NYWIFT Blog

Oscar Madness: Cutie and the Boxer

Noriko and Ushio Shinohara in Cutie and the Boxer (Photo via The Guardian) Love is a ROARRRR. In the documentary Cutie and the Boxer, this is the name of the first joint show by the film’s subjects, Japanese artist couple Ushio and Noriko Shinohara. It doubles as a fitting title for their four decades-long relationship, explored...

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WOMEN OF SUNDANCE

Filmmaker Desiree Akhavan via Filmmaker Magazine If you haven’t picked up the latest issue of Filmmaker Magazine, you can read their article on Women of Sundance online.  The article written by Danielle Lurie was sparked by our sister LA WIF and Sundance Institute’s study on women in the industry. In the piece, women with films...

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Terry’s Picks: February 18, 2014

Noted art forger Mark Landis (Photo by Shane Lavalette, courtesy of Art and Craft) TAKING A TRIP THROUGH: history, with Glamour’s The 75 Most Important Women of the Past 75 Years, which includes film and television heavy hitters like Lucille Ball, Julia Child and Barbara Walters. The magazine also approached prominent women (like actresses Rosario Dawson and Olivia...

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WEEKLY ROUNDUP

Photograph: Armando Gallo /Corbis Actress, Writer, Producer Greta Gerwig is bringing another sitcom to NYC! Wikipedia spearheads “feminist information activism” for their website. The BBC announces a ban on “all-male” comedy panels. Well Played BBC. Aspiring screenwriters MUST READ this “Infographic” on movie-making. This UCLA study reveals what we’ve known for years, “Hollywood is woefully out of touch” Q&A with Thelma & Louise scribe...

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NYWIFT Recap: Member Screening of Sister Italy

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...

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Terry’s Picks: February 11, 2014

(Building a Robot, from the new Getty collection whose proceeds benefit LeanIn.Org by Peter Cade/Iconica/Getty) PORING OVER: this wonderful list of grants and resources for filmmakers! NoFilmSchool has organized opportunities with upcoming deadlines from February to May by Documentary, Narrative and Screenwriting categories. ADMIRING THE ATTITUDE: that Lexi Alexander took at the Athena Film Festival over the...

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Weekly Film & TV News Roundup

Kristin Scott Thomas at the premiere of Only God Forgives in Cannes. Photo via MSN Movies.  Kristin Scott Thomas is fed up with film — so she’s quitting. Lorne Michaels speaks about the women of SNL. Fox Business News adds a new show. Congratulations, Maria Bartiromo! Reality star Lauren Conrad’s appropriate response to an inappropriate question. The Drama League...

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TV Not To Miss: ‘Orphan Black’

BBC America’s science-fiction series Orphan Black is coming back on April 19. If you haven’t had a chance to catch the first season, check it out on demand or on iTunes or Amazon. And if you’re already a fan, BBC America has just released season two’s teaser trailer. Orphan Black stars Tatiana Maslany as Sarah, Cosima, and Alison,...

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Terry’s Picks: February 4, 2014

Image via Fox Searchlight. Looking forward to: the NYC premiere of Amma Asante’s Belle at the Athena Film Festival on Thursday! The film is a fictionalized account of the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the West Indies–born biracial daughter of an African woman and Admiral Sir John Lindsay, on an English estate. Belle’s story tackles questions about society, race,...

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Acting Up: What’s Your Plan for 2014?

Photo: "El Fureidis" by Frances Benjamin Johnston. Pilot season is here. If you’re feeling left behind or like you need to catch up, that’s OK. Maybe you haven’t had a chance to figure out what you want to do or bring about this year. Give yourself some time to set clear intentions for 2014. It’s never to...

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The 2014 Athena Film Festival Is This Week

//player.vimeo.com/video/84185523?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0 The fourth annual Athena Film Festival kicks off this Thursday (Feb. 6) and runs through Sunday (Feb. 9) on the Barnard College campus in NYC.  The lineup includes feature films (Short Term 12, In a World…), documentaries (Alice Walker: Beauty In Truth), a variety of shorts, as well as panels (A Conversation With Lexi Alexander, The Women...

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Weekly Film & TV News Roundup

Mad Men photo via theguardian.com. Dear Mr. President, we agree! (Video) Congratulations, Kathy Kelly-Brown, NBC’s new SVP of Global Talent Booking. NYC will certainly benefit from this. Elizabeth Vargas’ return brings winning ratings for 20/20. Universal’s Donna Langley will be the “second most powerful woman in Hollywood” until at least 2017. Casting Director Allison Jones “discovered” our favorite TV/film nerds. Do what...

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Free Help for the Screenwriter

Screengrab of quote on The Blacklist Film & TV Writer’s Calendar Not all screenwriters are brainstorming in the writer’s room of a hit TV show or arguing dialogue lines on the set of a summer blockbuster with a director or cast member. Many, let’s face it, most, are toiling away either waiting for their first...

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Terry’s Picks: January 28, 2014

The girls of Broad City. Wondering about: recognition for female artists throughout history, thanks to this witty video by Girls’ Jemima Kirke, featuring the notorious Guerrilla Girls. Priming us for: NYWIFT’s upcoming Laughing Matters comedy event is this month’s required viewing, Broad City. Changing minds: on who really speaks up about the Superbowl! Adweek writes that female consumers are the...

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Recap: NYWIFT at 2014 Sundance Film Festival

NYWIFT member Heidi Philipsen in The Better Angels, starring Diane Kruger, Brit Marling, and Wes Bentley (Photo courtesy of Hickory Pictures, LLC) What a whirlwind! Though temps in New York matched the biting Park City cold, nothing could beat the heat at the festival. This year, New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT) caught up...

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66th DGA Awards: Female Directors Honored

Congratulations to the female directors honored at the DGA Awards this weekend: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary – Jehane Noujaim, The Square Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series – Beth McCarthy-Miller, 30 Rock, “Hogcock!/Last Lunch” Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs – Amy Schatz, An Apology to Elephants The DGA Diversity Award was given to Shonda Rhimes...

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Weekly Film & TV News Roundup

Photo via YouTube. The Women In Film panel at Sundance called out Hollywood’s sexism. Sold! Lynn Shelton’s film Laggies did well in Park City. Another promising new production company to be based in NYC. Cate Blanchett reveals a red carpet disparity. Got lights? Got camera? Here’s how to tape your own audition. Editorial Director Kierna Mayo brings...

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NYWIFT Success Story: Polish Filmmakers NYC

Still from Katarzyna Klimkiewicz’s Flying Blind, one of the films screened at Polish Filmmakers NYC’s series Different Ages, Different Voices: Polish Women in Film. April Hattori and Agata Drogowska, both members of New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT), met each other and a film series was launched. Hattori discusses this NYWIFT networking success story: In 2012, Agata...

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