Join NYWIFT as we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Woodstock Film Festival!
Today’s women filmmakers are calling the shots, whether with a movie camera on their shoulder, a pen in their hand, an idea in their head, or a computer and a desk at their feet.
In this conversation co-presented by New York Women in Film & Television, meet some of today’s most inspiring filmmakers, all current participating filmmakers or alumni of the Woodstock Film Festival, as they discuss the trajectory of their careers.
Panelists will include Nancy Abraham, Heidi Ewing, Christine La Monte, Rebecca Miller, Yvonne Russo, and Ondi Timoner. Moderated by NYWIFT CEO Cynthia Lopez.
Event Details:
Date: Saturday, October 19, 2024
Time: 12:15 – 1:30PM ET
Location: Kleinert/James Center for the Arts (34 Tinker St, Woodstock, NY 12498)
Panelists:
Nancy Abraham is Executive Vice President and Co-Head of Documentary Programming for HBO. She is responsible for overseeing the development and production of HBO Documentary Films which have garnered prestigious industry awards including Primetime Emmys®, News and Documentary Emmys®, George Foster Peabody Awards, Alfred I. DuPont Awards and Academy Awards®. She was named to this position in 2018.
Prior to joining HBO’s documentary division in 1995, and being promoted to vice president, HBO Documentary Programming, in 1998, Abraham was director, Film Acquisition, acquiring feature films and other programs for HBO’s international channels. She also spent three years in Budapest as Director of Programming, for HBO Hungary.
Heidi Ewing is an Academy Award nominated documentary filmmaker. Credits include Jesus Camp, Love Fraud, One of Us, Detropia, The Boys of Baraka and Endangered. Her first narrative, I Carry You with Me, opened at Sundance and was released to critical acclaim by Sony Pictures Classics in 2021.
Christine LaMonte: Founder La Monte Productions, producer feature documentaries VIVA VERDI!; Ai Weiwei’s Turandot; and Figli Del Fiume/Children Of The River. Former Studio Marketing Executive: Universal Pictures, Walt Disney/Touchstone Pictures/Orion Pictures; also EVP of Film Division at Rogers & Cowan.
Rebecca Miller is an Independent Spirit and Gotham Award-winning and Emmy-nominated filmmaker who has written and directed seven feature films: Angela (1995), winner of the Sundance Film Festival Filmmakers Trophy and Cinematography Award, as well as the Gotham Award; Personal Velocity (2002), winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize and Cinematography Award, as well as the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award; The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005); The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009) ; Maggie’s Plan (2015); Arthur Miller: Writer (2017) a documentary for HBO; and She Came To Me (2023). Several of her films are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Miller is also the screenwriter of the feature film Proof (2005) adapted from the stage play. She is also a painter and author of the short story collections Personal Velocity (2001) and Total (2022) and the novels The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009) and Jacob’s Folly (2013).
Yvonne Russo is an acclaimed producer, director, and writer, recognized for her groundbreaking work in film, television, and animation. Her projects span global productions in 17 countries, including award-winning documentaries, feature films, and children’s programming. Russo is a member of the Sicangu Lakota Tribal Nation, a Redford Center grantee, and a Sundance and Tribeca Fellow. Currently, she’s directing a four-part docu-series for ONYX/HULU on Indigenous activist Annie Mae Aquash and developing numerous high-profile projects with Warner Brothers and FX.
She is a member of the Directors Guild of America, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, The Producers Guild, and a contributing author for Produced By Magazine and The Huffington Post. She is a member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation.
Ondi Timoner is a critically-acclaimed filmmaker, with the rare distinction of winning Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize twice.
Ondi has been Oscar-shortlisted, Emmy and WGA-nominated, and was the 2022 recipient of Humanitas Award and the Visionary Award for Observational Filmmaker from DOCNYC.
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. López currently serves on the Board of Directors for Color Congress, Latino Public Broadcasting, Manhattan Neighborhood Network, WIFTI and The Peabody Awards Board of Jurors.
Presented by:
New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) advocates for equality in the moving image industry and supports women in every stage of their careers. An entertainment industry association for women in New York, NYWIFT energizes women by illuminating their achievements, presenting training and professional development programs, awarding scholarships and grants, and providing access to a supportive community of peers. To learn more about NYWIFT please visit: www.nywift.org. Please become a member and join the movement of women to ensure women gain their rightful place in the media and entertainment industry.
The Woodstock Film Festival (WFF) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization that nurtures and supports emerging and established filmmakers, sharing their creative voices through an annual festival and year-round programming to promote culture, diversity, community, educational opportunities and economic growth.
WFF provides innovative mentoring and inspired educational programs benefitting filmmakers, students and diverse audiences, while serving as a powerful cultural and economic engine for New York’s Hudson Valley and beyond. Such efforts have consistently resulted in the festival being hailed as one of the top regional film festivals worldwide.
Festival Dates are Oct 15 – 20, 2024 – 25th annual Woodstock Film Festival
Purchase your pass HERE!
Kleinert/James Center for the Arts
34 Tinker St, Woodstock, NY 12498
programs@nywift.org
Join the conversation on social media:
#nywift | @nywift
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.
