NYWIFT Blog

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Aisha Amin

By Katie Chambers

Welcome to NYWIFT, Aisha Amin!

Aisha is an NYC-based writer and director. As a director, her work expands across narrative, documentary, and experimental forms to tell authentic stories built from real experiences. Her past film projects have explored and highlighted overlooked communities particularly in New York City, including formerly incarcerated mothers and communities struggling with the presence of gentrification in their neighborhoods.

In addition to her directing, Aisha is an emerging screenwriting and was selected to participate in Cine Qua Non’s 2022 Screenwriting Lab. She is a 2022 recipient of NYFA’s Tomorrowland Grant and a 2021 recipient of the NYFA Women’s Fund grant. She was a recipient of the 2019-2020 Sally Burns Shenkman Woman Filmmaker Fellowship at the Jacob Burns Film Center where she directed two short documentaries. She is also a recipient of The Shed’s Open Call Fellowship where she expanded her film practice to installation art.

Aisha spoke to us about her favorite styles of storytelling, the intersection of narrative and documentary, and her latest projects.

 

NYWIFT Member Aisha Amin

 

Tell us about yourself – give us your elevator pitch!

I’m Aisha! I’m a NYC based writer and director. I was born in Nairobi, Kenya and my family moved to New York when I was really young – so this city is a huge part of my life and my work. I’m interested in telling stories about community resilience within immigrant communities. I work across documentary, narrative and experimental forms of filmmaking and I am interested in exploring new modes of watching and experiencing film and storytelling. 

 

 

You work across many mediums and genres, from narrative to documentary to commercial to experimental. What is the throughline that ties all of your work together? How do you shift gears when switching from one type of work to the next?

All of my storytelling is very much rooted in truth and authentic experiences. I find that the more specific and detailed we are with our experiences, the more universally they are received. I’m interested in having a conversation with an audience and using film as a form of education and awareness, but also as a filmmaker, it’s my attempt at fostering connection and I think that can be done across a diverse array of genres and forms of storytelling. 

 

 

I saw you were selected for Issa Rae’s inaugural Color Creative For your People Program. That’s amazing! What was that experience like? How did it help you develop as an artist?

Actually, we are going into production on a short film that was funded through this production in the Winter of 2023. It has been a wonderful experience and the first time I have directed a film that I didn’t also write. While challenging, it taught me some really valuable people skills, communication skills, and made me really aware of how my ideas will come across to those that don’t necessarily share the same references of experiences I do. 

 

 

Congratulations on your recent recognition as a NYWIFT Outstanding Content Creator at the Katra Film Series! Tell us more about that project.

Thank you! Screening at Katra was wonderful – I am grateful to be a part of a community that values short filmmaking and independent storytellers – it’s rare that shorts get much attention within the industry but it’s my favorite form to work in, and for Katra to be able to celebrate that means a lot to me. 

 

What kinds of projects excite you?

I’m most excited by working with non-actors, and exploring that line between fiction and documentary. I love using locations that are real and lived-in, and I am excited by projects that are integrated with real lived experience. 

 

 

What is the best advice you ever received? And the worst?

Best: Your worth isn’t tied to what you make

Worst: Go out there and film something on your iPhone, it’s just as good!

 

And what is next for you?

I have a couple more short narrative films in the pipeline and am working on finishing up writing my first feature film!

 

Connect with Aisha Amin on Instagram at @aisha____amin and on her website www.aishaamin.com.

PUBLISHED BY

Katie Chambers

Katie Chambers Katie Chambers is the Senior Director of Community & Public Relations at New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT). She is also a regular contributing writer for From Day One, an outlet focused on innovations in HR. She serves on othe Board of Directors of the New Jersey State Federation of Women's Clubs and is a freelance writer, copyeditor, and digital marketing strategist. Follow her @KatieGChambers.

View all posts by Katie Chambers

Comments are closed

Related Posts

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Meryl Jacobs

Welcome to NYWIFT, Meryl Jacobs! Driven by a lifelong passion for the arts, Meryl Jacobs creative professional has built an inspiring career spanning advertising, Broadway stage management, and post-production as an award-winning video editor and business owner. Embracing challenges with optimism, she believes in the power of self-belief and continuous growth. After returning to New York post-pandemic, she launched her own company, Gotham Edit Inc., confident in the value she provides to clients. Among her proudest achievements are collaborations with Universal Pictures, a corporate branding reel for Tumi, and a recognized PSA for the City of Los Angeles on senior scams. Grateful for every opportunity, she remains dedicated to creating impactful work that helps others. Read on to learn more about her fascinating career!

READ MORE

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Pia Mechler

Welcome to NYWIFT, Pia Mechler! Pia Mechler, born and raised in Germany with German, Chilean, and Polish heritage, is a versatile actress, writer, and director. Studying film in Denmark and beginning her acting career in Berlin, she took her skills to the UK and then New York City in 2010, where she also took up directing. Pia wrote, directed, and starred in the web series Almost Settled and made her feature directorial debut with Everything is Wonderful, which premiered at the Thessaloniki Film Festival and was a finalist at the Chelsea Film Festival. Her latest project, Black Hole, which she wrote to address the challenges of female aging and ageism from a humorous perspective, is currently on its festival tour. Read on to discover her inspiring international background, her dedication to her projects, and her process when it comes to making films.

READ MORE

NYWIFT Member Spotlight: Myrta Vida

Myrta Vida is an award-winning writer and independent filmmaker specializing in features, shorts, documentaries, and stage productions. She serves as a producer at 3DMC, the production company behind the John Cassavetes Award-winning feature Premature (2019) and the Sundance Award-winning hybrid documentary The Infiltrators (2019). Since 2010, Myrta has worked as a story consultant and script doctor for independent filmmakers worldwide. A proud Army veteran from Puerto Rico, she earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and completed a conservatory program in screenwriting at the New York Film Academy, both with summa cum laude honors. Additionally, she holds a certificate in sketch comedy writing from the Upright Citizens Brigade and was a 2022 Fellow with Third World Newsreel. Get to know her in our latest interview!

READ MORE

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 MORE
JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER
css.php