NYWIFT Blog

• Oprah Winfrey lends her support to The Writers Lab 2017, in addition to returning funder Meryl Streep. That year, participant Vigil Chime receives the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting from The Academy.
• 2017 Designing Women Awards are presented to makeup artist Kyra Panchenko, hair stylist Melissa Forney and costume designer Melissa Toth. The Variety Ensemble Award is presented to the costume, makeup and hair team from the smash-hit Netflix Marvel series Jessica Jones.
• In Spring of 2017, the Women Filmmakers: Immigrant Stories series expands from five to ten screenings (plus the production workshop for immigrant and first-generation women) thanks to additional funding from Council Member Elizabeth Crowley.
• 2016 Muse Awards Luncheon honored actors Debi Mazar, Mary-Louise Parker and Martha Plimpton; Firelight Media Co-Founder and President Marcia Smith; and Bloomberg Media COO Jacki Kelley. The Loreen Arbus Changemaker Award was presented to Amy Goodman, host and executive producer of Democracy Now!. Nancy Giles returned as host.
• Strategic planning begins in Fall 2016 in anticipation of NYWIFT’s 40th anniversary.
• 2016 Designing Women Awards presented to costume designer Sarah Edwards, hair stylist Rose Chatterton and makeup artist Anita Gibson. Variety Ensemble Award presented to the costume, makeup and hair team of The Affair.
• 2015 Muse Awards Luncheon honored Gabourey Sidibe, actor; Blythe Danner, actor; Patricia Clarkson, actor; Sarah Barnett, President and General Manager of BBC America; Victoria Alonso, Executive Vice President of Physical Production at Marvel Studios. The Loreen Arbus Changemaker Award was presented to producer, comedian and activist Lizz Winstead. Nancy Giles hosted.
• The Sabrina Wright-Gilliar Award is established in 2015. The scholarship, created in honor of the legendary props master, is given annually to a female graduate of the Academy for Careers in Television and Film (TvF) in Queens.
• 2015 Designing Women Awards presented to costume designer Ann Roth, hair stylist Francesca Paris and makeup artist Beverly Jo Pryor. Variety Ensemble Award presented to the costume, makeup and hair team of Orange is the New Black.
• In 2015, NYWIFT establishes its annual Women Directors: Immigrant Stories Series with the support of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley as part of the Cultural Immigrant Initiative of the New York City Council. The series includes five screenings by female directors and/or producers about the New York immigrant experience, plus a one-day media production workshop led by instructors from Third World Newsreel.
• NYWIFT creates its annual From Script to Pre-Production (FS2P) Program, run by member Elizabeth Page, a six-month intensive in which women writer-directors learn to create pitch packages for independent low-budget features.
• In partnership with IRIS, NYWIFT creates The Writers Lab for women screenwriters over 40, funded by Oscar winner and Muse honoree Meryl Streep. The Lab will be presented annually in the early Fall.
• 2014 Muse Awards Luncheon honored Mary Bailey, script supervisor; Maggie Gyllenhaal, actor; Dawn Ostroff, President of Conde Nast Entertainment; and Wanda Sykes, actor. The Loreen Arbus Changemaker Award was presented to filmmaker Abigail Disney.
• 2014 Designing Women Awards presented to costume designer Renée Ehrlich Kalfus, hair stylist Kerrie Smith and makeup artist Evelyne Noraz. Variety Ensemble Award presented to the costume, makeup and hair team of The Angriest Man in Brooklyn.
• 2013 Muse Awards Luncheon honored Ellen Barkin, actor; Connie Britton, actor; Robin Wright, actor; Sonia Manzano, actor and writer; and Frances Berwick, President of Bravo and Oxygen Media. The Loreen Arbus Changemaker Award was presented to director, producer and actor Nancy Malone.
• Advisory Board created strategy to celebrate 35th Anniversary
• Established the “Jenny” Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service
• 2013 Designing Women Awards presented to makeup artist Andrea Miller, hairstylist Mandy Lyons and costume designer Deborah Scott. The Variety Ensemble Award presented to the costume, makeup and hair design team of The Americans.
• 2012 Muse Awards Luncheon honored Mariska Hargitay, actor; Lucy Liu, actor; documentary filmmaker Lisa F. Jackson and Kim Martin, President WE tv. The Loreen Arbus Award For Those Who Take Action and Effect Change was given to Women Make Movies and its Executive Director Debra Zimmerman.
• Established Nancy Malone Award to help women directors publicize and promote their dramatic features
• Administered more than $300,000 in Fiscal Sponsorship Grants in FY 13
• Established the Nancy Malone Marketing and Promotion Grant and the Ravenal Foundation Grant for woman filmmakers.
• 2014 Muse Luncheon honored Maggie Gyllenhaal, actor; Wanda Skyes, actor: Condè Nast Entertainment President Dawn Ostroff, and Mary Bailey, script supervisor. The Loreen Arbus Changemaker Award was given to Abigail Disney.