Dusty Awards: The SVA Dusty Film & Animation Festival runs May 5-8. We look forward to partnering once again for their annual Dusty Awards! Board President Alexis Alexanian will present the NYWIFT award.
Handmaid’s Tale: Can’t wait to start binging on The Handmaid’s Tale. Eight of 10 episodes are directed by women – good for Hulu and all involved!
Gabourey Sidibe: Listen to an exclusive excerpt from the 2015 NYWIFT Muse honoree Gabourey Sidibe’s memoir This is Just My Face. It was released in book and audio form yesterday.
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Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Lindsey Lambert
Lindsey Lambert is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker originally from Austin, Texas. She works as a location scout for film and television in the NYC area, currently on Law & Order: Organized Crime. After receiving her Master’s Degree in Human Rights from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in the spring of 2022, she began directing and producing her debut feature documentary Teaching Social Studies about public school education and the anti-critical race theory laws in Texas. It is currently in production and she hopes the film will be completed by the summer of 2025. In our interview, she discusses her decision to go back to school, her work on the new Amazon Prime series Étoile, how to educate young people about our challenging history, and the most memorable location she's scouted to date.
READ MOREDisney+ Celebrates National Pet Day with Heartwarming New Documentary “Pets” Directed by Bryce Dallas Howard
Disney+ is tugging at the heartstrings this National Pet Day with the premiere of its latest original documentary, Pets, debuting April 11. Directed by Bryce Dallas Howard, the film dives into the extraordinary relationships that exist between humans and their animals — no matter the species, no matter the place. In our exclusive interview, Bryce Dallas Howard shared how the collaboration with Imagine Documentaries — and her father Ron Howard — helped bring her vision to life. Along with aspects which will make audiences interested in watching even if they are not pet owners and more!
READ MORECracking the Code on Film Fundraising: Insights from NYWIFT’s Winter Film Festival Panel
On a brisk February afternoon, I found the perfect escape from the cold—diving into an eye-opening discussion at the 2025 Winter Film Festival. One of the standout moments? Navigating Film Fundraising with NYWIFT, a must-attend panel for any filmmaker tackling the most daunting part of filmmaking: raising money. Leading the conversation were Easmanie Michel, NYWIFT’s Director of Artists Programs and Finance, and NYWIFT Member Joanna Rudolph, executive producer of Burning Annie and The Co-op: The Kids of Dorie Miller. Their wealth of knowledge made for a powerful session, packed with real-world success stories and actionable strategies. Marchelle Thurman summarized some key takeaways to help you fund your next film.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Melody Gilbert
Welcome to our new NYWIFT member, Melody Gilbert! Melody is an Emmy-nominated and Alfred I. duPont award-winning documentary filmmaker. Over the course of her career, Melody has directed and produced 20 documentaries that have been screened at several film festivals and distributed internationally. Melody is also an educator committed to teaching new and emerging filmmakers. She has been on the faculty at several universities (including the American University in Bulgaria), teaching documentary production, multimedia, and journalism. Currently, Melody is traveling the world and spreading her love for film by teaching pitch training workshops and conducting her “Documentary Boot Camp” while working on her new documentary about the scandalous topless monokini bathing suit in 1964. The most recent documentary she helped produce, Queendom, was shortlisted for an Oscar in the feature documentary category. In our interview, Melody discusses her move from chilly Minnesota to NYC, her unconventional documentary subjects, and key lessons she shares with film students.
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