NYWIFT member Heidi Philipsen in The Better Angels, starring Diane Kruger, Brit Marling, and Wes Bentley (Photo courtesy of Hickory Pictures, LLC)
What a whirlwind! Though temps in New York matched the biting Park City cold, nothing could beat the heat at the festival. This year, New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT) caught up with veterans and fresh faces alike to celebrate the Sundance Film Festival’s 30th anniversary.
Known for its ability to stimulate important conversations within the industry, this year’s program did not disappoint. We counted over 50 directorial debuts, more than 200 films, many projects with women leadership (though less on the director front), and even new and expanded programs to increase awareness about gender disparity in film.
Some highlights:
- The wonderful events and panels at the NY Lounge, which included marketing, distribution, and tax resources for filmmakers in NYC, as well as Women in Film and Television International’s Women in the Director’s Chair breakfast
- Rory Kennedy et al’s cutting honesty at the 8th Women in Film panel, where the six participating directors and producers all pointed to “entrenched industry sexism”
- Updated research and expanded programming from the Women in Film Initiative, which is a joint collaboration between the Sundance Institute and our sister chapter Women in Film Los Angeles
- Anna Kendrick, who had three films premiere at Sundance, looking glamorous at the Women at Sundance Brunch
- Kate Barker-Froyland’s Song One, featuring Oscar winner/producer Anne Hathaway as a PhD candidate in Morocco
- Rose McGowan’s first film as director, the color-punchy Dawn
- The timely Fed Up, a Katie Couric–produced documentary about obesity
- A cinematographer’s conversation about the ongoing film vs. digital debate in a world where even Scorsese has gone digital
- A handful of women-directed films sold at the festival, including Land Ho!, which was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics
And of course, a big congratulations to the NYWIFT members who had projects at the festival:
- Susan Lazarus, Post Production Supervisor, Only Lovers Left Alive (dir. Jim Jarmusch)
- Wendy Blackstone, Composer, Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger (dir. Joe Berlinger)
- Heidi Philipsen, Actress and Production Coordinator, The Better Angels (dir. A.J. Edwards); Actress, Cold in July (dir. Jim Mickle)
— JOYCE CHOI LI
Related Posts
Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Marci Clark
NYWIFT is excited to welcome new member Marci Clark! Whether you were tuning into MTV during the mid-90s or consider Super Bowl ads to be immersive entertainment, there is a good chance you’ve engaged with remarkable content in which Marci has left an indelible mark! Marci is now Co-owner & Chief Marketing Officer of a location agency, The Scout Source, representing over 800 production-friendly locations in the Tristate area. Check out her blog feature where we converse about the evolution of her dynamic career in the film and television industry as a marketing professional, her talent and enthusiasm for linking content creators to incredible location sites for them to shoot their projects, and the iconic cartoon character who she “butted heads” with (no pun intended)!
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Chiemeka Offor
Chiemeka Offor is a NYC-based Nigerian-American interdisciplinary artist, image maker, and director currently focusing on editorial photography and poetic short films. Her artwork has been featured in Cultured, i-D, Vogue Italia, Women’s Wear Daily, Buzzfeed Photo, Frieze, and Office Magazine. Chiemeka has received National recognition as a Grand Prize Winner in the Smithsonian Teen Portrait Competition for her portrait “Showtime”, and a 2020 National Young Arts Foundation Award in Photography. In the spring of 2023, she joined the 2023 Voice X PhotoVogue NFT Residency and is currently pursuing a major in Film and Television at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where she continues to construct visual and sensory worlds of inclusion through her intersectional and community-driven work. Continue to read more about Chiemeka and how she hopes to mesh the two worlds of fashion photography and visual activism in her career.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Becky Morrison
Let’s all welcome new NYWIFT member Becky Morrison! Becky is the Founder & CEO of The Light, an award-winning production company that produces films, series and high-end commercials. Becky kicked-off her career on the Hollywood blockbuster I Am Legend, dabbled in animation on Disney’s The Wild, then entered the world of rock n’ roll as visual content producer for U2’s world tour. In the span of her career, Becky has produced hundreds of projects for clients such as Netflix, Apple, NBC, A&E, Hulu and Disney. She has spent years studying the history of Hollywood and uses her research to inform a new framework for conscious production. She spoke to us about how she is using her creative work to inspire positive change.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Cathy Perifimos
Meet NYWIFT new member Cathy Perifimos! Cathy is an entertainment attorney, Of Counsel at Thompson LLC, consulting with the firm on entertainment and media transactions. Previously, she was Vice President at Paramount Global, where she managed the business and legal affairs of Smithsonian Channel and worked on documentaries and unscripted projects across the MTV Entertainment Group brands. Prior to joining Smithsonian Channel in 2014, Cathy was an Associate at the boutique entertainment law firm of Dembitzer & Dembitzer LLP. She was also an Associate Agent in the dramatic rights department of the Curtis Brown literary agency. She is a graduate of Barnard College and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Cathy is a founding board member of Barnard Women in Entertainment, and at Cardozo is a member of the Filmmakers Legal Clinic Board and the FAME Advisory Board. Cathy resides in New Jersey with her husband and their cat. Recently, we asked Cathy about her impressive legal career in the entertainment industry.
READ MORE