Women in Film & Television History: Meet Marion E. Wong, Film Company President, Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Actor, Costume Designer
During the silent film era, Marion E. Wong started the Mandarin Film Company, the first Chinese-American film company. The company’s feature film The Curse of the Quon Gwon: When the Far East Mingles with West (1916) is credited as being the first American film made with an all-Chinese cast and company as well as one of the first films directed by a woman.
READ MOREWomen in Film & Television History: Meet Dorothy Arzner, Director, Editor, Screenwriter, Boom Inventor
Dorothy Arzner is one of the most prolific directors of early American cinema, having worked with some of the biggest stars of the era. She is also the first woman to direct a film with sound. It was during such a project that Arzner is credited with inventing the boom microphone!
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Watch It, True Story, Immigrant Series
Watch It: Celebrate Women’s History Month by watching these 40 movies by women directors – all available for streaming. True Story: Are female-fronted biopics finally on the rise? Immigrant Series: NYWIFT is thrilled to partner with the Queens World Film Festival to present the next installment in this year’s Women Filmmakers: Immigrant Stories screening series...
READ MOREMeet Kahane Cooperman, the Director of Oscar-nominated Short Doc Joe’s Violin
Director and producer Kahane Cooperman discusses the inspiration for her short documentary Joe's Violin, her Oscar nomination, and the support she received from New York Women in Film & Television.
READ MORETerry’s Picks: No Progress, 2017 Resolution, Tax Credit
No Progress: The 2016 Celluloid Ceiling Report by Dr. Martha M. Lauzen at the Center for Women in Television & Film is a bummer. It shows that, despite the recent buzz around women’s equality in entertainment, the number of women behind the camera on the top 250 domestic grossing films in 2016 actually declined. 2017...
READ MOREFilming Close (or Maybe a Bit Too Close) to Home
Making make believe is difficult and costly. So heading home to Asbury Park, where encouragement and support is offered freely, was the right choice for Jersey girl (and NYWIFT member) Christina Eliopoulos. She tells us about free hot dogs, meddling neighbors and why mothers make the best publicists.
READ MORETerry’s Picks: #FreeTheBid, Aging Out, Female Veterans
#FreeTheBid: As part of a new #FreeTheBid pledge, some of the major ad agencies have promised to include at least one woman director in every bid put forward for ad campaigns. Aging Out: A new California law will force IMDB to take down actor’s ages (on the actor’s request only). This is a great step...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Visions Screening, YouTube Pros, Susan Seidelman
Visions Screening: NYWIFT is looking forward to our Women’s Film Preservation Fund (WFPF) screening of several TV dramas from the PBS series Visions on Saturday, September 24 at the Museum of the Moving Image. Check out this great piece from WFPF co-chair Ann Deborah Levy on why we selected these timely classics for preservation, and...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Director Talks, Funny Girls, Gender Swapping
Director Talks: Check out filmmaker Pamela Romanowsky’s insightful look at being a female director, and all the pressures that come along with it. Funny Girls: Women’s E-News discusses how teen girls interested in comedy could use a confidence boost – and where they might find it. Gender Swapping: Is remaking male-driven classics with female leads...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Leslie Jones, Writers Lab, Blockbuster Directors
Leslie Jones: After making a splash with her infectiously joyous – not to mention hilarious – tweets about the Olympics, SNL’s Leslie Jones was invited by NBC to go to Rio to cover the rest of the competition. It’s lovely to watch – especially after Jones had to take a break from Twitter after receiving...
READ MOREMeet the New Board Members: Kathryn O’Kane
What do NASA, The Walking Dead and Maya Angelou all have in common? All have worked with new NYWIFT Board member Kathryn O'Kane! In the next installment of our Meet the New Board Members series, O'Kane talks to us about her 15 year career as a nonfiction producer and director for TV, web and advertising.
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Crystal Emery, Emmy Noms, Netflix Queue
Crystal Emery: Read NYWIFT member Crystal Emery’s piece in Time about how living at the intersection of three marginalized identities – black, female and disabled – has made her stronger. Crystal’s film Black Women in Medicine premieres on public television this Fall. Emmy Noms: Congratulations to all of the NYWIFT members, Muse Award recipients and...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Busting Sexism, Girl Power, Cultural Change
Busting Sexism: Paul Feig’s all-female Ghostbusters reboot premiered this weekend and sparked an important conversation about the importance of women’s voices in film criticism, diversity in Hollywood, and how children are affected by seeing themselves represented on screen. Girl Power: Can’t stop watching the new amazing feminist makeover the Spice Girls’ hit “Wannabe.” Check it...
READ MOREThere is No “Right” Way: 14 Things Directors Need to Know about Directing Actors
NYWIFT member Erica Fae is an actor/director/writer who teaches acting at both Yale and The New School, and just wrapped her first feature as a writer/director, called To Keep the Light - so she knows a thing or two about the complex relationship between directors and their stars. She recently wrote a piece for Filmmaker Magazine with great tips on how to direct actors (spoiler alert: there is no "right" way).
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Under Pressure, Reverse Renaissance, Hollywood Power
Under pressure: Reese Witherspoon talked to Entertainment Weekly about how, due to lack of opportunities and added scrutiny, women directors aren’t allowed to fail. Reverse Renaissance: A new study from the Writers Guild of America shows that “progress has been slow at best for women and minority writers in an era of television renaissance, while...
READ MOREThe Journey of a First-time Feature Producer/Director
NYWIFT member Heidi Philpsen discusses her journey from interviewing filmmakers, to being a sought-after production coordinator, to directing and producing her first feature film - and the lessons she learned along the way.
READ MORETerry’s Picks: The Zookeeper’s Wife, Rock in the Red Zone, Lifetime Job Offer
Jessica reports: Jessica Chastain, writing from the female-dominated set of The Zookeeper’s Wife, says, “When you have both genders represented, then you have a healthier point of view.” Laura rocks: Filmmaker Laura Bialis talks to IndieWire about her documentary feature Rock in the Red Zone, about the thriving music scene located less than one mile...
READ MORETerry’s Picks: Moana, Lifetime Directors, Sundance Fellows
Moana with Sound: November 13-19, Film Forum will screen a newly restored version of Robert Flaherty’s groundbreaking 1926 documentary Moana. Flaherty’s daughter Monica added sound 50 years later to this look at Samoan life. Lifetime ladies: We’re 6 months in to Lifetime’s Broad Focus initiative to hire more women and already the network’s five most...
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