Web Series: From Creation To Distribution
For many filmmakers, making a web series is a calling card for getting work in the industry. For others, the series is a “proof of concept” for a broadcast television series. And yet, other storytellers prefer the web series format, and the business of creation through distribution is their primary focus. In Web Series, From...
READ MOREDocumentary Distribution 3.0 – The New Normal
What is the new normal for documentary distribution within a constantly evolving landscape? This panel explores the emerging "windows" of distribution/monetizing opportunities for documentary film compared with traditional distribution outlets. Join NYWIFT and panelists Kim Jackson (Co-Founder and President of Entertainment, Breaker), Christie Marchese (CEO, Picture Motion), DeShuna Spencer (Founder/CEO, kweliTV) and moderator Karen McMullen (Film Festival Programmer, Editor and Educator) for an engaging conversation about the future of documentary distribution.
READ MOREBite Me: A Truly Independent Journey
Join the team behind the independent feature film Bite Me for a case study on the film’s journey and the upcoming Joyful Vampire Tour of America that will feature screenings, capes, and Vampire Balls! Bite Me is a unique, while universally relatable, story about outsiders and an edgy, whip-smart, funny, heart-felt update to the rom-com genre. Naomi McDougall Jones (Writer/Actor/Producer), Sarah Wharton (Producer), Joanne Zippel (Executive Producer/NYWIFT Member) and Jack Lechner (Executive Producer) are inventing a fully democratic, filmmaker-empowered model of release that will change distribution from something you “get” into something you “do.”
READ MOREPower Player Breakfast: Megan Cunningham, Founder and CEO of Magnet Media
How do you grow up to create a global content studio that helps some of the most exciting companies on planet Earth spread their stories and marketing messages? If there’s anyone who can answer that question, it’s Megan Cunningham. In the latest of NYWIFT’s Power Player Breakfasts featuring powerful women, Cunningham will discuss how she managed to rise from a NYWIFT intern (that’s right!) to where she is today: Founder and CEO of Magnet Media. Magnet Media is a studio for brands, and its mission is to tell stories that matter. The company’s clients include: Google, Adobe, Chase, Airbnb, IBM Watson, CitiGroup, The TED Talks, Politico, YouTube, National Geographic Kids, PBS, Fandango and MIT Tech Press. Cunningham will share personal stories about how she’s tackled various challenges as well as insights into what she’s learned over the course of her career.
READ MORENew Date – Destination Co-Star! TV Tips for the Emerging Actor
Are you an actor transitioning from theater, independent film, background work, or just starting out? This workshop is for those seeking practical advice in booking their first television co-star role, and more importantly, building a life-long career. Mellini Kantayya, actor, writer, and humorist, will cover casting directors, agents, creating a network vs. networking, audition best practices (and managing those audition nerves), and more!
READ MOREDocumentary Labs: Finding the Right One for Your Film
In the last several years, foundations and festivals have developed incubator labs to help filmmakers in the development and post production of their documentaries. It is an exceptional opportunity, and the many labs offer a variety of experiences. While these creative bootcamps seek to expand emerging voices and creativity, are they for everyone? What difference can they make in the life of a doc? Join NYWIFT to learn more about labs at UnionDocs, Chicken & Egg, the Tribeca Film Institute, the Independent Feature Project, and more.
READ MORESold Out! Impact Fiction, A New Financing & Distribution Model: A Case Study of HBO’s “The Tale”
Melding “visual storytelling” and “social issue advocacy” has long been the focus of documentary films and nonfiction filmmakers. However, today a new wave is emerging for fiction film to use its art and craft to change the world. Narrative film and character-driven scripts pose great opportunities that not only contribute to society and culture artistically...
READ MOREIDA Conversation Series: Susan Lacy
NYWIFT members are invited to join the International Documentary Association (IDA) for a special East Coast edition of the IDA Conversation Series, as the IDA highlights and explores the extraordinary career of Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and producer Susan Lacy. The evening will feature a clips program and an exciting conversation between Lacy and acclaimed independent...
READ MORESold Out! Women Make the Cut: A Discussion with Female Documentary Editors
New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) partners with The International Documentary Association (IDA) to present a panel discussion with female documentary editors in a special East Coast edition of the IDA Conversation Series. Special support provided by our partner at POV. Panelists include film editors Mary Manhardt (Making a Murderer, Street Fight), Carla...
READ MOREThe Pitfalls & Practicalities of Intellectual Property (IP) Protection – The Sequel
Join NYWIFT and the law firm Moses & Singer for a discussion on best practices for Intellectual Property (IP). Presented by a panel of Moses & Singer LLP attorneys, topics will cover: Copyright: Obtaining Protection, Avoiding Infringement; and Life Story Rights and the Right of Publicity: What’s Possible, What’s Not.
READ MORERetirement Planning for Freelancers – March 2019
Freelancers usually don’t have access to 401K and pension plans that so many workers take for granted. As usual, freelancers need to do it all themselves. Attend an in-depth and informative financial planning seminar geared towards the retirement needs of freelancers. Whether you are just starting to get your first few projects or you have been freelancing in film and television for years, this presentation is for you. Certified Financial Planners Gail Linn and William Fischer at Fortis Lux Financial (an office of MassMutual) will inform you about the key concepts you need to consider when it comes to saving for retirement, protection strategies, business transition, estate planning and more. Presentation will also cover tax savings strategies.
READ MORESOLD OUT – Writing the Half-Hour Television Pilot Treatment – March 2019
Whether you are writing a half-hour drama, comedy or a dramedy, a good treatment helps you identify and prevent important structural and character mistakes. The treatment helps as a diagnostic tool once you’ve completed your draft to foolproof your story. It is also a useful selling tool in a marketplace where, in a practical sense, no one reads it until you have an insider’s attention. Attendees will learn: A foolproof method for the half-hour structure; An easy way to create compelling character arcs within an episode; How to organize your act breaks and your A & B stories with ease; and Participants will create an outline for a script that can then be turned into a treatment. Presented by Marilyn Horowitz.
READ MOREThe Art of Grant Writing
Grant writing is an essential tool for filmmakers in the documentary community to bring stories to life. This second installment of NYWIFT's Documentary Series will explore key elements to focus on when developing a successful grant proposal. Speakers will address best practices in grant writing, catching the eye of individual funders with a strong application, how to target your potential funders and other opportunities not explored enough by filmmakers. The panel will also explore The Documentary Core Application, a joint project between The Sundance Institute and the International Documentary Association, established to standardize application requirements.
READ MOREPower Player Breakfast: Abigail E. Disney, Documentary Filmmaker, Philanthropist, Activist
Long before inclusion became fashionable, Abigail E. Disney was passionate about advancing women’s roles in the public sphere. As a guest of NYWIFT's Power Player Breakfast Series, Disney joins a choice roster of speakers through the years who have shared stories of their remarkable journeys and lessons learned along the way. Join us for a rare opportunity to experience and ask questions of this CEO who has used her unique position of influence to produce and direct award-winning work on social issues, spotlighting extraordinary people who speak truth to power.
READ MORECase Study: Swim Team, A Doc from Soup to Nuts
No documentary journey is the same, but every documentary faces similar challenges from concept to community engagement. Producer/Director Lara Stolman had her own ups and downs as she made her way through the process of making her film Swim Team. The film chronicles the rise of a competitive swim team made up of teenagers on the autism spectrum. For this case study, Stolman will highlight for us the key moments she experienced in proposal writing, budgeting, fund raising, selection of production team, post-production, film festival launch, broadcast rights and community outreach. In conversation with Marcia Rock, Chair of NYWIFT's Documentary Committee and Director of News and Documentary, NYU Arthur Carter Journalism Institute.
READ MOREScreening/Reception: Warrior Women
Join NYWIFT and Vision Maker Media for a reception, screening and conversation for the upcoming documentary Warrior Women by Christina D. King and Elizabeth A. Castle. In the 1970s, with the swagger of unapologetic Indianness, organizers of the American Indian Movement (AIM) fought for Native liberation as a community of extended families. Warrior Women is the story of Madonna Thunder Hawk, one such AIM leader who cultivated a rag-tag gang of activist children - including her daughter Marcella - into the "We Will Remember" Survival Group as a Native alternative to government-run boarding schools. Together, Madonna and Marcella fought for Native rights in an environment that made them more comrades than mother-daughter. Special guests Madonna Thunder Hawk and Marcella Gilbert will join the filmmakers in a conversation moderated by Producer Yvonne Russo.
READ MORELunchtime Skills Workshop: Jim Arnoff Coaching Group
With the start of a new year, join NYWIFT Member/Certified Career Coach/TV Packaging Agent Jim Arnoff in a highly interactive coaching group with fellow NYWIFT members for one-on-one coaching, group coaching, networking and resourcing to supercharge your entertainment career. Bring any areas of your career where you feel stuck, need support or want to brainstorm new possibilities. You’ll learn coaching techniques to envision your ideal career with precision, release those career blocks and create a powerful action plan to create the passion career you deserve. Free and open to NYWIFT members only.
READ MOREAdvancing Your Negotiation Skills: Live Roleplay Workshop
Join NYWIFT and Shushana Jachobov, entertainment deal-maker, for a hands-on, live roleplay workshop where attendees will practice, first-hand, how to prepare for and negotiate a deal to acquire intellectual property rights for development. Jachobov will provide a a detailed scenario that will involve a production company negotiation with a rights holder to develop a project for the screen. The scenario will involve a first, introductory meeting. Next will be a scenario for a more involved negotiation meeting. Attendees will work in groups to strategize and run two meetings in real time. Jachobov will then review the meetings, offer feedback, provide recommendations and answer questions.
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