NYWIFT Blog

Cynthia’s Picks: Sundance Success, Online Shorts, Ledbetter Film

Sundance Success: Thanks to all who attended our two inaugural events at the Sundance Film Festival this year! Be sure to check out the photos of our favorite moments. And congratulations to our NYWIFT community members who took home Sundance Awards – Radha Blank, who won the award for Directing for her debut film The 40-Year-Old-Version...

READ MORE

What’s in Your Toolkit: Dana Covarrubias

2018 NYWIFT Designing Women honoree Dana Covarrubias shares the tools - both literal and figurative - she keeps in her costume design toolkit.

READ MORE

What’s in Your Toolkit: Adetoro Makinde

The trip to the Sundance Film Festival can be daunting - but NYWIFT Member and Women Independent Producers (WIP) President Adetoro Makinde has ventured to Park City eight times, so it is safe to say she is a  Sundance pro! We caught up with her on the eve of the festival to try to glean some wisdom...and see what's in her toolkit both at Sundance and on set. 

READ MORE

Cynthia’s Picks: NYWIFT @ Sundance, Oscar Noms, Female Leads

NYWIFT @ Sundance: NYWIFT is thrilled to present two events at Sundance 2020! First, in partnership with AMC Networks, Women in Film LA (WIF) and ReFrame, NYWIFT co-presents the panel “Women on the Front Lines: Changing the Game” with an exciting roster of industry panelists. Then we celebrate the women of Sundance – including all...

READ MORE

What’s in Your Toolkit: Jennifer Snowdon

NYWIFT member Jennifer Snowdon shares insights from her 25-year-career as a makeup artists and offers us a peek inside her makeup toolkit.

READ MORE

Oscars, Take Note: Women’s Weekend Film Challenge Arrives in LA

On January 13, 2020, the same day that the 2020 Oscars nominations were released — with not a single woman nominated for Best Director for the 87th time in 92 years — the founders of Women’s Weekend Film Challenge (WWFC) opened up applications for their first Los Angeles-based event to advance women in the film industry. The organization’s goals are to provide an intensive networking opportunity for female filmmakers while telling women’s stories on screen. WWFC founders say that the reason so many women apply to the challenge is because they know that the film industry revolves around connections — and WWFC provides the perfect opportunity to make them. Co-founder (and NYWIFT member) Katrina Medoff explains why the group is more relevant than ever.

READ MORE

Partner Post: Universal Production Services Costume Department- The newest option in costume rentals in the city

Our friends at Universal Production Services Costume Department in NYC offer a look at their services.

READ MORE

Cynthia’s Picks: Sundance Bound, Annenberg Study, Celluloid Ceiling

Sundance Bound: We are thrilled to see so many NYWIFT members headed to Sundance with films this year! We’ll be announcing a panel in Park City soon – stay tuned for more info. Annenberg Study: For the first time in over a decade, both the number and percentage of women working as directors on some of...

READ MORE

Costumes, Couture and Conversing with Emmy-Award Winning Costume Designer Donna Zakowska

NYWIFT member Jean Criss offers an exclusive recap of the December 2019 event "Costumes, Couture and Conversing with Emmy-Award winning Costume Designer Donna Zakowska," at FIT SUNY hosted by the State of New York Governor’s Office of Motion Picture & Television Development. The conversation focused on Zakowska's acclaimed work on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

READ MORE

40th Muse Honoree: Anjali Sud

Anjali Sud is the CEO of Vimeo, the world’s leading professional video platform. Anjali leads a global team of over 500 individuals dedicated to empowering creators and businesses with the tools to tell their stories. Anjali previously served as General Manager and Head of Marketing at Vimeo, where she oversaw the growth of over 150 million members using the platform. Before that she held various positions in e-commerce, finance and media at Amazon and Time Warner.

READ MORE

40th Muse Honorees: Kasi Lemmons

Kasi Lemmons is an award-winning director, writer, actress and professor who has been a staple in Hollywood for nearly three decades. She began her career with the acclaimed 1997 feature directorial debut, “Eve’s Bayou”, which was recently inducted into the National Film Registry.

READ MORE

40th Muse Honorees: Shoshannah Stern

Shoshannah Stern received the 14th Annual Loreen Arbus Changemaker Award, which was created with the generous support of NYWIFT member Loreen Arbus. The award is given to an individual, organization or corporation in the entertainment industry that has helped to create and bring about significant change to benefit and aid women.

READ MORE

40th Muse Honorees: Gloria Estefan

Gloria Estefan is one of the most successful crossover artists in Latin music history. She is a multiple Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, actress, author of two New York Times best-selling children’s books and producer of the Tony-Nominated musical, “On Your Feet!” 

READ MORE

40th Muse Honorees: Ann Dowd

Ann Dowd has had several notable roles and received multiple honors over the years including the 2017 Emmy Award for ‘Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series’ for her acclaimed performance on Hulu's “The Handmaid's Tale”, as well as a Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Critics Choice Award.

READ MORE

Cynthia’s Picks: Muse Pics, Diversity Incentives, Parity Pledges

Muse Pics: Thank you to all who joined us at the 40th Anniversary Muse Awards! You can see a slideshow of our favorite photos here, or click through to our Flickr account to see full albums from the red carpet, awards luncheon, and reception.  Diversity Incentives: Good news! New York state has adopted a landmark...

READ MORE

#Muse40for40: Meryl Streep (1983)

For our final #Muse40for40 installment we had to of course give a shout out to the indomitable Meryl Streep. Meryl was honored in 1983, and the photo of her cheeky over-the-shoulder smile as she modeled a NYWIFT jacket has become an indelible image for our organization.

READ MORE

#Muse40for40: Susan Sarandon (1990)

For an actress who said “my life has been filled with happy accidents,” it’s not surprising that Susan Sarandon got her start in the business in a serendipitous way, when she accompanied her then husband to an audition shortly after college.

READ MORE

#Muse40for40: Cicely Tyson (1999)

Born in Harlem in 1924, Academy Award winner, Golden Globe nominee, and three-time Emmy winner Cicely Tyson was first discovered by a fashion photographer working for Ebony Magazine, and began her career as a fashion model.

READ MORE