busyk, Author at New York Women in Film & TelevisionNew York Women in Film & Television

NYWIFT at Sundance: In Conversation with Annetta Marion

NYWIFT Advisory Board Member Annetta Marion produced Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie that is premiering at Sundance this month. The film incorporates documentary, archival and scripted elements to recount Fox’s story of personal and professional triumphs and travails in his own words. Annetta and Kathryn O'Kane spoke about the film that explores what happens when an incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease.

Top Takeaways: Preserving Your Mental Health During Challenging Times

As a director and producer, NYWIFT board member Kathryn O'Kane is a planner and she's used to solving problems. The biggest challenge she's finding during the COVID-19 crisis is that there’s not enough information to be able to plan. She attended the NYWIFT “Mental Health and Career Sustainability in the Doc World” panel because to learn how producers can come to terms with that and how to relax into the uncertainty of the moment when it goes against our nature. She offers her top takeaways.

Death Row Stories Season 5 Features Work of Six NYWIFT Members

Season 5 of Death Row Stories premieres this Sunday, April 19 at 8 PM ET/CT on HLN. Told by current and former death row inmates, each episode of Death Row Stories seeks to unravel the truth behind a different capital murder case and poses tough questions about the U.S. capital punishment system. This season, the series features work by six NYWIFT members.

#Muse40for40: Ellen Burstyn (2018)

Actor Ellen Burstyn is known for her work in a number of movies and television shows including Requiem for a Dream, The Exorcist, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, The Last Picture Show, Law & Order: SVU, Political Animals, Resurrection, The Age of Adaline, House of Cards and many others.

#Muse40for40: Ida Lupino (1998)

Ida Lupino was an English-born American film and television actress, director, and screenwriter who first gained fame through her portrayals of strong, worldly-wise characters and went on to become one of the first women to direct films in Hollywood

#Muse40for40: Judith Light (2017)

A two-time Tony Award winning actress and producer, Judith Light has starred in highly successful television shows including Amazon Prime's Golden Globe winning series Transparent, One Life to Live, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Ugly Betty, Who’s The Boss? and on Broadway in Lombardi, Other Desert Cities, The Assembled Parties, Wit, and more.

#Muse40for40: Ruby Dee (1997)

Actor and activist Ruby Dee and her husband Ossie Davis fought for civil rights from Washington, DC to Hollywood. In 1965, Dee starred in King Lear and The Taming of the Shrew, becoming the first black woman to appear in major roles at the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, CT.

#Muse40for40: Julie Dash (2017)

Director Julie Dash has written and directed five feature length narrative films including Love Song, Funny Valentines, Incognito, The Rosa Parks Story, Daughters of the Dust, as well as part of the Subway Stories: Tales From the Underground HBO anthology feature; television commercials and documentary films.

#Muse40for40: Amy Emmerich (2017)

Amy Emmerich, Chief Content Officer, Refinery29, launched Refinery29’s video business, which includes the critically acclaimed series Strangers, the Webby-award winning mini-series The Skinny as well as their Shatterbox Anthology film series, which was created to cultivate and spotlight the voices of women directors, telling stories outside the narrow lens of this overwhelmingly male-dominated industry.

#Muse40for40: Whoopi Goldberg (2003)

Whoopi Goldberg is a distinguished artist, humanitarian, and very funny person. Like fellow Muse Honoree Rita Moreno (’96), Goldberg is one of only 12 performers to win all four major artistic awards: the Oscar, the Emmy, the Grammy and the Tony, a combination commonly known as The EGOT. She is currently a host of the talk show The View.

#Muse40for40: Tina Fey (2005)

In 1999, Tina Fey became the first head writer on Saturday Night Live. She created and starred in the Emmy award-winning comedy 30 Rock. Her portrayal of Sarah Palin during the 2008 election was an instant classic.

#Muse40for40: Sarah Jessica Parker (2018)

A New York City icon and one of the most well-known actors and producers of our time, Sarah Jessica Parker is known not only for her outstanding work on Sex and the City, but for countless other films and television shows such as Failure to Launch, The Family Stone, Hocus Pocus, The First Wives Club, Did You Hear About the Morgans?, LA Story, Mars Attacks, Ed Wood and Divorce.

#Muse40for40: Maysoon Zayid (2018)

Actor, writer, comedian and activist Maysoon Zayid co-founded and co- produced the New York Arab American Comedy Festival and The Muslim Funny Fest. Zayid had the most viewed TED Talk of 2014.

#Muse40for40: Lisa Nishimura (2018)

13-year Netflix veteran Lisa Nishimura was the VP of Original Documentary and Comedy Programming when we honored her at 2018; just three months later, she was named the head of Independent Film and Documentary Programming. In 2017, she was named one of the 100 most powerful women in entertainment by The Hollywood Reporter.

What’s in Your Toolkit: Mahak Jiwani

Mahak Jiwani, producer of the short film "Darling," gave us a peak at her toolkit as she ran to her screening at the Hamptons International Film Festival last month.

#Muse40for40: Laura Dern (2017)

The award-winning American actress and producer Laura Dern has starred in some of the most well-known films, including Jurassic Park, October Sky, Wild, and The Fault in Our Stars. Most recently, she won an Emmy award for the wildly popular HBO mini-series Big Little Lies.

#Muse40for40: Amy Goodman (2016)

Journalist Amy Goodman is the host and executive producer of Democracy Now!, a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program airing on over 1,400 public television and radio stations worldwide.

What’s in Your Toolkit: Sini Anderson

Our new column asks our members about their favorite tool, software, article of clothing, shoes on set, favorite scriptwriting software, etc. We caught up with Sini Anderson after her short film screening at the NYWIFT Women Calling the Shots Shorts Showcase at the Hamptons International Film Festival.

Posts by: busyk