Goodbye, winter caps—hello, summer hats! It’s that glorious time of year where many of us can switch from content creators to content consumers. NYWIFT members Mellini Kantayya and Kathryn O’Kane have put together #SummerHours, a series of fun summer books, movies, and TV shows by or about women.
By Mellini Kantayya
Debut novelist Paula Hawkins’ psychological thriller The Girl on a Train set up camp on The New York Times Bestseller List before it was adapted into a screenplay by Erin Cressida Wilson. The film, staring Emily Blunt, went on to be a box office hit.
Emily Blunt in the adaptation of Paula Hawkins’ best-selling thriller
When watching, check out the brilliant work of make-up artist and 2017 Designing Women honoree Kyra Panchenko. We literally see the signs of Blunt’s character coming undone written all over her face—with constructed implants and each rosacea mark painstakingly hand-painted.
(Cover photo by Bridgette Matthews)
Related Posts
Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Sher Bautista
Welcome to NYWIFT, Sher Bautista! Sher Bautista grew up as a third culture kid in the Middle East and the Philippines. Her work centers on themes of identity, memory, and migration. She co-produced the award-winning feature Delia and Sammy which went on to screen at international festivals including Austin, All Lights, Ortigia, and Hanoi. She co-wrote the series The Boston: A Kitchen Musical and later directed Commune, which became a finalist at Tropfest 2015. Aside from her film projects, she is also a published author, having co-written the children’s book Tasha and Pierre. She has just completed her MFA in Film and her thesis, Tales My Father Told. In our interview, Sher discusses her leap to the film world, recent collaborations, and how her international upbringing impacted her creative work.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Eleanore Pienta
Welcome to NYWIFT, Eleanore Pienta! Eleanore is an award-winning screen and stage actor, comedian, dancer, and filmmaker. Pienta has carved out a niche for herself by portraying uncompromising and complex characters in films such as Sundance Award Winner Josephine, A Different Man, Soft & Quiet, and many more. Filmmaker Magazine called her role in See You Next Tuesday: “…one of the most original, indelible, infuriating and truly felt movie characters in some time, a sister to Loden’s Wanda and Rowlands’ A Woman Under The Influence.” Pienta’s directorial debut, Ada, premiered at the New York Film Festival 2018. Her second short, Master of the House, premiered at The New/Next Film Festival 2024. In our interview, Eleanore discusses her motivations for the performing arts, her inspirations, and how her collaborations with others elevate her creative work.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Shervonne Brown
Welcome to NYWIFT, Shervonne Brown! Shervonne Brown is a New York-based award-winning actress, writer-director, producer, and science-fiction creator working across science fiction, fantasy, action, and psychological drama. She wrote, directed, produced, edited, and starred in Sureiya: The Eidolon Plane, earning Best Actress at the 2026 WSO Theatre & Film Festival. Her pilot screenplay, Sureiya: Legends of Emperion, was a 2026 finalist in the London International Screenwriting Competition. Before filmmaking, Brown built an international K-pop performance career, co-founded performance groups, created award-winning music videos, appeared on television, and performed across the United States and South Korea, including the K-Pop World Festival broadcast internationally on KBS television. In our interview, Shervonne discusses her creative inspirations, artistic upbringing, and the multiple genres that motivate her work.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Bella Rieth
Bella Rieth is a first-generation Brazilian-German, NYC-based director and producer, and a graduate of the School of Visual Arts who also studied at the Atlantic Acting School Conservatory. Before film, she trained at the New England Conservatory and performed in theatre internationally, building a life of storytelling that eventually pulled her behind the camera. Her recent shorts, including Lottie, Poor Creature, Ebba, and Icaro, have played at festivals from Tokyo to Santa Cruz to Florence. Alongside her own films, Bella produces and field produces across narrative, commercial, music video, and documentary projects throughout New York and beyond.
READ MORE