kebena. The film will not only celebrate the art of beauty but will also highlight the systemic barriers women face in the context of forced marriage, education, and water access.
A Qene Films production, the project was created with support and funds from the SheaMoisture Blueprint Grant, an extension of a 2023 campaign from the brand, created to further its commitment to empower the next generation of Black women trailblazers and creatives who define and push the boundaries of culture within and beyond the Black community.
Herrana Addisu is an award-winning film director, multidisciplinary artist, and social impact strategist passionate about using storytelling to drive systemic change. Raised in Ethiopia, her work is rooted in her family’s migration journey and lifelong commitment to human rights. She is the founder of Chucha Studios, a creative production company dedicated to bridging art and advocacy. The River is her debut film. It has screened internationally in London, Amsterdam, New York, and Los Angeles, and was funded by SheaMoisture and Tina Knowles. Beyond film, Herrana has led impactful campaigns, including efforts to end forced marriage in New York and to advance legislation against forced labor. With six years of experience working within the UN system, she has contributed to global initiatives focused on Women, Peace, and Security, particularly supporting women in conflict-affected areas. Her advocacy is grounded in advancing equity through storytelling and policy. She holds a Master’s degree in Political Science with a concentration in Human Rights and International Law. Her work has been featured in Essence, Forbes, InStyle, Business Wire, and New York Magazine, and she continues to engage in projects aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), using art and media to inspire global action. In 2024, She was named as part of the Dazed 100 list, recognizing her as one of the most influential and innovative voices shaping youth culture today.
Find Me
Director/Producer: NYWIFT Member Hsi Cheng
2024, Documentary, 19 min
Kuo (42), an Asian American flight paramedic from New York, was adopted at two by Mary (70), a single mother. Kuo later learns she was trafficked by an illegal baby syndicate in Taiwan between 1979 and 1982, sparking a lifelong search for the truth. In July 2023, Kuo and Mary travel to Taiwan with help from NGOs and government officials, unraveling a new story about Kuo’s past after 40 years and discovering the name of a possible sister.
Hsi Cheng is an award-winning filmmaker in both fiction and nonfiction, she’s originally from Taiwan and based in New York City. Her work often delves into themes of identity, community, and resilience, reflecting her commitment to amplifying underrepresented voices. Her short documentary FIND ME won the 2024 DOC NYC U competition and was selected for multiple film festivals. Her horror-romantic drama I HEARD A FLY BUZZ won first place at the Annual School of Visual Arts Writing Contest and was published in Match Factory Magazine in 2023. Hsi is currently working on extending her short Find Me into a feature length documentary.
Katie Chambers (moderator) is a communications executive and event producer with a lifelong commitment to supporting artists and advocating for inclusion. She is currently the Senior Director of Community & Public Relations at NYWIFT, where she drives Communications and Membership strategy and co-produces Special Events including the Muse Awards for Women of Vision & Achievement. She received national recognition for her work at NYWIFT as one of Association Trends’ top “Young and Aspiring Executives” in 2021, and was recognized by New York Society of Association Executives with their “Rising Star” award in 2020. She serves on the board the NJ State Federation of Women’s Clubs, and is a regular contributing writer for From Day One, a media outlet focused on innovations in corporate HR. Katie was previously a talent agent at Abrams Artists Agency, and has worked for leading entertainment companies including Buchwald, Manhattan Theatre Club, and Scott Rudin Productions. She has served on the Next Generation Committee of the NY Television Festival, produced a critically acclaimed play at the NY Fringe Festival, and her writing has appeared in Huff Post and several printed essay collections. She also has appeared on Cheddar News, iWomanTV, On New Jersey, and CBS New York. Katie graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude from Drew University with a double major in English and Theatre Arts.
Special thanks to NYWIFT Board Member Sibyl Reymundo-Santiago, the Executive Director and Head of Programming at SOHO International Film Festival.
Regal Union Square
850 Broadway
New York, NY 10003
membership@nywift.org
Join the conversation on social media:
#nywift | @nywift
NYWIFT programs, screenings and events are supported, in part, by grants from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
