NYWIFT at The Public Theater – “We the People: Women in Politics on Stage and Screen”

NYWIFT is proud to present an evening at The Public Theater, “We the People: Women in Politics on Stage and Screen.”

“At present, our country needs women’s idealism and determination, perhaps more in politics than anywhere else.” – Shirley Chisholm

Creatives from Broadway and the indie documentary world will take a close look at works past and present exploring the contributions of brave progressive women in politics.

Building a treasure trove of content that memorializes and solidifies the legend of these women leaders is vital to our society. These materials are the legacy to be left behind for our next generation of leaders.

Join this conversation presented by New York Women in Film & Television at The Public Theater, featuring Julie Cohen (RBG, My Name is Pauli Murray), Ruth Ann Harnisch (The Harnisch Foundation, SUFFS), Alia Jones-Harvey (Front Row Productions, Inc.), Shola Lynch (Free Angela & All Political Prisoners, Chisolm ’72), and Diane Paulus (1776, Pippin, Gloria: A Life). Moderated by NYWIFT Board Member Toni Isreal.

With just eight days to go for the national elections and the historic run by candidate Kamala Harris, panelists will highlight the milestones of political women portrayed in films, plays, and television series. They’ll discuss the obstacles creatives face when they feature powerful women as the centerpiece of their work, and the growing importance of portraying the women who laid the groundwork for public policies and government regulations that shape our society for the better.

Date: Monday, October 28, 2024

Time: 6:00pm ET

Location: The Shiva Theater at The Public (425 Lafayette St, NY, NY 10003)

Price: $10 for Non-members / Free for NYWIFT Members

(Discount is applied after login) 

Register

Panelists:

Julie Cohen is an Academy Award nominated, Emmy winning documentary director and producer, and the winner of the 2024 Freedom of Expression Award from the Jewish Film Institute. She has directed more than a dozen documentaries including: RBG (CNN Films/Magnolia), directed with Betsy West – Oscar Nomination, Emmy Award. Every Body (Focus Features) – Nominations: Emmy, Critics Choice, GLAAD Award. My Name is Pauli Murray (Amazon Studios), directed with West – Peabody Award, DuPont Award and now The Path Forward, directed alongside Palestinian American Mo Husseini, telling the inspiring stories of Palestinians and Israeli Jews working together for justice, peace, empathy, and sanity.

Before becoming a filmmaker, Julie was a producer at NBC News. She is a graduate of Colgate University, and holds masters degrees from Yale Law School and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, which honored her with an Alumni Award in 2024.

Over the past two decades, Ruth Ann Harnisch has become a dynamic force in the independent documentary film landscape, contributing to the production of almost 300 documentaries and several feature films, including such acclaimed projects as Netizens, Deconstructing Karen, and The Hunting Ground.

Ruth Ann’s strategic investments amplify underrepresented voices to foster a culture of inclusivity and innovation in filmmaking. “I want to tell stories that change minds and public policy,” she says. “Even if a movie doesn’t find a vast audience, we make some films simply to create a historic record. Documenting the existence of people and their struggles makes it harder to erase them.” Ruth Ann is the founder and president of the Harnisch Foundation, now in its 26th year.

Alia Jones-Harvey, the Olivier Award-Winning and 5-time Tony Nominated Producer, has spent the past 15 years mounting or co-producing 9 plays and 7 musicals that feature people of color on the stage, backstage, on the creative team, in management, co-producing, and as investors.

Alia and her producing partner Stephen C. Byrd blazed a path with Front Row Productions as the only two African American lead producers on Broadway for many years. Alia works with the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment on Policy, Education, and Workforce Development. She serves on the Boards of the National Urban Technology Center, the Arthur Miller Foundation, and the National Black Theater.

Honored with several awards including the AUDELCO Pioneer Award and Broadway Global Producer of the Year, Alia is married to Phillip Harvey, producer and host of C3Arts Radio on WHCR, and partner through the entire wild ride in the theatre business!

Shola Lynch is an award-winning American Filmmaker best known for the feature documentary Free Angela & All Political Prisoners and the Peabody Award winning documentary Chisolm ’72: Unbought & Unbossed. Her independent film body of work and her other collaborative projects feed her passion to bring history alive with captivating stories of people, places, and events.

In 2016, Shola became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. From 2013 – 2024, Shola served as the Curator of the Moving Image & Recorded Sound division of the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Shola is excited to now be member of the Spelman College faculty to train a new generation of storytellers as the Diana King Endowed Professor in Film, Filmmaking, Television, and Related Media in the Department of Art and Visual Culture and the director of the documentary film program.

Shola is currently finishing a documentary about the American sprinter, cultural icon and still World Record holder, Flo Jo. She is in production on an Apple Original film, Number One on the Call Sheet, which will celebrate Black achievement in the film industry, and explore what it takes for Black actresses to find success in Hollywood. She has also been tapped to helm an upcoming documentary on Reverend Jesse Jackson.

In addition to her more than 28 years making documentaries, Shola has a MA in American history and public history management from the University of California, Riverside, and a MS in journalism from Columbia University. Shola believes deeply in the value of preserving history and its power in storytelling. For more: sholalynch.com

Diane Paulus is the Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater and a Professor of the Practice of Theater at Harvard University. Broadway: A.R.T.- originated productions of 1776; Jagged Little Pill; Waitress; Pippin (Tony Awards for Best Revival and Best Director); Finding Neverland; The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess (Tony Award for Best Revival, NAACP Award for Best Direction); and The Public Theater’s Hair (Tony Award for Best Revival). Other work includes: N/A (Lincoln Center); Carmen (Glyndebourne Opera Festival); Gloria: A Life; In the Body of the World (Off Broadway); Romeo and Juliet; Becoming a Man; The White Card (A.R.T.); Crossing (A.R.T./Brooklyn Academy of Music); The Donkey Show; and Cirque du Soleil’s Amaluna. She was selected for Boston magazine’s 2023, 2022, 2020, and 2018 lists of Boston’s most influential people, the 2014 Time 100, Time magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and as one of Variety’s “Trailblazing Women in Entertainment for 2014”. Upcoming productions include The Monkey King (美猴王), by composer Huang Ruo and librettist David Henry Hwang at the San Francisco Opera in 2025.

Toni R. Isreal (Moderator) is no stranger to arts and entertainment. The former Accounting Specialist sought and secured key apprenticeship opportunities to thrive from her greatest interests in film, television, and theater, leading to decades of experience in group sales and brand management. Toni is the Founder of REALEMN Productions, Broadway and Touring with a focus on partnerships, marketing, PR, and producing. Having established an accomplished track record, Toni recently launched REALEMN Enterprises that aligns REALEMN’s partnerships across theatre, television, film, and music.  In addition to being a proud member of NYWIFT, Toni is a co-founder of The Industry Standard Group (TISG), a Broadway League Associate Member, an awardee of the Central New Jersey Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women for Excellence in Economic Empowerment, and a highly sought-after guest presenter for conversations around arts and entertainment.  REALEMN was inclusive to  the hottest musicals on Broadway such as Tony Award-Winning MJ The Musical and 8 Time Tony Award-Winning Hadestown. Additionally, REALEMN championed community engagement and strategy for Hadestown’s tour, and multiple regional theatres along the east coast, as well as San Diego’s  The Ole Globe and St. Louis’ Fox Theatre. Toni’s impressive slate includes a co-producing credit with Hadesstown Tour and London’s (ReACT); LA’s The Secret Garden Musical. She also is currently attached to the Broadway-bound Musical, The Hippest Trip – SOUL TRAIN with more ‘raises’ in the works. Previously, Toni was a consultant with New York’s World-Famous Apollo Theater, where she secured over a million dollars in sales as well as Managing Director of Walker International Communications Group (WICG.) She is a proud member of CTI – Commercial Theater Institute. 

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