Join Film Fatales on April 26 at 5 pm ET for Lights, Camera, Money, a virtual panel discussion about Funding Scripted Feature Films with Diana Luna (Executive Director, NALIP), Ilyse McKimmie (Deputy Director, Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program), and Michelle Hamada (Manager of Development and Production, Tribeca Studios). Moderated by Film Fatales member Jennica Carmona (Programmer, Atlanta Film Society). Representatives from top arts organizations will share the many paths toward securing funding for your next feature film.
Members can use the code FilmFatalesPartner for 25% off the cost of admission. RSVP here.
NYWIFT members can receive a discount code to attend Pioneering Storytellers, a series of virtual screenwriting masterclasses. Led by Lulu Wang (May 8), Nia Vardalos (May 15), Tanya Saracho (May 22), and Angela Kang (May 29), the virtual classes will focus on craft-based questions. Classes will run Wednesday evenings in May with the opportunity for the audience to ask questions during the moderated Q&A.
Use code NYWIFT10 and register here.
NYWIFT Member Marilyn Horowitz‘s new book is available for pre-order here. The Word of the Day Practice is a 15-minute journaling process that quickly shuts down the inner critic that plagues most writers. Using a combination of word and image, the practice eliminates the bad habits of guilt and self-criticism. Instead, writers can focus on unconditional creativity. Offering a unique creativity-and-time-management technique, Word of the Day is a practice that assists writers to create at will, write as much as they want, and acquire accurate self-acknowledgement in the process. The practice immediately connects writers with their innate storytelling ability as reflected in their dreams. The techniques synthesize the right and left sides of the brain so that writers can draw upon the entirety of their creative tools, fusing the verbal and visual mind, unleashing structural instincts and creativity, allowing them to dance together. Writers are asked to put a notebook by their bed so they can write first thing in the morning when they wake up and just before bedtime. Studies have shown that our most creative moments happen immediately upon waking and just before falling asleep. Writing adjacent to these moments, even briefly, gives writers access to their unlimited imagination, powerful tools of imagery, and the full scope of their memory.
The Film Event Accessibility Working Group (FEAW) is excited to announce the launch of their FREE accessibility resources including an event accessibility checklist, vendor database and more to help organizations create more accessible film festivals and events. FEAW is a collective of film event operations professionals who seek to increase accessibility within film event spaces. FEAW seeks to achieve an inclusive film community through peer support and resource sharing. Members include the Center for Asian American Media, Sundance Institute, SFFILM, Full Spectrum Features, ReelAbilitiesNY, New Orleans Film Society, Black Public Media, Vision Maker Media, and DOCNYC. Learn more.
The NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment have shared a newly established resource for Workers Impacted by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strikes who are applying for Unemployment Insurance. For workers who have already applied for Unemployment Insurance:
- If you have filed a claim more than two weeks ago and have yet to receive a determination or payments
- If you have started filing a claim but been unable to complete it
- If you are trying to file a claim but are having issues using the phone system/website
Email: UIClaimHelp2023@labor.ny.gov and learn more.
The International Documentary Association’s (IDA) Nonfiction Access Initiative Public Message Board is now open to subscribe! The goal is to host conversations, share resources, promote opportunities, and build networks among members of the international nonfiction disability community and allies. Learn more and fill out the onboarding form to join the message board.
Pitch to Screen is offering NYWIFT Members a 20% discount off some of their upcoming education classes. PTS offers innovative and comprehensive courses designed for individuals interested in pursuing careers in the film and TV industry, providing a unique and immersive experience for participants that cannot be found in traditional classroom settings. Learn more. Enter code NYWIFT for a 20% discount off individual tickets.
Haven Studios NY is available to book! The stage, located in the Crew Zone in Mt. Vernon, NY (right outside of the Bronx) is a Certified Women Owned Business as well as a NYS Qualified Production Facility (QPF).The facility is approx 70,000 sq ft including a 30,000+/- soundstage. Learn more about the facility and contact Nicole Zeller at nicole.zeller@zelco.com for inquiries and questions.
The Women in Film Project is offering NYWIFT Members the chance to have their profiles featured on their platform. The Women in Film Project is an online platform that is dedicated to sharing and highlighting the inspiring stories from female creators around the world, showing creators everywhere that their story and voice matter. To share your story, simply fill out this 15 minute questionnaire and they will publish it on the website page with no strings attached. Learn more and submit a questionnaire to be featured. Email info@thewomeninfilmproject.com for questions and info.
WIFT-AT (women and gender diverse individuals in film and television in Atlantic Canada) has formed an online community of practice to increase sustainability and diminish carbon footprint in the film, tv and media industry. The group was launched with a panel discussion led by the Directors Guild of Canada’s national Climate Action Chair, Clara George. Many of the collaborations, practices shared, or tools built will not be geographically specific, so all WIFT members who are interested in greater sustainability in the industry are welcome. The community is a private Facebook group housing resources, tools, and colleagues! Email joanne@wift-at.com to join the group.
Sign up for the MediaMKRS mailing list to hear about their next programs and opportunities. MediaMKRS is the workforce development program within Reel Works. Partnered with the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, the City University of New York, media companies, and unions, they train talented New Yorkers for careers in media and entertainment. As IATSE’s primary partner for trainings in NYC, they offer union training for the wardrobe, hair, set-dressing, grip, and shop craft departments to diverse New Yorkers. Additionally they partner with companies — Warner Bros. Discovery, Jigsaw Productions, Paramount — to give in demand credentials for careers in production and post production. Learn more and sign up for their outreach list.
Group Effort Initiative (GEI) is looking for NYC-based candidates to apply today! GEI strives to create a pipeline for members of underrepresented communities to get real experience towards lasting careers within the entertainment industry. GEI offers paid internships, entry-level job opportunities, on-set production assistant opportunities, mentorships and education that focuses on professional development, soft skills and entertainment-specific training. Candidates should be at early career, and belong to an underrepresented group (i.e. people of color, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, etc.) Applications are currently accepted on a rolling basis. Learn more and apply.
Sign up for the Revlo newsletter and submit your pitch today. Revlo is on a mission to revolutionize representation of marginalized communities in main-stream media. Revlo will eventually launch as an online marketplace that connects pitches to producers and other industry professionals through community engagement. Sign up for their weekly newsletter and join a community of filmmakers and film lovers to see and share work by and about marginalized communities, and to be among the first to know when their marketplace platform launches. Learn more and sign up.
Sign up for Shiny New Directors Network. Shiny connects agencies, brands & production with new directors, across commercial production worldwide. New directors looking to put themselves forward for sponsorship, and connection with a VIP production company or agency studio may sign up to be included on their networking list, which is shared with commercial production companies and agency studios in the Network. Learn more and sign up.
Summer of Rage: Reproductive Justice on Film, a panel co-presented by NYWIFT and Film Fatales, is now available to watch on Vimeo. The discussion features Cynthia Lowen (Battleground), Emma Pildes (The Janes), Tracy Droz Tragos (Abortion: Stories Women Tell) and Angela Tucker (Belly of the Beast). With so many fundamental human rights currently under attack in this country, the group gathers to listen, to learn and to take action. Watch the conversation with documentary filmmakers who have been on the front lines of Reproductive Justice in the United States. Hear what they’ve seen, what they’ve learned, how they feel about the current situation and what they, and we, as artists, can do now. And why we must continue to tell these stories. Watch now.
Hello World Communications is seeking cinematographers. They are looking for cinematographers (preferably female) with fashion experience, editors, and augmented reality designers. Please send resumes and reels to Ron Yoshida at excitable01@gmail.com.
NYWIFT member Beth Ann Dailey is hosting the fall group, BreakThrough: Creativity Coaching for Writers and Filmmakers. Beth began working with writers while in the TV Lit Department at the William Morris Agency in Los Angeles and recently became a certified coach. Beth’s approach is based on her training with Eric Maisel. She helps writers and filmmakers start and finish projects, submit their work, and set goals, including how to consistently prioritize and make time for their creative efforts. Learn more.
E/S Collab is running a Film Business Essentials Series – 10 crash courses and workshops for emerging producers looking for practical information that can be used and implemented right now. E/S Collab’s courses are not designed to replace the expertise of legal and business affairs representatives, but to help creative producers understand the important questions to ask, the conversations needed to be had with collaborators and stakeholders early on, and the instructions to give their team, in order to ensure their short-term, long-term and project’s goals are met. Learn more. Enter code NFP10 for a 10% discount.
Sundance Co//ab has launched their new learning pathway, Independent Fiction Producing. The program is a curated collection of resources and tools created for producers to build their skills and inspire them to move their project forward. This learning pathway offers a wealth of resources to explore the essential elements of fiction producing so producers can effectively lead and collaborate with their team, to bring creative projects into existence. Learn more.
NYWIFT member Lukia Costello is looking to put together a NYWIFT affinity group for members in Western and Central New York. NYWIFT affinity groups are for members who would like to benefit from meeting informally with other members in related professions or interests. If you are a NYWIFT member, resident of these regions, and are interested in joining please contact Lukia at lukiacostello@gmail.com.
NYWIFT member Jenny Kleiman is hosting a screenwriting workshop Working the Wound: Creating Complex Womxn, BIPOC, & LGBTQ Protagonists. Using this unique approach to the craft of screenwriting, Jenny Kleiman uses characters’ misbehaviors and trauma (yes, in comedy too!) to develop complex story arcs. Specializing in plot problem-solving, these workshops will help you identify and hone your voice. Further, in an effort to combat and destroy familiar tropes previously reserved for women and minorities in cinema, these workshops are specific to developing and honing the inner narratives, experiences, and tribulations of minority leads. Learn more. Contact hello@jennykleiman.com and use NYWIFT in the subject of your email to receive 10% off 8 weeks of classes.
Interested in hosting a virtual screening event using POV films? The POV Community Network is a free digital film library for educators, nonprofits, librarians, media centers, and other engaged community members to host free community screening events of POV films and access film discussion guides, lesson plans, reading lists and more. Partners can host online screenings to watch films together through Zoom and/or other virtual platforms, request Q&A discussions with POV filmmakers, and organize group conversations after watching POV films. Create a free account and register.
Roadmap Writers, a screenwriting education and training platform for Career Writers looking for a guided path to success, has a full lineup of fall workshops. Upcoming workshops include: Rewrite Class, What Comes Next: Plotting Your Season and Crafting Your Bible, Advanced Marketing Prep, and more! The programs are hosted by working industry executives and are designed to empower writers with actionable tools and insights to elevate their craft and cultivate relationships with industry professionals. Learn more about upcoming workshops and enter code NYWIFT for a 15% discount.
The Know (formerly known as The Knowledge Project)is running Remote Writing & Media Workshops for middle and high school students. Workshops being offered include: Drawing for Portfolio & Comics, Playing with Sequential Art: Comics, Facts, Interviews & Stories: Making a Podcast, and Winged Words: A Story Through Poetry. Learn more about each workshop. Contact iwrite@theknowledgeproject.org or call 917-364-8813 to sign up.
Toss It, a film by NYWIFT member Michele Remsen, has been awarded the ReFrame Stamp. Toss It is a recipient of the NYWIFT Nancy Malone Marketing and Promotion Grant. In partnership with IMDbPro, the ReFrame Stamp aims to celebrate studios, networks, & creatives that have demonstrated measurable progress towards gender parity when developing, producing, financing, and marketing their product. Learn more about the ReFrame Stamp and see if your film is eligible.
Lumberyard Studios will be open and available for rental as soon as the Governor’s office opens the Capital Region, likely weeks before NYC or the lower Hudson Valley. Opened in September 2018, Lumberyard is a purpose built QPF located 2 hours north of Manhattan, and minutes from the Hudson, NY Amtrak station. Learn more about the facility. To schedule a call or to learn more about capability, availability, and rates – contact Ruth Moe at rmoe@lumberyard.org or (914) 582-7026.
Manhattan Edit Workshop is offering NYWIFT members a 10% discount on their online post-production courses. Interested in learning or expanding your knowledge with ONLINE Learning in Avid. Pro Tools, Premiere Pro, Photoshop, After Effects, Audition, Resolve, or Final Cut Pro? NYWIFT Members get 10% off courses including our signature class – Six Week Intensive Art of Editing Workshop. Members can use this code for MC 101, MC 110, MC 201, MC 210; Pro Tools 101, 110; Premiere Pro 101, 201, 250; Photoshop I, II; After Effects I, II, III; Audition 101; Final Cut Pro 101; COL 101, 201; RES 101, 201, and our Six Week Intensive Workshop. Learn more. Enter code NYWIFT10 when registering.
As we are all experiencing this unprecedented global crisis, the Sundance Co//ab will bring more resources, tools and support to the community. For right now, they are opening all of their Member Q&As and Master Classes for free to the community. Free, upcoming live online events include:.
NYWIFT is looking to launch a mentoring initiative for members in the makeup field – if you are a makeup artist interested in mentoring or a makeup artist interested in being a mentor, please email us at membership@nywift.org. Send your resume and let us know if you’re interested in being either the mentor or the mentee. We’d love to match you up.
Don’t forget to add your crew/professional title to your NYWIFT profile! Our membership directory continues to be a fantastic resource for members that are seeking to crew up and hire for projects.
Downtown Community Television Center is looking for film workshop instructors. DCTV’s hands-on filmmaking workshops in producing, production, and post-production are dedicated to cultivating New York’s ever-expanding community of media makers, and they are currently seeking skilled and passionate working professionals with teaching experience to lead them. Learn more and apply.
NYWIFT is now featured on Sundance Institute’s new Inclusion Resource Map, which is designed for artists to easily discover opportunities for funding, education, mentorship, and networking. The map is a searchable storehouse of opportunities and programs available to U.S. based artists from underrepresented communities. Check it out and share with it your network.
