NYWIFT Blog

Cynthia’s Picks: WFPF Award, DOC NYC, Kathryn Hahn

WFPF Award: Major congratulations to NYWIFT’s Women’s Film Preservation Fund (WFPF), which received the Archivist’s Round Table of Metropolitan New York’s 2019 Outstanding Support of Archives award last week. The award recognizes an individual or organization for notable contributions to archival records or archives programs through political, financial or moral support. DOC NYC: There are more...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Fall Drive, IDA Awards, Pay Up

Fall Drive: We just launched our Fall Membership Drive – become a NYWIFT member by December 2nd to save 50% off the initiation fee and attend the Muse Awards on December 10th at the member rate! There are so many new and exciting NYWIFT initiatives coming up. I hope you will join our community.  ...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Emmy Panel, Elizabeth Banks, Melinda Gates

Emmy Panel: Check out the September 27th episode of the No Rest for the Weekend podcast for a fun recap of our NYWIFT Season Kickoff: The Road to the Emmys event. Elizabeth Banks: Elizabeth Banks became the first female director honored as Pioneer of the Year in the 78-year history of the Will Rogers Motion...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Emmy Highlights, NYWIFT Winners, Women #NotWorthLess, Bahamas Relief

Emmy Highlights: Kudos to both Alex Borstein and Michelle Williams, who used their Emmy platforms to remind us all – especially women – how advocating for yourself can contribute to the greater good and lift others up in the process. NYWIFT Winners: Congrats to the NYWIFT members who won Emmys last week: Lydia Tenaglia (Executive...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Two Studies, Unequal Pay, Michele Clapton

Two Studies: A study from Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative in partnership with National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP, of which I was the founding organizational Chairperson) and Wise Entertainment, shows how Hollywood has failed the Latinx community when it comes to their portrayal in popular movies – in...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Help Line, News & Doc Emmys, Walking Dead

Help Line: NYWIFT is proud to announce that we have partnered with Women in Film and the Actors Fund to bring expanded hours and New York area resources to WIF LA’s Help Line for Sexual Harassment. If you need guidance or support, please call. You are not alone. News & Doc Emmys: Congratulations to all...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Jamie Zelermyer, Writers Lab, TV Writers

Jamie Zelermyer: Please join me in welcoming new Board President Jamie Zelermyer! We are thrilled to have her leading NYWIFT’s next era. Writers Lab: Congratulations to the 12 women screenwriters over 40 selected for The Writers Lab 2019! TV Writers: Positive news from the WGA West – women and minorities showed slight gains in the...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Emmy Noms, Tom Donahue, Member News

Emmy Noms: Congrats to all the NYWIFT members nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards this year! Can’t wait to watch and cheer you all on.  Tom Donahue: Check out this great interview with NYWIFT member Tom Donahue on his recent documentary This Changes Everything (exec produced by Board President Simone Pero) and the importance of male...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Film Registry, My Update, Orange Ending

Film Registry: Our Washington, DC, sister chapter WIFV-DC launched their annual campaign to include more women-directed films in the National Film Registry. We hope you will support them by nominating some wonderful female-driven films this year. My Update: Speaking of DC, I sent out a recent update to the NYWIFT community about my first seven...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Diane Paragas, Michele Clapton, MOME Fund

Diane Paragas: In NYWIFT’s latest collaboration with Honeysuckle Magazine, we interviewed filmmaker Diane Paragas about her film Yellow Rose and how it contributes to our nation’s ongoing heated conversation around immigration. Michele Clapton: I always love seeing the latest and greatest from our Designing Women honorees! You can spot 2019 honoree Michele Clapton’s costume designs...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Women’s Soccer, Mulan Trailer, Invitation Parity

Women’s Soccer: The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team did more than just win the World Cup this weekend – they started a worldwide conversation about equal pay. They play better and bring in more income than the men’s team, but are paid less. And they’re suing. Mulan Trailer: The trailer for Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan...

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Cynthia’s Picks: NYWIFT Summit, Media Workshop, Yellow Rose

NYWIFT Summit: Thank you to all who attended last week’s first inaugural NYWIFT Summit. The theme of the 2019 Summit was Inclusion, Equality and Safety, and it established forward-moving strategies to create change in these areas with an eye towards mobilizing support and leadership for the future. We had many meaningful conversations and I look...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Nancy Schwartzman, Maybe Representation, Audition Inclusion

Nancy Schwartzman: Last week NYWIFT hosted a Twitter chat with director Nancy Schwartzman of Roll Red Roll, available now on PBS’ POV. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s a must-watch, especially if you have kids. Its harrowing look at rape culture in a high school is unusual for a true-crime doc in that it...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Designing Women, Rachel Chavkin, Queer Women

Designing Women: Thank you to all our honorees, presenters, supporters, volunteers and attendees for a truly fabulous 20th anniversary Designing Women Awards last week. Be sure to check out our photo highlights and stay tuned for videos of the inspirational ceremony. Rachel Chavkin: Hadestown director Rachel Chavkin’s fiery Tony Awards acceptance speech (she won Best...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Mindy Kaling, Booksmart Buzz, Thumbs Down, Designing Women

Mindy Kaling: CBS Sunday Morning profiled Mindy Kaling, who spoke candidly about not seeing people like herself represented on screen, and how her new film Late Night is one of the first comedies all about workplace inclusivity. Booksmart Buzz: The disappointing box office returns from the Olivia Wilde-directed comedy Booksmart, which had been hotly anticipated...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Designing Women Michele Clapton, Riccie Johnson, Shunika Terry, and Mrs. Maisel

We have an incredible roster of honorees and presenters for this year’s 20th Anniversary NYWIFT Designing Women Awards! I hope you will join us on Tuesday, June 11th at 7 PM at the prestigious DGA Theater to celebrate these incredible women and spend time with some costumes. Tickets are going fast – buy now at...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Sarah Finn, Ava Duvernay, Olivia Wilde

Sarah Finn: Casting Director Sarah Finn may the true superhero of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – she cast more than a thousand actors in almost every single Marvel film since the first Iron Man– including all of the stars. It was a unique challenge that required thinking how the cast members might overlap in the...

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Cynthia’s Picks: Working Moms, Member News, Documentary Labs

Working Moms: Celebrating Mother’s Day this weekend was a powerful reminder that being a working mother is especially tough in the film and television industry. Thankfully, there are groups like Moms-in-Film and our own NYWIFT Moms Network affinity group trying to level the playing field. Member News: NYWIFT member are always doing great things, but this week...

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