New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) has presented 10 scholarships and 14 festival awards to new and established filmmakers at seven New York-area festivals throughout the past year, a press release has announced. Cash awards and one-year association memberships gifted by the NYWIFT aim to nurture the next generation of women in media.
According to NYWIFT CEO Cynthia Lopez, the organization has expanded its festival partnership as part of its mission to “recognize top-tier talent, emerging voices, and the women content creators making waves in narrative and documentary filmmaking.” Lopez added, “It is so impressive that these recipients not only completed their films during the pandemic – they excelled in reinventing how films are made during this time.”
Festival awards for Excellence in Directing were given to Ellie Foumbi (“Our Father, the Devil”) at the Hamptons International Film Festival, Ju Martins (“Nā Kama Kai – Children of The Ocean”) at the Montauk Film Festival, and Jasmin Mara López (“Silent Beauty”) at UrbanWorld Film Festival, among others.
Along with its scholarships, NYWIFT invests in young talent through the Sabrina Wright-Gilliar Award, given to a high school senior striving for a career in production. This year’s recipient is aspiring assistant director Jasmine Gonzalez. The award honors the memory of Wright-Gilliar, who the organization describes as a “legendary” prop master whose credits include “The Good Wife”.
“It is vital to support and nurture women creatives as they leave academia to begin the next phase of their professional journeys,” Lopez emphasized. “We are thrilled to welcome them to the NYWIFT community and are excited to see what each of these wildly talented students will accomplish.”
In addition to funding, scholarship recipients were also enrolled in NYWIFT’s Next Wave membership program for early career professionals with less than four years of film or TV experience, per the organization’s site.
NYWIFT is a non-profit that empowers women working in film and TV industries to advance diversity in media.
