Trailblazing through the Decades: Cheryl Dunye (1990s)
Twenty years ago a young artist set out to make a documentary about women like herself: black queer filmmakers. She found nothing but homophobia and omission, and then… inspiration. The resulting film The Watermelon Woman marked Cheryl Dunye’s 1996 debut – a hybrid of autobiography, documentary, and comedy. It defies categorization and was the first feature film directed by an African American lesbian.
READ MORETrailblazing Through the Decades: Jessie Maple (1980s)
Jessie Maple is the first black woman to join the union of International Photographers of Motion Picture & Television (IATSE) in New York. Her book, How to Become a Union Camerawoman , is an instructional guide illustrating the obstacles that she endured to get into the union. It details the court case she initiated to fight discrimination after she became a member.
READ MORETrailblazing 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 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 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 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...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Reed Morano, Lena Waithe, Silent Revival
Reed Morano: Congrats to The Handmaid’s Tale director Reed Morano, the first woman to win for the Emmy for drama series directing in 22 years. Lena Waithe: Kudos to Lena Waithe, who is the first black woman to win an Emmy for best comedy writing for her spectacular Master of None episode, “Thanksgiving.” (Our own...
READ MOREThe Women’s Film Preservation Fund 2016 Grants are awarded to five groundbreaking works from the 1920s and 1970s
The NYWIFT Women’s Film Preservation Fund's (WFPF’s) 2016 grants have now been awarded. The films include three shorts from the 1920’s by pioneering filmmaker Angela Murray Gibson and two important films from the 1970’s, SISTERS! by Barbara Hammer and Women’s Happy Time Commune by Sheila Paige. WFPF Steering Committee Co-Chair Ann Deborah Levy explains why these particular films are important to women's legacy, and how you can help.
READ MOREMoMA & NYWIFT: WOMEN WRITING THE LANGUAGE OF CINEMA
Desperately Seeking Susan, 1985. USA. Directed by Susan Seidelman. Photo courtesy MoMA We are never more excited here at NYWIFT then when the spotlight shines on the many accomplishments of women in the film industry. For two weeks in February that is exactly what is happening. Celebrating the 20th anniversary of NYWIFT’s Women’s Film Preservation Fund...
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