Studio with a View, a new short film by NYWIFT member Mara Wollong is playing at the Queens World Film Festival on April 18 at 6:30pm at Kaufman Astoria Studios. Conceived as a visual poem, the film chronicles the first two years of the Covid pandemic from the perspective of an apartment window in New York City’s Chinatown. It captures life as it unfolds on the city block below, home to a police precinct and located in a neighborhood stigmatized during the pandemic, and evokes themes both small and large, above all human resilience in the face of large-scale crisis. Learn more and buy tickets!
NYU FUSION Film Festival will run April 10-13. The Fusion Film Festival is New York University’s premier student-run festival dedicated to celebrating women and non-binary artists in film, TV, and new media, from students to icons. With the exception of the Industry Visionary Awards Luncheon, all events are free and open to the public with seating on a first come basis. Learn more.
Newark LGBTQ Film Festival will run April 26-28 in New Jersey. This Queer Film festival is the first of its kind in the city of Newark and the state of NJ to focus on LGBTQIA+ BIPOC film makers, directors, and actors specifically those from Newark and the surrounding areas. The festival also holds the shared goal of the center to create a safe, inclusive environment for the LGBTQ community in Newark and beyond. NYWIFT Member Juana Mason is on the planning committee for the festival. Learn more.
The Sisters Karras, a new feature from NYWIFT Member Clare Louise Frost, is now available to stream on Apple TV, Prime Video and more! Two estranged half-sisters form a complicated bond as they work together to retrieve their rare and precious inheritance, which their late father inexplicably leaves to the mysterious Marco.
Maya, a new film from NYWIFT member Suzanne Ordas Curry (Producer, Publicist) is now available to stream. Maya is a social-impact narrative feature film produced by Artists for Change, an organization making films to inspire change, of which Suzanne is a member. The film, written and directed by Julia Verdin, is being distributed by Freestyle and is now enjoying a limited theatrical release and on demand on most platforms. The film is about a teenage girl who unknowingly gets trafficked and exposes the dangers that lead to this. Cast includes newcomer Isabella Feliciana, Patricia Velasquez, Rumer Willis. Learn more.
Registration is open for the 31st edition of the Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival. Responding to the ever-evolving doc landscape and current needs of filmmakers of all levels, Hot Docs is launching a new All-IN Pass, a streamlined Industry all-access pass that moves away from the traditional tiered system and provides enhanced convenience, accessibility and value, for a Festival experience that is both richer and more impactful. Hot Docs will take place April 25 – May 5 in Toronto. Learn more and register.
Lighthouse International Film Festival is offering NYWIFT members access to a discounted LIFF 2024 All Access Pass. Purchase the pass at the exclusive price of $120 (regularly $150). Immerse yourself in a 5-day cinematic experience featuring award-winning independent films, filmmaker events, master classes, panel discussions, and great parties. Enjoy priority entrance to films and support independent cinema on beautiful Long Beach Island, NJ. The festival will run June 5-9. Learn more and purchase the pass. Enter code NYWIFT for discount.
Molly Manning Walker’s award-winning Sundance selection How to Have Sex is now playing in theaters in New York, Los Angeles, and Austin, and expands tomorrow to theaters nationwide. Learn more and purchase tickets through MUBI. MUBI is also offering NYWIFT Members one month free! Learn more and take advantage of this offer.
After a long and successful festival run, the award winning short film, Like Daughter, Like Mother is now available on Youtube. If you haven’t seen this zany comedy yet, now is your chance! The film stars NYWIFT members Devi Morgan and Steve Lichtenstein, with music composed by NYWIFT member Louis Robert King. Watch now.
NYWIFT Member Mirta Desir was named the awardee of The Northwest Film Forum ‘s fourth annual Lynn Shelton Grant. Desir is in development on her first narrative feature film Angie. She will receive an unrestricted cash award to support the making of her film, which she describes as a “love letter to Latin American artists and Haitians’ oral history — a marriage of human drama and the power of Voudou.” For Desir, the grant was “an amazing source of support.” Read the full story in Variety.
Barbie will stream on Herflix beginning next week – with a special rental discount for NYWIFT Members. Barbie, the all-time box office winner by a film directed by a woman, and all-time best grossing film ever for Warner Bros, comes to Herflix for Premium VOD Rental next week. NYWIFT members are offered discounted NYWIFT rental days. No Subscription ever. NYWIFT member Adriana Shaw is the Founder and President of Herflix, the online streaming platform for films about, for and by women. Sign up to receive the discount.
Lakota Nation vs. United States, executive produced by NYWIFT Member Sarah Eagle Heart, is now playing at IFC Center in NYC. It is the most sacred place on earth, the birthplace of the Lakota that has shaped thought, identity and philosophy for the Očéti Šakówiŋ since time immemorial–the life-giving land known as the Black Hills. Yet with the arrival of the first Europeans in 1492, the sacred land has been the site of conflict between the people it has nurtured, and the settler state seeking to exploit and redefine it in its own image. This powerful new documentary is a searing testament to the strength of the Oyate and a visually stunning rejoinder to the distorted image of a people long shaped by Hollywood. Lakota Nation vs. United States is a lyrical and provocative testament to a land and a people who have survived removal, exploitation and genocide–and whose best days are yet to come. Learn more and see the full schedule of screenings.
NYWIFT Moms Network leader Tonya Mollineau was recently featured on the podcast Baby in the Wings. This week the hosts chat with the founder of Mom Film Fest, Tonya Mollineau. Tonya Mollineau is a New York-based single mother, filmmaker, and director who writes and produces a lot of her own content. Her work showcases layered Black female characters while shedding light on social issues as they relate to the human experience. Listen now.
Jelly Roll: Save Me, directed by NYWIFT member Bari Pearlman, is now streaming on Hulu. The feature documentary is about the unlikely meteoric rise of Jelly Roll, a self-made rap-to-country artist from Nashville who traded his criminal records for platinum ones. Bari followed Jelly Roll throughout the fall of 2022 to tell a story that critics have called “emotionally driven and absolutely gripping.” She collaborated with a very talented creative team of mostly women including ABC News Studios EP Claire Weinraub and Senior Entertainment Producer Monica Escobedo, DP Mary Stamm-Clarke, Producer Netsanet Negussie, Story Producer Kyle Cadotte, and APs Yi Xie and Susan Shea. Learn more.
Women and Hollywood has launched a new podcast, In Her Voice which takes people behind the scenes with women filmmakers, actors, producers and others for an intimate look at the creative process. The podcast also covers the latest entertainment news and issues that focus on women and non-binary creatives. Listen now on Spotify and Apple Music.
Cherry, a feature film by NYWIFT Member Sophie Galibert, is now available to watch on multiple major streaming platforms. A driftless and uncommitted 25-year-old in Los Angeles discovers she has only 24 hours to make one of the most consequential decisions of her life, what to do about an unplanned pregnancy. Fired from her menial job at a costume shop, she putters around town, looking for insight from her boyfriend, friends, and family. Instead, she is constantly challenged and confronted with what it looks like to finally face adulthood and how others view her as constantly running away from it. Watch now.
NYWIFT Member Joanna Rudolph recently sat down for a conversation for the podcast Just Screen It. The episode features Joanna discussing her experience self-releasing the indie feature film Burning Annie with producer Randy Mack. Burning Annie tells the story of a college student, obsessed with the Woody Allen movie, Annie Hall, trying to navigate the waters of romance and friendship. Learn more and listen.
Now, Let’s Talk! The Podcast with NYWIFT Members Vanessa Corwin and Kathleen Kaan has a new episode available to stream. “There Is a Home for Filmmakers in Brooklyn” features NYWIFT Board Member Emelyn Stuart – an indie film producer and the first Black Latina to own a movie theater. Emelyn sits down to discuss her journey to success. Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or Google Podcasts.
NYWIFT Board Member Audrey Rosenberg was recently interviewed for the podcast She’s Big Time Now. Audrey Rosenberg is a Peabody award-winning and Emmy nominated producer who has dedicated her career to using storytelling to create social change. In this episode, Audrey talks about how self-awareness and collaboration have played a role in her success, where her passion for social change comes from and how it motivates her work, and why networking and staying authentic are critical for success. Listen now.
The Couple Next Door, a short film directed by NYWIFT Member Abbesi Akhamie, is streaming on The Criterion Channel. A single woman’s feelings of loneliness begin to stir when an eccentric African couple moves in to her building. The was also a part of the Women Calling the Shots showcase at Hamptons International Film Festival in 2021. Watch now.
LIT Video Books is offering NYWIFT Members free access to the video book Unapologetically Ambitious by Shellye Archambeau. LIT turns bestselling nonfiction books into 1-hour, highly produced videobooks that feature the author, expert interviews, animation, live action & more to make reading as entertaining as watching a movie. Full of empowering wisdom from one of Silicon Valley’s first female African American CEOs, this inspiring leadership book offers a blueprint for how to achieve your personal and professional goals. Shellye Archambeau recounts how she overcame the challenges she faced as a young black woman, wife, and mother, managing her personal and professional responsibilities while climbing the ranks at IBM and subsequently in her roles as CEO. The book was named a Best Business Book of 2020 by Fortune and Bloomberg.
Access the free video book: Unapologetically Ambitious Videobook
1. Click ‘Buy’ button
2. Go to your cart to check out to create an account
3. Enter code NYWIFT at checkout. Codes are limited and are first-come first-serve.
Join MUBI for a free 30-day trial and watch their newest release – Léa Mysius’s The Five Devils. Vicky has a mysterious gift: she can recreate any scent she comes across, even that of her beloved mother Joanne. When her estranged aunt suddenly returns to town, the invocation of her fragrance plunges the young girl back in time to unravel a past replete with family secrets and queer romance. Starring Palme d’Or winner Adèle Exarchopoulos (Blue is the Warmest Colour), this spellbinding Fantastic Fest selection forges an unforgettable supernatural fable out of family secrets and queer romance. Watch the trailer and sign up to watch the film.
Launching 2023, Climate ChangeTheatR brings the joy of puppets and music to the very immediate and serious topic of climate change. Filmmaker and NYWIFT Member Nancy Cohen-koan and Composer Dave Ogrin illuminate the growing problems of peril to our planet through the performances of singing, homemade puppets. Tongue-in-cheek and often ironic, these quick TikTok and Instagram vignettes illustrate the growing issues on our planet and offer solutions on how to deal with them through the antics of characters from Moses and Pharoah to Barbie and Ken. Please help CCT by following their show and practicing green think. Follow them on TikTok and Instagram.
We Don’t Dance for Nothing, produced by NYWIFT Member Huilin Katrina Chen, is now streaming on Prime Video, Tubi in the US, and Vimeo on Demand worldwide. We Don’t Dance for Nothing is an experimental doc and a photo-montage love letter to the Filipina Domestic Workers of Hong Kong. This visual recreation of true memories shared by this community of 400,000 women (millions globally) follows one woman’s plan to run away. Captured on Super-16 amidst Hong Kong Protests, it blends stills with motions to highlight the passionate Street Dancing of these marginalized women, and touch upon LGBTQ+ themes, issues of Workers’ Rights, and Hong Kong’s changing political landscape.
Strangers to Peace, a documentary from NYWIFT Member Laura Angel Rengifo, is now available to stream on AT&T U-Verse, DirecTV, Dish Network, Amazon, iTunes, Apple TV, Vudu, Google Play, and YouTube Movies. This documentary takes viewers on a journey to Colombia and delves into the stories of three former child soldiers as they attempt to rebuild their lives after leaving the Colombian Conflict. The film received the NYWIFT Excellency in Documentary Directing Award at the New York Latino Film Festival. Learn more and stream the film.
The pilot episode of Drama Mama News, a new web series from NYWIFT member Cathleen Campbell is now on YouTube. Drama Mama News takes a serious and satirical look at today’s issues from a Black woman’s point-of-view. This show isn’t only for Black women: It’s thought-provoking, funny and inspiring. Watch now. Cathleen is currently crowdfunding for the web series – see more information in the Crowdfunding section below.
Move When the Spirit Says Move: The Legacy of Dorothy Foreman Cotton, a film from NYWIFT Member Deborah C. Hoard, will have its world premiere at the Pan African Film Festival in LA. Dorothy Foreman Cotton was a bold and highly effective civil rights leader, who educated thousands in their citizenship rights and inspired generations of activists with her powerful freedom songs. The only woman on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s executive staff, Dorothy was a charismatic, courageous and consistently overlooked key player in the Civil Rights Movement, whose freedom schools, freedom songs and inspiring messages of the power within us all are profoundly needed today. Learn more.
NYWIFT Member Lisa Romagnoli‘s short film How To Open A Clam, is now streaming online. The film, after completing its 2021-22 festival run, during which it played at the Woods Hole Film Festival, the Coney Island Film Festival, the New Faces New Voices Festival, and was a semi-finalist in the Rhode Island International Film Festival is on Vimeo. This comedic drama is about a young man (Adam) and his two friends, who are on a weekend beach trip at Adam’s family house. But after a clamming expedition, Adam becomes frustrated by his inability to open a clam, and his growing obsession threatens to destroy friendships. Watch now.
NYWIFT Member Kristin Reiber Harris is the recipient of a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts. The grant will fund Reiber Harris’s Life’s in the Balance – a series of drawings documenting various ecosystems in a New York City Park. These new drawings will be a continuation of the body of work she has created for over 50 years to celebrate and explore the interdependence of all life, all in the context of sacred geometry. Reiber Harris has her work available for purchase on Amazon and Artsy. Learn more.
How My Grandmother Won WWII, a 6-part podcast series from NYWIFT Member Enid Zentelis, is now streaming everywhere you find podcasts. A granddaughter’s journey to discover the truth about her Hungarian Jewish grandmother’s covert work for the British Special Operations during WWII. What does it look like when fascism turns your country upside down? How do you fight bigotry and hatred when hopelessness and apathy have set in? Learn more and listen now.
Nkosi Eclipsed, a short documentary from NYWIFT Members Candice Delevante and Tamara Daley, is now available to stream via PZAZ.TV. The documentary follows the saga of Nkosi Gray-El, and his journey before, throughout, and after incarceration. By rediscovering an early childhood practice, Nkosi uses yoga to help his fellow inmates endure intense physical, mental, and emotional suffering behind bars. Learn more.
A brand-new, special episode of podcast I Was Never There is available to stream! In this series, take a trip into the countercultural movements swirling through West Virginia in the 1970s and 80s. NYWIFT Advisory Board President Jamie Zelermyer and her mother Karen investigate the shocking disappearance of their friend Marsha “Mudd” Ferber and explore her evolution from suburban housewife to back-to-the-land hippie to drug-dealing bar owner. As mother and daughter venture deeper into the mystery of Marsha’s disappearance, the two process their own history: Jamie reflects on her nontraditional upbringing and Karen reckons with the joyful and complicated consequences of her decisions. Listen now.
Around the Sun Podcast, co-produced by NYWIFT member Suzanne Ordas Curry, is available to stream. Looking for something new to listen to? How about a series of fun, engaging and thought-provoking short stories? Around the Sun Podcast, the popular podcast series is back for a second season starting October 2022 with new episodes throughout the fall. It stars iconic and well-known actors from stage and screen. Created by Brad Forenza and presented via the Broadway Podcast Network, you’ll hear fictional stories (under 10 minutes) about love, relationships, coming of age, identity, retirement, life choices, sustainability, and even a few aliens. Learn more and listen.
The Tollbooth, a film by NYWIFT Member Debra Kirschner, is now streaming on Tubi. The film follows a struggling painter as she makes her way through her first year out of art school in this comic exploration of a Jewish family’s life in Brooklyn. Watch now.
Monk Arsenije, directed by NYWIFT Svetlana Cemin, is streaming on Prime Video UK. Monk Arsenije, once a Belgradian cult figure from the ’80s who has been living as a monk for the past 30 years, is engaged in restoring and creating a spiritual and cultural center in the Monastery of Ribnica, central Serbia. Watch the film now. Svetlana was recently interviewed about the film at the Swedish International Film Festival. Listen now. Adam Fuss: A Landscape of Imagination, another film directed by Svetlana, is currently available to stream on Prime Video in both the UK and US!
NYWIFT Board Member Okema T. Moore recently ran creative and directed the new HERTAKE commercial for Lifetime. The commercial, airing on Lifetime for Hispanic Heritage Month, features art therapist Athena Castillo, and was produced by Octavia Pride for HollandWest Productions. Watch now.
A new episode of Mentors on the Mic, a podcast hosted by NYWIFT Member Michelle Miller, is now streaming. For the latest episode Michelle sits down with filmmaker Winter Dunn. Winter Dunn is an award winning producer, director and actress. She produced Numa Perrier’s debut feature film, Jezebel which premiered at SXSW 2019 and was awarded Best Narrative Feature at the American Black Film Festival that same year. Jezebel has been acquired by Ava DuVernay and is currently streaming on Netflix. Plus, NYWIFT screened Dunn’s short film Dear Mama at the Hamptons Film Festival Women Calling the Shots showcase earlier this month. Listen now.
Black Public Media presents their new short film series Be Heard: I Am Who I Say I Am. Commemorate LGBTQ History Month by watching the 3 part mini-series which explores stories around gender identity and affirmation. Whether you’re new to understanding the nuances of gender identity or have been advocating gender affirmation for years, check out BPM’s new short film series celebrating three feel-good stories of gender affirmation. The series is one of many BPM programs leading up to Transgender Awareness Week. Watch now on YouTube.
In Fidelity, a feature film executive produced by and starring NYWIFT Member Eve Austin, has cast Chris Parnell, Cara Buono, Dennis Haysbert in lead roles. Rob Margolies’ New York-set film follows a happily married husband who permits his terminally ill wife to sleep with their rock star neighbor. Read the Hollywood Reporter article
NYWIFT Member Jean Criss was recently interviewed for The Burn Podcast. Each week, April Stearns and the writers of Wildfire Magazine share their experiences of being diagnosed with breast cancer under 50. The Burn is about telling cancer stories like you’ve never read, or heard, before. Jean Criss is an author, digital media entrepreneur, festival and multimedia producer, tech innovator, post-surgical fashion designer, and a certified bra fitter. She was diagnosed with both Stage 0 and Stage 1 ductal breast cancer in her mid-40s. Since treatment, 15 years ago, Jean has had no evidence of disease. Today she reads her piece “My Million Dollar Boobs Led to a Million Words” from Wildfire Magazine’s 2022 “Money and Cancer” issue. April and Jean discuss transforming from patient to owning your own voice by sharing your story, advice for people who don’t consider themselves writers, and Jean’s entrepreneurial work turning pain into purpose by creating a line of post breast surgery bras. Learn more and listen now.
Hell of a Cruise, produced by NYWIFT Board Member Gretchen McGowan, is streaming on Peacock. The documentary feature tells the harrowing tale of a cursed cruise ship in the early days of COVID-19, from frightened passengers and an oppressed crew to venal corporate powerbrokers and hapless government officials. Watch now.
The African Desperate is now screening in select NYC theaters and is available to stream on MUBI. The riotous coming-of-age comedy from acclaimed artist Martine Syms, tracks one very long day for Palace Bryant (Diamond Stingily), a newly minted MFA grad whose final 24 hours in art school become a real trip. Through a hazy night-long odyssey from academic critiques to backseat hookups, The African Desperate sparkles with razor-sharp satire and vivid aesthetic invention. The film is currently screening at BAM and Quad Cinema in NYC. Learn more and watch now.
The Only Woman In The World, by NYWIFT Member Debra Markowitz, is now available on Amazon Prime Video. The film follows an up-and-coming film director who is torn between forgiving the lover who broke her heart and risking it all for her leading man. Watch now.
From first-time filmmaker and New Orleans native Edward Buckles, Jr., Katrina Babies offers an intimate look at the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and its impact on the youth of New Orleans. NYWIFT Board Member Audrey Rosenberg produced the Tribeca Festival award-winning film, which is now available to watch on HBO Max.
Sixteen years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, an entire generation still grapples with the lifelong impact of having their childhood redefined by tragedy. New Orleans filmmaker Edward Buckles Jr., who was 13 years old during Katrina and its initial aftermath, spent seven years documenting the stories of his peers who survived the storm as children, using his community’s tradition of oral storytelling to open a door for healing and to capture the strength and spirit of his city. Katrina Babies details the close-knit families and vibrant communities of New Orleans whose lives were uprooted by the 2005 disaster. These American children who were airlifted out of the rising waters, evacuated from their homes to refugee-like centers, or placed in makeshift, temporary living situations, have been neglected. As families were tasked with reintegrating into new communities, having experienced loss, displacement, and lack of support from government officials, the children were left to process their trauma in a wounded, fractured city.
Now Let’s Talk Podcast, hosted by NYWIFT Members Vanessa Cordova-Corwin and Kathleen Kaan, has a new episode available to stream. Don’t miss this special episode, “Everything You Need to Know About Monkeypox.” Jason Cianciotto, VP of Communications and Public Policy for Gay Men’s Health Crisis, provides a comprehensive overview of this disease and explains all aspects of this public health emergency, including how to protect yourself and what to do if you think you have been exposed. Jason has also appeared on CNN and other news outlets. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, anchor.fm, iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. Listen now.
The second season of Only Murders in the Building is now streaming on Hulu. Only Murders in the Building follows three strangers (Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez) who share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one. When a grisly death occurs inside their exclusive Upper West Side apartment building, the trio suspects murder and employs their precise knowledge of true crime to investigate the truth. Former NYWIFT Board Member Destiny Lilly served as a casting director on the new season. Watch on Hulu.
Andrea Dworkin: INTERVIEWS is available to watch on YouTube. The series of interviews with feminist icon, Andrea Dworkin, was produced, directed, and edited by NYWIFT Member Roberta Pyzel. Dworkin challenges us to rethink our most deeply imbedded ideas about the hierarchies of domination and submission that infuse our sexual, social and economic relationships. Her courageous commitment to elevating the voices of people, especially women, who are suffering, was born out of a deep compassion and a belief that another kind of world is possible… a world that disavows cruelty and embraces a truly egalitarian society. Watch now.
Slayer, a short film from NYWIFT Member Eileen McQueen, is available to watch on YouTube. Three friends, a shortcut, and a monster – Teesh, Monet and Yuko, give up on the bus and take a shortcut through Forest Park in Queens, NYC and they are determined to get to the other side, no matter WHAT gets in their way. Watch now.
Being Bebe, directed by NYWIFT Member Emily Branham, is now available to stream on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video. Just in time for PRIDE, the award-winning doc film Being Bebe captures the incredible rise of the first ever winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race: the legendary BeBe Zahara Benet. The film intimately charts 15 years for the drag performer, an immigrant from homophobic Cameroon, first champion on iconic LGBTQ+ reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race and a leading artist celebrating Queer Black Excellence today. Learn more and watch.
Drown the Clown, starring NYWIFT Member Amy Renée Garcia, is now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. Claire Sable (Amy Renée Garcia), who recently lost her daughter, Lily, in a drowning accident, struggles to cope and insists on preserving her daughter’s belongings; however, when Lily’s clown doll begins popping up in several places, Claire is spooked. For her performance in the film, Amy was awarded Best Actress in a Feature Film Award from the Culver City Film Festival (2020.) Watch now.
The Courtney Harmel Collection has been featured in the Global Image Works newsletter. Video artist, filmmaker and NYWIFT Member Courtney Harmel was a key player in New York’s downtown video scene, producing work that documented the ‘No Wave’ retail and performance culture of the mid-1980s. The performers and artists in her work include Joey Arias, Charles Busch, Alexis del Lago, Divine, John “Lypsinka” Epperson, Tony Frere, Keith Haring, Grace Jones, John Kelly, Tanya Ransom, Gerard Little, Ann Magnuson, Wendy Wild, John Sex, Andy Warhol, and Madonna. A program of her videos of performance and fashion from the 1980s in downtown New York was in the Club 57exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. Her work is in the museum’s permanent collection. Learn more.
Sneakerella, executive produced by NYWIFT Board Member Rachel Watanabe-Batton, will be available to stream on Disney+ next month! The movie, set in the avant-garde street/sneaker culture of New York City, follows El, an aspiring designer from Queens who works as a stock boy in the shoe store once owned by his late mother. With an overburdened stepfather and two mean-spirited stepbrothers coming between any opportunity that comes his way, a chance meeting with Kira King, the daughter of former NBA star/sneaker tycoon Darius King, may be the spark that ignites El as they bond over their shared love of sneakers. With help from his best friend and some “fairy godfather” magic, El finds the courage to pursue his dream. Sneakerella drops Friday, May 13 on Disney+. Watch the trailer.
Lucy and Desi, a new documentary directed by Amy Poehler, is now streaming on Prime Video. Lucy and Desi explores the unlikely partnership and enduring legacy of one of the most prolific power couples in entertainment history. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz risked everything to be together. Their love for each other led to the most influential show in the history of television, I Love Lucy. The documentary features interviews with Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill, Norman Lear, Desi Arnaz Jr., Carol Burnett, and Bette Midler. NYWIFT Member Michele Spitz sponsored and produced the audio-description, and NYWIFT member Sara Bernstein was Executive Producer on the film. Watch the film.
Asking For It is now available on all major streaming and VOD platforms. After a small town waitress is sexually assaulted on a date, she meets Regina and Beatrice and is recruited into their vigilante group of badass women. Together they strive to take down a society overpowered by corrupt men and seek the ultimate revenge while getting their own version of justice. Asking For It was recently given the ReFrame Stamp, a distinction for projects that have demonstrated gender-balanced hiring. NYWIFT member Jendra Jarnagin was cinematographer on the film. Watch the trailer.
NYWIFT Member Nancy Cohen‘s new short play The Best is Yet To Come or Else is available to watch through the Library Equity Theatre of New York and on YouTube. The play, which Nancy wrote many years ago, was accepting to Library Equity’s Winter 2022 Virtual Play Festival and was shot in a few weeks at Nancy’s local pub. The short play stars fellow NYWIFT member Olivia Welch – who Nancy found and cast through the NYWIFT Member Directory! Watch the short play and make sure to check out the NYWIFT Member Directory whenever you’re looking to hire or connect.
