This week please join us in welcoming new NYWIFT Executive Director Cynthia Lopez! Cynthia will offer her top picks of NYWIFT and industry news to share with you every Tuesday.
Natural Leader: Inspirational words to kick off your 2019! NYWIFT Board Member Flo Mitchell-Brown shared her “start story” with StartTV, explaining why women make great leaders.
Sobering Statistics: The good news: In 2018, a record number of black directors (16) helmed the top-grossing 100 films, up from only six the year before, according to the “Diversity in the Director’s Chair” study from the University of Southern California Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. However, this diversity growth wasn’t intersectional – there was little if any improvement for women or other minority groups. In fact, the “Celluloid Ceiling” report from Dr. Martha Lauzen of San Diego State University showed that despite recent high-profile breakthroughs and increased media attention, the number of women directors in the top 250 films of 2018 was only 8% – down from 11% in 2017.
Regina King: During her Golden Globes acceptance speech, Regina King vowed that everything she produces will hire 50% women and she issued a challenge for everyone in every industry to do the same. It’s this type of solidarity that will bring actual change; whenever women are in positions of power, the chance of more women getting hired greatly increases.
Cynthia Lopez
Related Posts
Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Jennifer Sklias-Gahan
Welcome to NYWIFT, Jennifer Sklias-Gahan! Jennifer is a New York-based actress, writer, and filmmaker. She is the founder of Demivoula Studios and 18 Bleecker Films, an award-winning production house. She is known for her work in The Urban Ghost Story: Matilda, a short film she wrote and stars in with actor Sean Avery, produced by Academy Award-winner Christine Vachon and 18 Bleecker Films. Matilda took home several honors on the festival circuit, including Best Short Film. She recently completed the indie feature The Cutting Room Floor, and has two other features filmed in 2025 (The Wingers and Windows) being released in 2026. Jennifer’s gothic ghost story book, The House in the Middle of the Street, the first in a series of dark tales, is now available worldwide, distributed by Simon and Schuster. A gorgeous vinyl version, beautifully illustrated by Myles Mullen, is available through Rare Bird publications. The audio version, narrated by Jennifer herself, will have a worldwide release this summer. She’s currently writing the next book in her gothic series, The Last Days and Nights of Ellie Boread. Jennifer plans to create this ancestral narrative into a feature film. In our interview, we discuss her career through acting, directing, writing, and owning a production company; gothic aesthetics; and her upcoming projects.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Katie Shannon
Welcome to NYWIFT, Katie Shannon! Katie Shannon is a producer and casting professional based in Brooklyn, with a storied background in marketing and brand management. She now works in administration at Weiden+Kennedy while bringing her creativity and organizational skills to various New York-based film and theater productions. She will be producing a one-woman show with Temi Wilkey at The Brick on October 8th. Her show, Lover Girl, got accepted into the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the SoHo Theatre in London.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Fozhan Gharib
Welcome to NYWIFT, Fozhan Gharib! Fozhan (Fou) Gharib is a New York-based filmmaker, editor, and screenwriter who transitions seamlessly between performance and cinematic storytelling. After studying for her Master’s in Screenwriting at the University of Tehran, she relocated to the U.S. in 2023, earning a Master’s in Media Studies from The New School. Her work weaves psychological drama with a deeply poetic exploration of memory and resilience. Fou’s recent award-winning narrative short, Night of Melancholia, has screened at prestigious festivals globally and across New York City, cementing her voice as a vital new force in independent cinema. In our interview, Fozhan discussed her journey into filmmaking, the various inspirations behind her work, and her passion for building her projects from the ground up.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Aayushi Shah
Welcome to NYWIFT, Aayushi Shah! Aayushi is an award-winning South Asian screenwriter/filmmaker based in New York. Her screenplays have gained recognition from Oscar-qualifying festivals across the USA, while her filmmaking work (directing/producing/assistant-directing) includes shorts and features that’ve been showcased at festivals around the world or have streamed on Netflix and other platforms. Throughout her film career, she has worked for leading organizations like Bloomberg, The Juilliard School, PVH Corp., Industrial Scripts, and the Berlinale. Recently, she served as a juror for the FOLCS International Short Film Competition. Her writing has been published online and her work has been featured in the press.
READ MORE
Comments are closed