NYWIFT Blog

Cynthia’s Picks: Emmy Highlights, NYWIFT Winners, Women #NotWorthLess, Bahamas Relief

Emmy Highlights: Kudos to both Alex Borstein and Michelle Williams, who used their Emmy platforms to remind us all – especially women – how advocating for yourself can contribute to the greater good and lift others up in the process.

NYWIFT Winners: Congrats to the NYWIFT members who won Emmys last week: Lydia Tenaglia (Executive Producer, Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown – Outstanding Informational Series or Special); Julie Cohen and Betsy West (Producers) and Amy Entelis (Executive Producer, RBG – Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking); Amy Entelis (Executive Producer, United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell – Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program); and Deborah Wallach (Sound Supervisor, Free Solo – Outstanding Sound Editing for a Non-fiction Program, Single or Multicamera).

Women #NotWorthLess: Last week, women writers, producers and assistants across Twitter started the trending hashtag #NotWorthLess, sharing their personal stories of pay inequality. It was sparked by screenwriter Adele Lim’s recent decision to walk away from the Crazy Rich Asians sequel in protest of being paid less than her male co-writer.  

Bahamas Relief: The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) is a community event that brings Hollywood to The Bahamas December 9-15th, surrounding audiences with a complete film experience, rubbing shoulders with film professionals and the opportunity to network with the who’s who of cinema. This year, BIFF will contribute all revenue after expenses towards Hurricane Dorian Relief for Hope Town, Abaco. In addition, proceeds from BIFF ticket sales will go directly to assisting students affected by Hurricane Dorian with school uniforms, supplies and assistance with school tuition. To donate to BIFF Hurricane Relief please feel free to provide your donation to “Friends Of BIFF” non-profit: EIN 47-2255914.

PUBLISHED BY

Cynthia Lopez

Cynthia Lopez Cynthia Lopez is the Executive Director of New York Women in Film & Television and an award-winning media strategist.

View all posts by Cynthia Lopez

Comments are closed

Related Posts

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Gabriela Coronel

Welcome to NYWIFT, Gabriela Coronel! Gabriela Coronel is an up-and-coming filmmaker and visual artist who recently graduated from Ithaca College. Driven and inspired by the diversity of the human experience, Gabriela tells stories through various mediums. Her talent and vision has been appreciated by the likes of Westchester Magazine and Tiny Studios, where she worked on a variety of creative projects and events. Gabriela strives to push herself creatively. She draws from her personal experiences throughout each project she pursues, allowing her to continuously explore new ideas and challenge old ones. In our interview, Gabriela discusses her background and the origins of her creative inspiration.

READ MORE

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Madeleine Rotzler

Welcome to NYWIFT, Madeleine Rotzler! Madeleine Rotzler is an Emmy® Award-winning director and producer of documentaries and narrative feature films. Fiction films include the upcoming O Horizon and O.G., currently on HBO. Non-fiction films include HBO’s Emmy-nominated It’s a Hard Truth Ain’t It, Emmy-winning Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus, and Oscar-shortlisted The Lottery. Her most recent film, O Horizon, was described as “bound to be one of the season's sweetest charmers.” The film premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in 2025 where it won the Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema. O.G., Madeleine’s narrative feature debut, and It’s a Hard Truth Ain’t It were both filmed inside a maximum-security prison in Indiana in collaboration with men incarcerated there. Most of the cast of O.G. were incarcerated. It’s a Hard Truth Ain’t It marked the first time incarcerated directors were nominated for an Emmy. In our interview, Madeleine discussed her award-winning films and her perspective on the impact of filmmaking.

READ MORE

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Samantha Herrera

Welcome to NYWIFT, Samantha Herrera! Samantha Herrera is a queer Filipina artist born and raised in Queens, NY. Her roots began in theatre with training at LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, The Neighborhood Playhouse, and LAMDA. Saint Vegas is the first narrative film she has directed, written, and produced. It will internationally premiere in the Philippines hosted by Cine Balikbayan. This November, she played one of the lead roles in Diwata, directed by Shea Formanes. Aside from filmmaking, Samantha works at her alma mater - The Neighborhood Playhouse - and runs a Filipino food pop-up business with her partner. In our interview, Samantha discussed the mentors who shaped her artistry, her inspirations, and her upcoming work.

READ MORE

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Joyce Hills

Welcome to NYWIFT, Joyce Hills! Joyce Hills is a recent graduate of NYU Tisch, where she co-wrote and directed the culturally-rich epic Viking short film The Feather, featuring out-of-this-world SFX hair and makeup, practical stunts, and generative workflows on a virtual production volume. She was the First Assistant Director and VFX Supervisor on the Seed & Spark-awarded short film Night of Melancholia, interned in Virtual Production at Gum Studios in Brooklyn, and performed as Sugarsop, The Widow, and assorted household servants in Will Kempe’s Players’ The Taming of the Shrew. Joyce is developing her first feature film, a dark fantasy inspired by mystical quests, heroes’ journeys, and time and destiny in popular culture. She is also developing a science fiction feminist short, and is pursuing additional education in XR mediamaking and STEM. In our interview, she discussed her childhood inspirations, emerging technologies, and the future of storytelling.

READ MORE
JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER
css.php