NYWIFT Programs Archives - New York Women in Film & TelevisionNew York Women in Film & Television

NYWIFT Talks Tribeca 2024: Remember Your Joy

Sometimes it’s necessary to be reminded why you do what you love to do the most. We don’t stop to do this enough, and I realize this is often what happens at a NYWIFT community event. Whether it’s virtual or in-person, NYWIFT Talks have the same impact. On Zoom, roughly 200 viewers gathered to catch board member Okema T. Moore’s chat with three current Tribeca filmmakers this year. The filmmakers were director/producer/screenwriter Geneva Peschka of The Solace of Sisterhood, archival producer Lauren Wimbush of The Debutantes, and production designer Kristi Zea of Daddio. Stephanie Okun offers and insightful recap of their conversation.

Witnessing the Excellence of Jennifer Esposito: Fresh Kills

Stephanie Okun offers a recap of the entertaining and inspirational NYWIFT Member Screening of Fresh Kills and talkback with filmmaker Jennifer Esposito, who discussed overcoming hurdles in Hollywood and finding distribution for her passion project.

An Enjoyable Evening at the Wildcat Screening

NYWIFT Member Stephanie Okun recaps her experience at a NYWIFT member advanced screening of Ethan Hawke's Wildcat, the Flannery O'Connor biopic starring his daughter Maya Hawke. Co-star and past NYWIFT Muse Honoree Laura Linney was featured in the Q&A.

Program Recap: NYWIFT Masterclass: Nonfiction Audio Development

NYWIFT Advisory Board President Jamie Zelermyer used the podcast I Was Never There, which she created based on her experience exploring the mysterious disappearance of her friend Marsha Ferber in 1988, as the case study in the first installment of the three-part NYWIFT Masterclass: Nonfiction Audio Development in November 2023. The masterclass was a must-attend as Jamie outlined the steps she took to create and launch the successful eight-episode series. Here are some of her top tips!

Program Recap: NYWIFT Masterclass Series: Writing for TV

Introducing critically-acclaimed writer Amy Fox, who led a three-week consecutive NYWIFT Masterclass on creative practice, storytelling fundamentals, and developing your TV pilot script. If you haven’t ever written a script, or need a refresher course, tips, coaching, or guidance about how to translate an idea to the big screen, information about how to produce your TV show, series, or film, what technology to use, etc., this masterclass was for you.

Deeply Moved by CODA

Kristin Reiber Harris shares her heartfelt reaction to CODA - and why she is thrilled it took home Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

FOUND: Highlights from an interview with the Director Amanda Lipitz and Producer Anita Gou (Part 2)

Found is a compassionately told story of the girls finding one another, finding their homeland, and finding themselves. Director Amanda Lipitz and Producer Anita Gou spoke with NYWIFT Board Member Christina Kiely about the experience of making the film and the powerful and often unexpected stories that emerged in the process. This is part two of their conversation.

FOUND: Highlights from an interview with the Director Amanda Lipitz and Producer Anita Gou (Part 1)

Found is a compassionately told story of the girls finding one another, finding their homeland, and finding themselves. Director Amanda Lipitz and Producer Anita Gou spoke with NYWIFT Board Member Christina Kiely about the experience of making the film and the powerful and often unexpected stories that emerged in the process. This is part one of their conversation.

Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided to Go For It

NYWIFT member Kristin Reiber Harris reflects on life lessons gleaned from the indomitable Rita Moreno after watching the new documentary Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It.

The Dilemma of Desire Empowers Women through a Greater Understanding of Their Sexuality

Maria Finitzo's film "The Dilemma of Desire," a documentary about female sexual desire, was difficult to pitch and sell because, according to Finitzo, “People were afraid of it, they think it's about porn or are worried they're going to see people having sex." Instead, the film delves into the essential, surprising, and often sad truth about most women’s understanding of their own sexual desires and their own bodies.

Wellness During a Pandemic

We have all spent the last year doing our best to avoid catching the COVID-19 virus. However, masks, social distancing, and the other protocols we have observed do not represent a meaningful overall strategy for our general wellbeing. A recent NYWIFT Talks Wellness During COVID 2.0 moderated by Easmanie Michel, NYWIFT’s Special Projects Associate, addressed this issue with experts in wellness, Laurie Gerber, Head Coach at HG Life, and professional athlete and yoga instructor Zachy Chrisodoulou, owner of the Sommerville PurFlo Yoga franchise.

The Mole Agent: Highlights from the NYWIFT Goes to the Oscars Q&A with Maite Alberdi, Marcela Santibañez, Julie Goldman

The team behind The Mole Agent, Oscar-nominated for Best Documentary, discusses its powerful impact, and how they created a film both so visually stunning and rich with character that The New York Times review believed the film to be partly dramatized. It wasn’t!

Recap: FGI & NYWIFT Fashion & The First Ladies Panel

In celebration of Women’s History Month, Fashion Group International (FGI) and New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) took a look at Fashion and the First Ladies through a virtual panel on March 12. It was a candid conversation about how our First Ladies are fashion trendsetters, and explored how fashion plays a key role with history, politics and contributes to the making or breaking of public policy.

Recognizing Our Shared Humanity: Idil Ibrahim on Her Film “Sega”

Women filmmakers throughout history have often been at the forefront of advancing social change, and NYWIFT member Idil Ibrahim is no exception. Ibrahim sat down with us to discuss the making of her award-winning short film "Sega" and how she hopes it might change viewers’ perception of modern immigrant stories.

NYWIFT Program Recap: Alison Klayman’s Flower Punk

"Flower Punk," Alison Klayman’s film recently released on The New Yorker documentary site, delights visually and aesthetically with the bonus of illuminating Japanese cultural traditions regarding the natural world. We recap our conversation with Alison following the NYWIFT screening of the film.

Recap: NYWIFT Talks with Julie Taymor and Kimberly Guerrero About “The Glorias” and Getting Out the Vote

NYWIFT blogger Kristin Reiber Harris reflects on our powerful conversation with the team behind The Glorias, including Julie Taymor's creative process, the celebration of Native voices, and how we as women live in constant dialogue with our former selves.

All In: The Fight for Democracy – A Conversation with Lisa Cortés (Part II)

The second part of Christina Kiely's two-part interview with All In: The Fight for Democracy co-director Lisa Cortés, conducted on Zoom in anticipation of her participation at the NYWIFT 2020 Creative Workforce Summit: Documentary Makers, Industry and Funders in Conversation next week.

All In: The Fight for Democracy – A Conversation with Lisa Cortés (Part I)

All In: The Fight for Democracy is the essential new documentary the LA Times called “an eloquent history lesson on voting rights.” Co-directed by Lisa Cortés and Liz Garbus, the film tells the painful history of voter suppression in America as it traces the story of gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and her 2018 run in Georgia. Oscar-nominated producer NYWIFT Member Lisa Cortés (Precious, The Apollo, Remix: Hip Hop X Fashion) joined NYWIFT Board Member Christina Kiely to discuss All In: The Fight for Democracy, why it matters so much right now, how they pulled it off during the pandemic, and why Stacey Abrams’s story needed to be the spine of the film – apart from the fact that we love her.

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