On January 28, NYWIFT members and supporters gathered for our monthly member screening at the Anthology Film Archives. This month’s feature was Sister Italy, a heartfelt cultural comedy.
As an aspiring filmmaker, I admire creators — those who defy expectations to represent new ideas and innovate storytelling. Sister Italy boldly met that admiration.
Directed by Angelo Bonsignore, the film is the vision of Angela Rago, who wrote the script and plays one of the lead characters. I caught up with Rago after the film to speak more on the project’s fruition and its significance to her community. Rago refers to the characters as “dying,” and sought to immortalize several generations with humorous writing and realistic characters.
I decided to write a play for the Italian community when I was 20 years old. They couldn’t believe a woman was writing a play – putting a theater company together. [The Italian community] needed enforcement and a place to go. And when it became a big success I said, [laughs] ‘You see what a woman can do?’
People would identify themselves in the play. People were taking their mothers…farmers that had never been to a theater saw a portrayal of their life. My mother used to say, ‘Life is a battle’. If you stop, you are lost. You have to go on no matter what happens. If you want to do something, don’t let anyone stop you. I knew I had an audience. A writer is an audience too.
The film’s close-knit team undoubtedly replicated this at our program; audience members rolled with laughter and noted the film’s relateable content in a post-film Q&A session. Sister Italy empowers the Italian-American identity through unapologetic visibility.
— SONTENISH MYERS
nywift
Related Posts
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 MOREMeet 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 MORENYWIFT Member Spotlight: Kelcey Edwards
NYWIFT Member Kelcey Edwards found her way into documentary filmmaking through Iron Gate Studios, a nonprofit gallery and artist workspace she cofounded in her early twenties in Austin, Texas. At the time, she was making small narrative films alongside many other Austin-based filmmakers involved in the “mumblecore” scene; her first film, Letter, screened at SXSW in 2006. Since cameras and equipment were always present in the gallery, she began interviewing many of the artists who visited the space. Over time, the habit of recording conversations and documenting artists’ lives became a steady part of her practice. That interest eventually led her to pursue an MFA in Documentary Film at Stanford and later to move to New York, where she continued developing their work. About a decade later, she directed The Art of Making It, a feature documentary about the art world, which won the Audience Award at SXSW in 2022. It’s currently available on most streaming platforms. Kelcey’s films have received support from the MacArthur Foundation, Sundance, and Tribeca Film Institute, among others, have been broadcast internationally, and have screened at top-tier festivals including SXSW, Berlinale, and Hamptons International. In our interview, Kelcey discussed her teaching philosophy, approach to filmmaking, and upcoming projects.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Therese Cayaba-Jones
Welcome, Therese Cayaba-Jones, to NYWIFT. Therese is a filmmaker with over 15 years of experience with films, documentaries, and series across the Philippines, Singapore, and the U.S. She just finished the feature screenplay for UnMarry, which was recently announced as one of the entries for the Metro Manila Film Festival 2025. Currently, Therese is producing the film Tales My Father Told, and raising money through NYWIFT fiscal sponsorship. Read on to see Therese’s story of moving to New York, her role in the 48 Hour Film Project, and her take on the state of independent filmmaking in the Big Apple.
READ MORE
