NYWIFT Blog

What Can We Do About the Under-representation of Women in Screenwriting?

image

There has been a very thoughtful and extensive conversation going on over at the The Black Board (community of the Black List and Go Into The Story). It arose from this:

The Nicholl’s website reveals a startling stat: 1 in 4 of their applicants are women.

They’re referring to the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, of course, which is accepting submissions until May 1 (go now and enter your script!).

I like the conversation’s focus on both individual and systematic solutions: mentorship, men acting as allies, blind submissions, being active in an organization (like NYWIFT’s writers group) — even writing under a male pseudonym

What do you think?

—MICHELE DAGLE

PUBLISHED BY

nywift

nywift New York Women in Film & Television supports women calling the shots in film, television and digital media.

View all posts by nywift

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*

*

Related Posts

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Melody Gilbert

Welcome to our new NYWIFT member, Melody Gilbert! Melody is an Emmy-nominated and Alfred I. duPont award-winning documentary filmmaker. Over the course of her career, Melody has directed and produced 20 documentaries that have been screened at several film festivals and distributed internationally. Melody is also an educator committed to teaching new and emerging filmmakers. She has been on the faculty at several universities (including the American University in Bulgaria), teaching documentary production, multimedia, and journalism. Currently, Melody is traveling the world and spreading her love for film by teaching pitch training workshops and conducting her “Documentary Boot Camp” while working on her new documentary about the scandalous topless monokini bathing suit in 1964. The most recent documentary she helped produce, Queendom, was shortlisted for an Oscar in the feature documentary category. In our interview, Melody discusses her move from chilly Minnesota to NYC, her unconventional documentary subjects, and key lessons she shares with film students.

READ MORE

Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Amanda Deering Jones

Welcome to NYWIFT, Amanda Deering Jones! Amanda Deering Jones is the director of the new short film Little Mother Lies. She is also the Producer of the Academy Award-nominated animated short film Borrowed Time. She has over 20 years of experience working with Dreamworks Animation and Blue Sky Studios and is currently at Pixar. Her career began in Cooperstown, NY, as House Manager at Glimmerglass Opera before transitioning to film. Amanda is a zero-waste advocate and a published writer for the Producer’s Guild Magazine. She is an active member of the Producers Guild of America, Women in Film, Women in Animation, a Governor of the Emmy’s Northwest Chapter Board, and now a NYWIFT member. Amanda discusses her theatrical roots, getting into animation (without drawing!), and how she creates work that elevates our thinking and highlights the complexities of being human!

READ MORE

NYWIFT Program Recap: “Daughters” at Hamptons Doc Fest

In December 2024, NYWIFT was proud to co-present a screening of the new documentary "Daughters" at Hamptons Doc Fest, followed by a Q&A with filmmakers Angela Patton and Natalie Rae moderated by NYWIFT CEO Cynthia Lopez. In this powerful documentary, four girls prepare to reunite with their fathers through a special dance at a DC jail in this moving documentary about the healing power of love. We offer a recap of the conversation plus a video of the Q&A to watch after you've seen the film, which is now available on Netflix.

READ MORE

Meet the New NYWIFT Member Sydney Giacomazzi

Sydney Giacomazzi is a writer and producer re-cultivating her Idaho roots in Brooklyn, NY. Her pilot script, Hidden Springs placed 2nd at the 2022 Shore Scripts Pilot Competition. It was also featured on Coverfly’s RedList, landing in the top 20 and top 1% for all TV half-hour pilots. Starved, her debut as a director, was nominated for “Best Original Story” at Cannes Shorts and won “Best Experimental Film” at the New York Short Film Festival. When she’s not writing, Sydney spends her time worrying about how she’s not writing. She calms her angst by people watching over a plate of diner pancakes. Get to know her in our latest interview!

READ MORE
JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER
css.php