NYWIFT Blog

NYWIFT Masterclass Series: On-Camera Audition Technique with Casting Director Amy Gossels

Join NYWIFT and esteemed Casting Director Amy Gossels for a two part Masterclass on February 16th and 23rd where you will learn innovative on-camera audition technique that will elevate your auditions and gain coveted industry insight to boost your career.

NYWIFT Virtual Hangout with Women in Film San Francisco Bay Area

Gather together online with your NYWIFT colleagues at our February 7th virtual speed networking mixer. We will be joined by our West Coast friends from Women in Film San Francisco Bay Area! Come ready to share creative ideas, suggestions, and contact info for further engagement. We will begin the evening with a ten-minute salon conversation to discuss WIF SFBA's latest opportunities and initiatives, followed by about 90 minutes of speed networking, during which you will be randomly paired off with other attendees to network one-on-one.

The Basics of Financial Planning

Join us on January 29th at 5pm EST as Gail Linn, CFP® and William Fischer, CFP® present The Basics of Financial Planning. This presentation will be a refresher on all of the basics that you need to know with respect to your personal financial planning. This event is FREE and open exclusively to NYWIFT members. Advance registration required.

Consider This!: How to Launch an Awards Campaign

Join our friends at Film Fatales for an online discussion about how to launch a successful awards campaign with limited resources.

Hear from filmmakers who have directed or produced feature films that have been nominated for Spirit Awards, Gotham Awards, and Academy Awards. Panelists include Raven Jackson, director of the Independent Spirit Award nominated feature All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, NYWIFT Member Elizabeth Woodward, producer of SXSW winning Another Body, and Nikkia Moulterie producer of the Gotham and Spirit nominated Nanny. Moderated by Film Fatales and NYWIFT member Liz Sargent (Take Me Home).

NYWIFT Industry Screening + Q&A: ‘Bad Things’

Join NYWIFT for a virtual screening of Bad Things. Followed by a virtual conversation with director Stewart Thorndike, producer Lexi Tannenholtz, and production designer Amy Williams on Friday, October 27th. Moderated by NYWIFT Board Member Okema T. Moore.

When a group of friends escape the city to spend the weekend in an abandoned hotel, a pervading eerie energy begins to illuminate the cracks in their little family unit. Ruthie Nodd (Gayle Rankin) inherits the hotel from her grandmother and with bad childhood memories threatening to burst to the surface, Ruthie wants to sell the hotel and never return. But her partner Cal (Hari Nef) drags her there in the hopes of returning it to its former glory. They are joined by their amiable friend Maddie (Rad Pereira) and mysterious grifter Fran (Annabelle Dexter-Jones). As the friends dance, cook, flirt, and fight, they find themselves entwined in the hotel’s seductive embrace and start doing bad things to each other. 

NYWIFT Masterclass Series: Nonfiction Audio Development

Join NYWIFT for our inaugural Masterclass Series: Non Fiction Audio Development with critically-acclaimed Podcast Creator and Producer Jamie Zelermyer. 

In this series of three masterclasses, through case studies and conversation, creators of all levels will learn about development through completion - starting with an initial idea through to a finished audio piece. Use this seminar to help jumpstart your next creative endeavor! 

The Business of Adaptations for Film and TV – Fall 2023

Join NYWIFT for the Fall 2023 Business of Adaptation Panel on Wednesday, October 18th from 6-8pm. Learn from this experienced panel about ways to locate common sources for your story or script and the power and pitfalls of working with adaptations for your project. Panelists include Lane Shefter Bishop, Mark DeGasperi, Maria C. Miles, Kelly Thomas, and Jill Michelle Williams. Moderated by Jennifer S. Wilkov.

NYWIFT Co-Presents Fest and Furious

NYWIFT is proud to co-present Film Fatales's online workshop about Maximizing your Film Festival Strategy led by Kathy Susca and Jeffrey Winter from The Film Collaborative.

Film festivals can be elusive and confounding. They are also opportunities to advance your career, grow your network and expand your audience. But how does it all work? Join this webinar with Film Fatales and The Film Collaborative to receive answers to all your burning questions, such as: Which festival is the right fit for your film? How do you get your project to stand out to programmers? Once you get into a festival how do you create buzz about your project? What are useful techniques for getting your film in front of sales agents and distributors? We’ll cover all this and more to help you curate a strategy for your film to find success on the festival circuit.

Three audience members will be invited to share their current projects to be used as a case study for live feedback during the webinar. Filmmakers of all experience levels are welcome to submit a link to their films when they RSVP to be considered for this exciting opportunity.

NYWIFT Co-Presents Do The Write Thing: Breaking Into Television Writing

Join Film Fatales for a discussion about Breaking Into Television Writing with Jessica Sharzer (Nine Perfect Strangers), Peres Owino (African Queens: Njinga), and Rebecca Murga (Swagger).
,
A career as a screenwriter is always a roller coaster, especially now. How can aspiring writers build a viable career path to create their work, sell their scripts, and make a living? Hear from successful television writers and showrunners who broke into the industry through a diverse set of paths from adaptations to documentaries. They will shine a light on their unique professional journeys and answer all your burning questions. How do you break into TV writing? What happens in a writers room? Where do you meet showrunners? How do you find representation? And much more.

The Business of Adaptations for Film and TV – Spring 2023

Savvy industry professionals love to leverage their time and efforts by capitalizing on a story that can be adapted into many forms.

Learn from this experienced panel of agents, attorneys, managers, producers, and writers about ways to locate common sources for your story or script and the power and pitfalls of working with adaptations for your project.

NYWIFT Co-Presents Virtual Shadowing: Episodic Television Directing Class

Join Film Fatales online for an in-depth Episodic Television Directing Class with two-time Emmy award-winning television director Mary Lou Belli, whose directing credits include True Lies, Sweet Magnolias, NCIS: New Orleans, and The Ms Pat Show.

Learn how to prep from a working TV director! In this interactive workshop, you will explore casting, location scouting, script breakdown, scene blocking and shot listing. You can then compare your work to an actual episode that has already aired and evaluate how your choices would be another option, or what you might change to make the work more “shootable.”

NYWIFT Co-Presents Poetic Witness: Developing Documentary Films

Join NYWIFT and Film Fatales for a discussion about Documentary Development with Dawn Porter (The Lady Bird Diaries), Iliana Sosa (What We Leave Behind), and Lagueria Davis (Black Barbie).

Documentary Films are vital to our understanding of the world. Their insight and perspective can open eyes and change hearts. Come hear from successful creators of impactful award-winning films as they discuss how they went from idea to conception. What does it take to make a compelling and truthful slice-of-life documentary and how do you get it seen? Walk with them through their journey and learn what it takes to break the mold. With support from event partners BGDM, Chicana Directors Initiative, Firelight Media, The Gotham, NYWIFT, Women Make Movies.

NYWIFT Industry Screening + Q&A: ‘Katrina Babies’

Join NYWIFT for a virtual screening of Katrina Babies starting Monday, December 5th through Thursday, December 8th. Followed by a virtual pre-recorded conversation with director Edward Buckles and producer Audrey Rosenberg on December 7th. Moderated by journalist, Soledad O’Brien.

NYWIFT Industry Screening + Q&A: “Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down”

Join NYWIFT for a virtual screening of Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down, which tells the extraordinary story of former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords: her relentless fight to recover following an assassination attempt in 2011, and her new life as one of the most effective activists in the battle against gun violence. Followed by a conversation with directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen on Monday December 5th.

NYWIFT Talks: The Future of Reproductive Rights

On this week's NYWIFT Talks, we have an honest and up-to-date conversation about Roe vs Wade and the future of a woman’s right to choose. Now is the time to re-organize, assess our current political landscape and discuss the best strategies to protect women’s reproductive rights. We'll speak with creative content makers, activists and policy experts to discuss how best to support the movement.

In discussion with Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes (The Janes), Steffie van Rhee (Battleground), Allison Rhone (Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund), and Dina Montemarano (NARAL Pro-Choice America). Moderated by Natasha Del Toro

NYWIFT Talks: Changing Our Narrative: Indigenous Voices Rising

In this week’s NYWIFT Talks, we are honoring Indigenous Heritage Month with creators in the industry paving the way to visibility and equality. What has Hollywood done to respectfully represent Indigenous people, and how are these groups of writers, directors, and showrunners creating the change? How did they overcome their obstacles within the industry? and what work still needs to be accomplished.

In conversation with Jhane Myers, Yvonne Russo, Brooke Swaney, and more TBA. Moderated by Simon Moya-Smith.