NYWIFT Blog

#SummerHours Summer Reading: Rita Moreno

1996 NYWIFT Muse Honoree Rita Moreno is, quite literally, a national treasure. She is one of only 12 performers to win all four major artistic awards: the Oscar, the Emmy, the Grammy and the Tony, and she is the first Hispanic person to have won all four awards. Kathryn O'Kane digs into her memoir this summer.

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Terry’s Picks: Sandra Oh, Hannah Gadsby, Yvonne Russo

Sandra Oh: Congratulations to Sandra Oh, who became the first woman of Asian descent nominated for a lead actress in a drama series Emmy last week with her nomination for her stellar work in BBC America’s Killing Eve. Hannah Gadsby: If you haven’t watch Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette on Netflix yet, do it. It’s deserving of...

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#SummerHours #BingeWatch-Worthy Family Content: Three Fun, Feminist Picks for the Whole Family

Mellini Kantayya offers up three fun, feminist, and family-friendly binge-worthy picks for all ages and genders to fill your #SummerHours. If you're not careful, you might get even more addicted than your kids do!

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Terry’s Picks: #SummerHours Series, Debra Granik, Darya Zhuk

#SummerHours Series: The NYWIFT #SummerHours blog series by members Mellini Kantayya and Kathryn O’Kane is back again this year with recommendations for your summer reading and watchlist. So far Kathryn has shared her thoughts on past NYWIFT Muse honoree Whoopi Goldberg’s latest book, and Mellini has created a list of bingewatch-worthy comedy picks. Debra Granik:...

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Meet the New Board Members: Yvonne Russo

NYWIFT is governed by an 18 member Board of Directors, elected by the membership in late Spring. This diverse, accomplished group of women are at the top of their game in TV, film and digital media. We get to know producer Yvonne Russo, one of the latest additions to our leadership team.

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#SummerHours Summer Reading: Whoopi Goldberg

Use your #SummerHours to have a few laughs - and get real about relationships. Kathryn O'Kane tells us why 2003 NYWIFT Muse Honoree Whoopi Goldberg's relationship how-to should be your next read.

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#SummerHours #BingeWatch-Worthy Comedy Picks

Our #SummerHours series makes a triumphant return just as the NYC temperatures start to heat up! In the first edition of our Summer '18 series, Mellini Kantayya offers her side-splitting #bingeworthy comedy picks.

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Terry’s Picks: Sarah Paulson, Lisa Nishimura, Gina Duncan

Sarah Paulson: Ocean’s 8 reboot star Sarah Paulson debunks the theory that women can’t work well together. (Of course they can!) Lisa Nishimura: If you binged Making a Murderer, Wild Wild Country or any other recent Netflix documentary series, you have Lisa Nishimura to thank. Gina Duncan: Indiewire profiles Gina Duncan, associate vice president of...

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Terry’s Picks: ReFrame Stamp, Women Directors, Binge Watch

ReFrame Stamp: The ReFrame organization has created the ReFrame Stamp in partnership with IMDBpro, a badge of honor for film and TV projects that hire women in at least half of eight key production positions – writer, director, producer, lead actor, co-lead, speaking parts, department heads and crew – with double points for women of...

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AfriAmerican Immigrant Screening: Local Stories, Global Themes

In Astoria’s historic Kaufman Studios, filmmakers from the African diaspora shared local stories that reverberated deep into universal themes and questions as part of New York Women in Film & Television’s Women Filmmakers: Immigrant Stories screening on May 31, 2018. Featured in the fourth season of this NYWIFT series highlighting narrative and documentary films about the New York immigrant experience, these short films tackled issues ranging from the #MeToo movement, to President Trump’s travel ban, to the immigrant experience, to what it means to be American, among many more.

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Terry’s Picks: Script Girls, Critical Problem, Female Auteurs

Script Girls: IATSE Local 871 commissioned a new report, ‘Script Girls,’ Secretaries and Stereotypes: Gender Pay Equity on Film and Television Crews, which shows certain female-dominated craft professions such as script supervisors and art department coordinators typically receive hundreds of dollars per week less than their counterparts in comparable male-dominated crafts. In addition, the report...

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Gaia Visnar on channeling her own search for home into her character in The Basis of Intimacy

NYWIFT member Katrina Medoff spoke with fellow member Gaia Visnar, an actor and producer for the short film The Basis of Intimacy, which was made by a female-driven and largely international crew. They spoke about the power of a silent film and what conversations Visnar hopes to spark with the film.

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Terry’s Picks: NYWIFT Grants, Abby Wambach, Follow Through

NYWIFT Grants: Applications for the NYWIFT Fund for Women Filmmakers are open now through June 22nd. The funds are: the Loreen Arbus Disability Awareness Grant, In-Kind Post-Production Grants, the Nancy Malone Marketing and Promotion Grant, and the Ravenal Foundation Feature Film Grant.  Abby Wambach: Take a few minutes to listen to or read soccer star...

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You’re The Pest creator Taylor Coriell on collaboration, inclusion and her new comedy web series

NYWIFT member Taylor Coriell is the executive producer, co-creator and co-star of the new comedy web series You’re The Pest. Fellow member Leah Curney, who is currently developing her own web series, sat down with Coriell to chat about the joys and challenges of being a multi-hyphenate creator.

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Terry’s Picks: Blockchain Technology, The Tale, Barbican Program

Blockchain Technology: The industry is abuzz with excitement – and questions – about Blockchain technology, so NYWIFT is holding a panel this Thursday to discuss its potential power for filmmakers. Member Heidi Philipsen also recently wrote a guest post for Women and Hollywood exploring the technology’s possible impact on indie filmmaking.  The Tale: We are...

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The Women’s Film Preservation Fund Crosses the Atlantic with 1970s Classics of Feminist Filmmaking

A year ago, an email arrived in our Women’s Film Preservation Fund mailbox from Tamara Anderson, Cinema Curator at the Barbican Centre in London, who had discovered our 2015 Carte-blanche series at MoMA, Women Writing the Language of Cinema. Would we curate a smaller series, focusing just on Second Wave Feminist films, for their multi-arts celebration Art of Change? What has resulted, Artists and Activists: Second Wave Feminist Filmmakers, will screen as a series over Saturday and Sunday, June 2-3 at the Barbican. 

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Having fear and doing it anyway

Award-winning Director Jennifer Fox and NYWIFT Board President and Producer Simone Pero Discuss the making of The Tale

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Terry’s Picks: NYC Women, Easy Promises, Decent Odds

NYC Women: The new website women.nyc was designed by a team of women, for women, to help them navigate parenthood, afford living in NYC and ask for a raise.  Easy Promises: Dr. Martha Lauzen discusses why while promises of inclusion for women at film festivals is easy, actual change is hard. Decent Odds: A breakthrough...

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