Welcome to NYWIFT Talks, a weekly series to bring updated news and vital information about the impact of COVID-19 and current events on the media and entertainment industry. Industry professionals will be in conversation discussing what you need to know about theatrical releases, digital advances, virtual tools, festival opportunities, production updates and more.
NYWIFT Talks are free for all to attend.
On this week’s NYWIFT Talks, we continue our conversation with more stuntwomen in film & television to discuss their work and how the pandemic has changed their career, and what new protocols have been set to keep everyone safe.
Speakers for this conversation include stuntwomen Brenda Lorena Garcia, Ashley Pynn, and Jenel Stevens, moderated by NYWIFT CEO, Cynthia Lopez.
Date: Friday, January 27, 2023
Time: 4PM ET
Cost: Free
Panelists
Brenda Lorena Garcia is a bilingual American-Latina stuntwoman, actress and speaker. Born and raised in Los Angeles County, California, she studied and earned her undergraduate degree from C-SUN in Multi-Media Journalism, and immediately after pursued and graduated with her Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Loyola Marymount University. She began her stunt career just around the time she was completing her university studies. She is known for her work in Ant-Man and the Wasp, Birdbox, Transformers: The Last Knight, Baywatch movie, and Hawaii Five-0, to name a few. During her free time, she gives of herself in helping underprivileged communities strive for excellence through her motivational and informative talks. Brenda is excited about creating projects and sharing the creative space with like minded fellows who desire to produce content that is moving and pleasing. You can find Brenda on social media by following her Instagram at: @BrendaLGarcia, Twitter: @BrendaLGarciaX and/or Facebook.com/OfficialBrendaGarcia
Ashley Pynn is a New York-based stunt performer, coordinator, musician and actor. Her work in film and TV is as prolific as it is diverse, with highlights including 8 seasons on NBC’s The Blacklist, Ray Donovan, FBI, and Blue Bloods to name a few. In film, a few favorite performance credits include West Side Story, The Goldfinch, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Halloween Kills. For her stunt coordination, she was recently recognized as part of the Emmy Award-winning team at Saturday Night Live. Ashley and her wife welcomed their first child, Winton Wylder, in 2022. When she isn’t working, you can find Ashley snowboarding, on the water, or slapping the bass in her band “kingkween.” AMDA 2008.
Born and raised in New York, SAG-AFTRA member Jénel Stevens has pioneered an extraordinary career defined by a singular focus and multi-disciplined athletic prowess that paved the way to becoming one of the most successful Black stunt women and fight choreographers in the United States. Her unwavering commitment to her craft has seen her perform in renowned titles such as Avengers Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, Luke Cage, and Black Panther, stunt doubling for internationally-recognized artists including Issa Rae, Gabrielle Union, and Viola Davis.
Since 2015, Jénel has been honored by the SAG Awards for several of her performances, including Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture for Black Panther and Avengers: End Game.
NYWIFT CEO
Cynthia López (Moderator) is an award-winning media strategist, and former Commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, where she implemented strategies to support film and TV production throughout the five boroughs. López is the recipient of many coveted industry awards including: 11 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, a Special Emmy Award for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking, three Peabody Awards, and two duPont-Columbia Awards. In addition, she received the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) Award for Commitment to Corporate Diversity. Prior to working as Commissioner, López was Executive Vice President and co-Executive Producer of the award-winning PBS documentary series American Documentary | POV, and was involved in the organization’s strategic growth and creative development for 14 years. Her ability to forge strategic partnerships among corporate and public interest media has been a signature of her work. Notable partnerships include: New York Times, Reuters, Al-Jazeera Network, Discovery Communications, The Moth, Story Corps, Harpo Studios and ABC News, NIGHTLINE with Ted Koppel. López is a founding member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP), and is proud to have spent her career collaborating with independent filmmakers across all portions of the film and television industry. She served on the Board of Trustees for the Paley Center, NYC & Company, Museum of the Moving Image and the Tribeca Film Institute Latin America Fund Advisory Board. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Latino Public Broadcasting, Manhattan Neighborhood Network and Hunter College IMA Program.
This program will take place virtually as a webinar via Zoom. Please register in advance, and all registrants will receive a link to attend the webinar the day of the event.
We encourage you to download Zoom in advance.
Free event.
programs@nywift.org
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NYWIFT programs, screenings and events are supported, in part, by grants from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
