NYWIFT Blog

Flix Not to Miss: ‘Top of the Lake’

If you enjoy The Killing, currently on AMC, then the Top of The Lake, an original mini-series that aired recently on the Sundance Channel should be at the top of your list. Currently on Netflix, the series is written and directed by Jane Campion and features hypnotically, spectacular cinematography by Adam Arkapaw. Taking a break from Madison Avenue’s...

Collaboration on ‘The Chemistry of Love’

Maybe this is the first play you’ve written, maybe it’s your twentieth, but at some point, it’s going to get produced, and that’s when you’re going to have to let go of your baby and place it in the hands of someone else. Theatre is a collaborative art form and my goal is to embrace...

Inside Peek at One Night Stand

The very idea of One Night Stand — that a cast and crew throw fear aside and do the seemingly impossible, move from a blank page to a live performance in 24 hours, demonstrates perfectly that when you dive into the creative process with everything you’ve got, magic happens. There’s a brazenness and love of craft...

Tribeca Prize Honors Nora Ephron

Photo from Oprah magazine. Writer and director Nora Ephron, a woman of brilliance, warmth, generosity and wit, has inspired the creation of an award at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. “The Nora” is a $25,000 prize, which will be awarded annually to the woman filmmaker whose voice and vision best embody Nora Ephron’s spirit, and whose film makes its...

Flix Not to Miss: ‘The Heat’

I can’t remember the last time I saw a funny female buddy movie. “The Heat,” starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, looks to be that movie. Directed by Paul Feig of “Bridesmaids,” the film appears to have the hi-jinx of its predecessor, but less “raunchy” by the looks of the trailer. The film arrives in theaters on June 28. —...

Earth Day: Women Rising at Tribeca Film Festival

Happy Earth Day! Women directors make inroads at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival: “Twenty-six feature films, about a quarter of the total to be presented during the two-week festival, are by women directors, including the first feature film by a female Saudi filmmaker shot entirely in her country.” Check out the full article on Reuters.

Women of Transmedia: Tribeca Storyscapes

Frequent NYWIFT moderator and panelist Ingrid Kopp has outdone herself this year with her excellent programming of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival’s Tribeca Storyscapes. This unique “gallery space” experience is the first time the festival has presented a juried section for transmedia or interactive work of any genre. I had an opportunity to get a sneak...

Flix Not to Miss: ‘Ginger & Rosa’

I loved Sally Potter’s Orlando and still have images in my mind from that film many years later. So I was excited to see her latest film, Ginger & Rosa, a coming-of-age story about two best friends (Elle Fanning and Alice Englert) growing up in London in 1962. The imagery was beautiful, and the the...

Submit It! Spring/Summer Call for Entries

We’ve rounded up top film fests, writing competitions, and grants with spring or summer deadlines. It’s time to polish that script, shoot that video, or burn those DVDS. Go, go, go Film festivals, video/TV contests & labsJust For Laughs Comedy Search (final deadline: 5/10)Southhampton Arts’ 20/20/20 Film Program (final: 5/15)Dogfish Accelerator for Film Producers (early: 4/19, regular:...

What Can We Do About the Under-representation of Women in Screenwriting?

There has been a very thoughtful and extensive conversation going on over at the The Black Board (community of the Black List and Go Into The Story). It arose from this: The Nicholl’s website reveals a startling stat: 1 in 4 of their applicants are women. They’re referring to the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, of course, which is accepting...

judygrimes: Lucy Liu at the 2012 NYWIFT Muse Awards (x) We’re loving these GIFs of Lucy Liu’s NYWIFT Muse Awards acceptance speech. Created by judygrimes.

judygrimes: Lucy Liu at the 2012 NYWIFT Muse Awards (x) We’re loving these GIFs of Lucy Liu’s NYWIFT Muse Awards acceptance speech. Created by judygrimes.

judygrimes: Lucy Liu at the 2012 NYWIFT Muse Awards (x) We’re loving these GIFs of Lucy Liu’s NYWIFT Muse Awards acceptance speech. Created by judygrimes.

judygrimes: Lucy Liu at the 2012 NYWIFT Muse Awards (x) We’re loving these GIFs of Lucy Liu’s NYWIFT Muse Awards acceptance speech. Created by judygrimes.

Tribeca Film Festival: ‘Farah Goes Bang’

Equal parts road trip, buddy comedy, sex farce and chick flick, Farah Goes Bang balances the specificity of the moment’s climate of intolerance with a universal coming-of-age tale. With her delightful ensemble of authentic and engaging female characters and snapshot of America in a telling moment, first-time writer/director Meera Manon crafts a comic portrait of...

What to See at This Year’s Montclair Film Festival

The second annual Montclair Film Festival in Northern New Jersey runs from April 29 to May 5 and will screen more than 80 films — many of them directed by women. Here’s just a sample of what not to miss: Begin your festival week on Tuesday with Gideon’s Army. Directed by NYWIFT member Dawn Porter, the...

Flix Not to Miss: ‘Hysteria’

When I caught this film on the plane, I didn’t know that the studio had been marketing it as a romantic comedy. (Full-disclosure, I love a good rom-com!) In that vein, I found it wholly enjoyable. Maggie Gyllenhaal oozes intelligence and Hugh Dancy charms. Directed by Tanya Wexler, it’s a film that shows that feminists can have...

First Person Filmmaker: NY Film Premieres in LA

I hadn’t been to Los Angeles since I was a teenager. I remember the sidewalk of stars, the grittiness of Grauman’s Chinese Theater, and the huge evangelical church where my uncle was getting married. Not much else. So I was both nervous and thrilled when my feature film, “In Montauk,” was accepted into the Los...