Trailblazing Through the Decades: Ida Lupino (1950s)
British-American actress and producer Ida Lupino, got her start directing when the director of the 1949 film Not Wanted suffered a heart attack during pre-production. Lupino stepped in and shot the film guerilla style to keep the movie on budget and on schedule. Budgeted at just over $150,000, the film grossed $1 million, and Lupino’s reputation spread through Hollywood studios even though the original director retained credit.
READ MORETrailblazing through the Decades: Hedy Lamarr (1940s)
During WWII, a hobbyist inventor worked to help the military come up with a secure communication system to combat the Nazis. By manipulating radio frequencies at irregular intervals between transmission and reception, the invention formed an unbreakable code that prevented classified messages from being intercepted by enemy personnel. This patented form of frequency hopping revolutionized modern communications and formed the foundation for Wi-Fi, cell phone, and Bluetooth technology. The inventor’s name was Hedy Lamarr, and she was also a Hollywood star during MGM’s “Golden Age.”
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Feminist Films, Inclusion Rider, Patty Carey
Feminist Films: Celebrate Women’s History Month by watching these 30 feminist films. Inclusion Rider: Despite record Oscar nominations for women, not as many won as we had hoped – the fewest, in fact, since 2012. But kudos to past NYWIFT Muse honoree and Best Actress winner Frances McDormand, who made of a point of recognizing...
READ MORETrailblazing through the Decades: Esther Eng (1930s)
In honor of Women's History Month, NYWIFT looks back at some of the remarkable women who have shaped the film, television and digital media industries through the decades. We kick off the series in the 1930s. Esther Eng was a film director who also worked as a writer, producer, and distributor. She had an international career, making films both in the United States and Hong Kong. She was the first woman to direct Chinese language films in the U.S.
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Easmanie Michel, The 94%, Man’s World
Easmanie Michel: Congratulations to NYWIFT Finance and Special Events Associate Easmanie Michel, who is the winner of the Fifteenth Annual American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest! From more than 1600 entries received, judge Francis Ford Coppola and the Zoetrope staff have selected Easmanie’s Caroline’s Wedding as the winning script. We are proud to say “we knew her...
READ MOREThe Brookside Women’s Club of Harlan County
In 1973 the 13-month Brookside Strike brought almost 200 workers to battle Eastover Coal Company’s Brookside Mine and Prep Plant, a company owned by Duke Power. When filmmaker Barbara Kopple traveled to Harlan County, Kentucky, the resulting Academy award-winning documentary, Harlan County, U.S.A. (1976) captured a historic story. We look back on the film, which screens this Sunday, February 25th at UnionDocs.
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Deadline Extended, Diversity Matters, Broadway Exclusion
Deadline Extended: We have extended the deadline for submissions to The Writers Lab this year. Women over 40, you now have until 11:59 PM EST on March 5th to send us your scripts! Diversity Matters: As hoped, Marvel’s Black Panther had a wildly successful opening weekend – proof that gender and racial diversity can and...
READ MOREHow to Work a Major Film Festival: A Report from Sundance
NYWIFT member Jane Applegate recaps the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and offers some key tips on how to make the most of any festival experience.
READ MORETerry’s Picks: New Code, Black Panther, Canadian Progress
New code: This weekend, SAG-AFTRA released a code of conduct that defines sexual harassment and other prohibited conduct in the workplace and sets forth employers’ legal obligations under both the union’s contracts and the law, including the need to provide ways in which members can safely report workplace harassment. Black Panther: I’m looking forward to...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Black History, Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon
Black History: The New York Times offers a list of 28 Films for the 28 Days of Black History Month, including our recent Muse honoree Julie Dash’s classic Daughters of the Dust, and Spencer Williams’ 1946 film Dirty Gertie of Harlem, USA, which was preserved by the NYWIFT Women’s Film Preservation Fund. Nicole Kidman: We...
READ MOREWIFT Around the World: Meet Women in Film and Television—Toronto!
Whether you’re cast in a project that shoots abroad or you’re a producer on a quest for locations and tax credits, we’re all finding ourselves traversing the globe more than ever. Getting to know (and joining) our sister Women in Film & Television organizations around the country and the world can be a resource of unending value. We're pleased to premiere our new "WIFT Around the World" column, which will introduce NYWIFT members to Women in Film & Television International (WIFTI) chapters across the globe. First up, Mellini Kantayya reports on her visit to the Toronto office.
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Screening Series, The Oscars, HP Foundation
Screening Series: NYWIFT is seeking submissions for our fourth annual Women Filmmakers: Immigrant Stories series, which showcases films about women directors and/or producers that about the New York immigrant experience. The deadline to submit your project is February 16. The Oscars: 48 women were nominated for Oscars this year, tying with the 2016 awards for...
READ MOREOne Big Union: A History of the Wobblies
Many have never heard of “Wobblies” or the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), but in the early 1900s, The Wobblies were laborers working in a variety of fields, who joined the movement which became known as “industrial unionism” under the IWW organization and they made headlines. 70 plus years following the founding of IWW, filmmakers Deborah Shaffer and Stewart Bird came together to bring the story of early American industrial radical labor reform back into the spotlight. Their documentary, The Wobblies (1979), shows the relevance of this history that still holds true today. The WFPF will screen the film at UNDO on January 28.
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Chavela Vargas, The Tale, Working Women
Chavela Vargas: In NYWIFT’s latest column with Honeysuckle Magazine, Communications VP Margarita Sophia Cortes profiles the filmmakers behind the critically acclaimed documentary Chavela, about legendary LGBTQ Mexian singer Chavela Vargas. The Tale: We are bursting with pride for NYWIFT Board President Simone Pero, who produced Jennifer Fox’s harrowing and timely film The Tale, about childhood...
READ MOREChavela Director Catherine Gund Shares Lessons on Feminism, Women Filmmakers and Music
We sat down with director Catherine Gund to discuss her personal connection with the artist, how Chavela is still relevant today, and of course, the music.
READ MOREWomen Taking Leadership in New Global Fund Backing Female Filmmakers and Their Diverse Stories
It's a whole new ball game at Sundance - women are taking charge! Eos World Fund has announced its newly formed Global initiative to finance visionary female filmmakers around the world in an effort to galvanize innovative stories told by women.
READ MOREThe WFPF Screens Four Experimental Films at MoMA’s “To Save and Project” Festival on January 22
The Women’s Film Preservation Fund: Four Experimental Films will screen January 22nd in The Museum of Modern Art’s annual festival, To Save and Project. The four recently preserved films by Barbara Hammer, Victoria Hochberg, Peggy Ahwesh, and Sheila Paige, all carry a common thread of movement towards a future from the past. WFPF Co-Chair Ann Deborah Levy gives us a preview.
READ MORETerry’s Picks: MoMA Event, Joosje Duk, Showing Support
MoMA Event: I hope you’ll join us at MoMA on Monday, January 22nd, where the Women’s Film Preservation Fund will show Four Experimental Films as part of the museum’s To Save and Project Festival. Joosje Duk: We are so proud of former NYWIFT intern Joosje Duk, whose short film Night, which we screened at our...
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