NYWIFT Blog

Virtual Event: Call Your Mother Screening + Q&A

Behind every famous comedian, there’s an infamous mom! In the hilarious new documentary Call Your Mother, the film explores the relationships between comedians and their mothers, and how they have indelibly shaped their craft. Please join us for a special sneak peek and panel discussion before the film debuts on Comedy Central on Mother’s Day...

Virtual Discussion: NYWIFT Talks with Filmmaker Rachel Feldman

Join filmmaker Rachel Feldman for a virtual Zoom conversation. Rachel will discuss the COVID-19 effects on filmmakers and what the future holds for her current projects. Feldman is an accomplished director and writer in film and television. She is currently in active development to direct Lilly, a feature film based on the remarkable life of Fair Pay icon Lilly Ledbetter.

The conversation will be moderated by NYWIFT Executive Director Cynthia Lopez.

Virtual NYWIFT Member Screening: Toss It

Join us for our first virtual NYWIFT Member Screening showcasing Michele Remsen's "anti-romantic comedy" feature Toss It! Toss It is a recipient of the NYWIFT Nancy Malone Marketing and Promotion Grant. A darkly comic, bittersweet look behind the facades of tradition, family and marriage, Toss It blends screwball comedy with an open-hearted deep-dive into family dysfunction.

Registrants can access the film throughout the weekend of May 1st, then will be invited to an exclusive Zoom Q&A with the filmmaker on Monday, May 4th at 5 pm.

Webinar: Brave New World: Reimagining Film Festivals in a Time of Crisis

When SXSW cancelled, it sent shockwaves through the indie film world. But the creative forces that have kept independent film vibrant over the decades are rising to meet the current crisis. Until we can once again gather in large crowds, the show is going on. Film festivals are moving online or reviving older forms such as using drive-ins for locations to gather at safe physical distances.

This panel brings together a group of creatives to discuss how people and organizations are responding nimbly and re-imagining ways to connect and support filmmakers and audiences. We will explore the possibilities for evolving out of this crisis to create more fluid and far-reaching concepts of film promotion, audience engagement, and distribution.

Join us for a conversation with Laurie Cheatle, Maori Karmael Holmes, Brian Newman, Alison Willmore, and Jeffrey Winter, moderated by Michelle Materre.

Webinar: Documentary Storytelling with Sound Design

Sound design plays an essential and often unrecognized part of nonfiction filmmaking. It can set a mood, illuminate a point of view, or help set you in a place and time. We speak with sound professionals to see and hear what goes into their decision making and creative process. Join us for a conversation with Jacob Ribicoff, Steve "Major" Giammaria, and Becky Goldberg (Moderator).

Webinar: The Business of Adaptations for Film and TV – 2020

Agents, Hollywood producers and publishers are always searching for the next great story, but not all writers start from scratch. Oftentimes, ideas come from the things we see, read, write and hear. The challenge for many is how to transition these materials from their original form of a book, article, and story into a full-fledged viable screenplay and adaptation material for another medium. Savvy industry professionals love to leverage their time and efforts by capitalizing on a story that can be adapted into many forms. Learn from this experienced panel about ways to locate common sources for your story or script and the power and pitfalls of working with adaptations for your project.

Webinar: NYWIFT Talks ImageNation with Moikgantsi Kgama

Join NYWIFT and Moikgantsi Kgama of ImageNation as she speaks from the perspective of the cultural organizations that bring indie films into local communities. She'll discuss the potential broader impact on the industry and the general theater-going experience, as we all wonder: what will the exhibition space look like after the pandemic has ended?

This NYWIFT Talks discussion will be moderated by NYWIFT Board VP of Programming Leslie Fields-Cruz.

Webinar: NYWIFT Talks Casting with Destiny Lilly

Join Casting Director and NYWIFT Board of Directors Vice President Destiny Lilly for a virtual Zoom conversation. Destiny will update us on how the casting world in NYC keeps moving even while film, television, and theatre productions are on hold due to the current health crisis. We'll talk shooting delays, the impact on Broadway, online auditions, self-tape 101 for actors, why producers should always hire a casting director, and more. Casting affects more than just actors - all film and TV professionals are encouraged to bring their questions to to this insightful conversation. And anyone can benefit from self-tape 101; nowadays, working from home, we are all appearing on camera!  This NYWIFT Talks discussion will be moderated by NYWIFT Community Engagement Director Katie Chambers. 

Webinar: NYWIFT Talks Production with Kathryn O’Kane

Join Disney+ showrunner and NYWIFT Board member Kathryn O'Kane for a virtual Zoom conversation. Kathryn will discuss the COVID-19 affects on pre-planned productions and what the future holds for her current projects. This NYWIFT Talks conversation will be moderated by NYWIFT Executive Director Cynthia Lopez.

Webinar: NYWIFT Talks Distance Learning with Dr. Kimberly Greene

Welcome to NYWIFT Talks, a new weekly series to bring updated news and vital information about the impact of COVID-19 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...

Webinar: NYWIFT Talks: Virtual Collaborations with Liz Dreyer

Welcome to NYWIFT Talks, a new weekly series to bring updated news and vital information about the impact of COVID-19 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 NYWIFT members to attend.  In this week’s inaugural NYWIFT Talk, join virtual collaboration expert Liz Dreyer for a Zoom conversation. We'll focus on tips and best practices for creating productive virtual meetings, including information on preferred platforms and the leading question of the day: "Should you wear pants on video chats?" Liz has facilitated creative digital groups for over 20 years. This discussion will be led by NYWIFT Senior Development Consultant Maud Kersnowski-Sachs.

Webinar: NYWIFT Talks: Virtual Theatrical Experiences with Wendy Lidell

Welcome to NYWIFT Talks, where every week we bring you a new stimulating and proactive virtual conversation with a dynamic array of film and television industry professionals. NYWIFT Talks are free for all NYWIFT members to attend.  In this NYWIFT Talk, we welcome Senior Vice President Wendy Lidell of Kino Lorber. We will discuss the growth of Kino Lorber and their initiative to develop the virtual theatrical experience during a time of uncertainty, while continuing to support art houses everywhere.  This discussion will be led by NYWIFT member Jennifer Wilkov. 

Virtual Theatrical Experience: 2020 S.W.A.N. (Support Women Artists Now) Day Screening – Tape

Join NYWIFT, SAG-AFTRA, FF2 Media, Women in the Arts & Media Coalition (WAMC), HerFlix, ImageNation Cinema Foundation, 2020 One Woman One Vote Festival, and African-American Women in Cinema (AAWIC) for a screening of the new feature Tape in recognition of S.W.A.N. (Support Women Artists Now) Day, an annual event on the last Saturday of March that...

POSTPONED: Women are Funny

In 2018, a frustrating study claimed"researchers found that 63% of men were funnier than the average woman" based on captions attached to a picture of an absurd cartoon. Thankfully, this claim has been shut down by female comedians since its unnecessary birth. Guess what? Women are funny. Our conversation "Women are Funny" brings together some of the funniest women in...comedy! These women have successfully produced numerous shows, are writers for Late Night folks, and starred in TV/film roles. These Queens of Comedy are champions of their craft — and the world should know that.

Webinar: Mental Health and Career Sustainability in the Doc World

To the outsider, the person holding the film camera is a story teller and change maker, living a dream life, filled with travel, awards, honor and recognition. To the documentary filmmaker, the possibility of creating transformational change through art is a calling. Yet it is a calling that exacts deep costs: financial, emotional, psychological, and physical. The documentary business is a long odds game fraught with disappointment and struggle. Underpinning these struggles is the elusive act of making a sustainable living at the career. NYWIFT and The D-Word co-host a panel discussion to shed more light on this much-needed conversation and to explore avenues of greater filmmaker support.  Moderated by Doug Block (The D-Word), panelists include Rebecca Day (Producer/ Psychotherapist), Kelsey Koenig (Impact Partner Films), Heidi Reinberg (Documentary film maker) and Chithra Jeyaram (Documentary film maker).  

The Wrong Kind of Women

Naomi McDougall Jones's new book The Wrong Kind of Women is a brutally honest look at the systemic exclusion of women in film — an industry with massive cultural influence — and how, in response, women are making space in cinema for their voices to be heard. In addition to providing an incisive, data- and human-driven look at where we are, Naomi provides clear and actionable steps to move the industry forward.  Join us for a conversation with Naomi McDougall Jones, Tanya Perez, and Jennifer Betit Yen.

Virtual Program: Individual and Small Business Planning During COVID-19

Individuals and small business owners: are you curious about the government programs available to help you during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic turbulence?

NYWIFT corporate partners Gail Linn, CFP® and Bill Fischer, CFP® from Fortis Lux Financial will host an educational workshop where they will discuss the benefits of the recently passed CARES act and answer your questions. The entire act encompasses a full 900 pages, but Gail and Bill will cut to the chase by reviewing the most important issues that individuals and small business owners need to know.

Screening: The Journey of Monalisa

Both intimate and gloriously poetic, The Journey of Monalisa paints an aptly complex and empowering portrait of New York-based author and performer Iván Monalisa Ojeda. After 17 years, director Nicole Costa reconnects with her former classmate Iván Ojeda, who was known at the time as a talented theater director and playwright but has now reinvented themself as Monalisa. Intrigued by this transformation, Costa follows the gender-neutral two-spirit Iván Monalisa through the streets and clubs of New York, in their tough and vulnerable life filled with sexual encounters and addiction. All the while the ever-resilient Monalisa continues to write beautiful, raw pieces about life and survival in New York. Q&A with director Nicole Costa and subject Iván Monalisa Ojeda to follow. Presented in partnership with: The LGBT Community Center, NewFest and New York Latino Film Festival.