The Smithsonian American Women's History Museum invites individuals to co-create a more inclusive record of American history by shaping how stories from communities are told. The Spotlight Documentary will support teams of professional filmmakers and community builders to create short form, limited documentary series that share histories of notable American women and girls who are well-known to their communities but have not been recognized or celebrated in mainstream narratives about American history.

Reimagining a conventional residency, a cohort of four teams will receive $50,000 in production funding, interdisciplinary mentorship, and a national platform for their completed work, while retaining full ownership rights to the series. The residency will take place from mid-August 2024 through mid-February 2025. Selected teams will live and work in place and must complete their series in that time frame.

The WIFVNE and Salem Access TV Filmmaker Meetup celebrating Women in Horror packed the house in Salem on March 14, 2024, for some scary cinema and festive networking.

Along with a chilling lineup of female-led films, there were special appearances by Jigsaw, the owners of Salem Cinema, and the most popular guest, Pumpkin the female tarantula (pictured with WIFVNE Board member Rachel Thomas-Medwid).

Special thanks to WIFVNE Board member Rachel Thomas-Medwid and WIFVNE Member Luke St. Germaine for organizing this event.  (Photos courtesy of attendees.)

On March 14, 2024, WIFVNE Board member Kristen Falso-Capaldi (far left) moderated the panel "Beyond BARBIE …How Women are Changing the Future of the Film Industry" as part of the 2024 Women's Summit at Bryant University. Panelists included (from left to right) WIFVNE Board President Sharon Contillo, WIFVNE member (and former Board President) Joan Cassin, and IATSE union member Carissa Spatcher. 

Everyone knows about Greta Gerwig’s success with Barbie, but there are many dynamic women working in the entertainment industry. The panelists have led successful careers as grips, writers, directors, producers, and production designers in what was traditionally a “boys club.”

WIFVNE member Emily Baeza is interviewed by her alma mater Whittier College about her creative journey that led up to working on the Oscar-nominated film, AMERICAN FICTION.  Emily says of her experience:  "I am beyond grateful that I got to play a small part in bringing this story to life and work alongside some incredibly talented filmmakers. Witnessing the amount of dedication and skill that is poured into a production, from every angle, has greatly deepened my love of movies."

Emily credits and thanks WIFVNE as a contributor to her path to success:  "None of this would have been possible without the mentorship I received from WIFVNE and and the Production Industry Training Program at [WIFVNE Business Member] ELEMENT." 

Read the full interview here.

Congratulations on your successes, Emily, and we look forward to many, many more!

WIFVNE celebrates and congratulates Angela Onwuachi-Willing, WIFVNE Board Member! 

Boston University School of Law Dean Onwuachi-Willing recently received the Dean & Ryan Roth Gallo at the Boston Bar Association Beacon Awards. Dean Onwuachi-Willig received the Voice of Change Award for leadership advancing diversity, equity, & inclusion within the legal profession.

Photo by Hannah Rose Photography.

WIFVNE will be hosting an online Networking Wednesday "Ask the 48 HFP Anything" meet-and-greet event at 10:00 AM on February 28, 2024. Register here!

Come find a team to join (or cast and crew for your own team) while networking in the chat, joining the Zoom discussion, and learning more about an event that makes it easy to show your stuff, try out new skills, and meet people in the local creative community.

The 48 Hour Film Project (which takes place at various points throughout the year in Boston, Providence, New Haven, Portland, and cities around the world) is a wild combo of film festival and reality game show where teams are assigned genres, a prop, a character, and a line of dialogue for 4-7-minute movies they must rush to complete over the course of a fast, furious weekend before time runs out.

Every completed production goes on to receive a big screen world premiere in front of live audience members who vote for their favorites (while judges pick a Best Movie to compete with other winning films for a chance to screen at the Cannes Film Festival).

But prizes aside, the camaraderie and instant feedback of the 48HFP is a great way to make connections and gain experience, as chronicled by WBUR's Andrea Shea in a 2023 story about the Boston 48HFP's 20th anniversary.

In fact, each of the city producers participating in the 2/28 Networking Wednesday meet-and-greet started out on 48HFP teams (and the same is true for moderator/filmmaker Rachel S. Thomas-Medwid as well as past WIFVNE president Alecia Orsini, Scott Lebeda (camera operator on the Oscar-winning film CODA), and Richie Moriarty (who's starred in both a 48HFP Best Movie and the CBS sitcom Ghosts).

For more information, please visit: 48hourfilm.com

WIFVNE is pleased to announce Alyson Muzila is a WIFVNE Board member!

Alyson Muzila is an actor, writer, host and producer based in New England. She has performed in numerous films, TV shows and commercials, and enjoys a wide range of work from creating sketch comedy, to acting in and producing independent films, hosting news shows and events, and acting on stage.

Alyson’s film and television credits include the award-winning short film Scotch, Please, which she wrote, produced, and starred in as a middle aged mother of five who uses Tinder to see “if she still has what it takes.” The film won multiple “Best Comedy” awards and Alyson won “Best Actress in a Comedy” at numerous festivals throughout the US. Alyson has been cast as a principal in more than five independent films, including Penny, Fenwick, Sunshine and Mr. Roy’s Bicycle Repair Shop, three of which she acted with her daughter. 

She adores sketch comedy and improv, and has created content on numerous platforms in shows such as The Wes-TEN, a local news show that she hosted and co-produced for more than 30 episodes, and most recently, “Dishin’ It with Susan & Mickey,” a talkshow with local guests/actors and a fully improvised script. “Dishin’ It” can be seen on YouTube.

Alyson stage performances include Theresa in the British farce How the Other Half Loves, various roles in the musicals A Christmas Carol, Miracle on 34th Street, and Bye, Bye Birdie at the Weston Friendly Society, and independent collaborations such as Butter, performed at The Burren Backroom in Somerville, MA. 

When not acting, Alyson enjoys board and advocacy work in the areas of sustainability, climate resilience, neurodiversity awareness, DEI, and governance. She previously was elected to her local school committee where she served for 3 years. Alyson lives west of Boston with her husband and 4 children, and multiple pets. Originally from Wyoming and Minnesota, Alyson is a fan of rural life, horseback riding, and hiking in the mountains.

Follow Alyson on Instagram, Learn more at IMDb, and Connect on Facebook

New dates announced for the National Lampoon's Girlz Rule Script Contest 

The National Lampoon Company presents the NATIONAL LAMPOON’S GIRLZ RULE SCRIPT CONTEST (“NLGR Script Contest”) launched in association with Women in Film & Television US (“WIFT US”). This partnership seeks to provide women scriptwriters - LGBTQ+, women of color (Asian, Black, Indigenous, Latino), all religions, professional or amateur status, any race, ethnicity, country of origin, native language, political orientation, or sexual preference - with an opportunity to submit their scripts and be part of the GIRLZ RULE feature film series to be produced by National Lampoon. (#GirlzRule)

​NLGR Script Contest seeks comedies and parodies of every kind that appeal to a wide audience. The scripts NL GIRLZ RULE seeks are intelligent, with cutting-edge wit, combined with some satire. National Lampoon has an illustrious history in the comedy genre beginning with its first film produced in 1978, National Lampoon’s Animal House, one of the most successful comedies ever.

​Carol Bidault de l’Isle (“Daliland”) and Jerry Daigle ("Love, Wedding, Marriage" and "Odd Thomas") are set to produce the films. They along with Nancy McBride, WIFT US President will also participate in the review and determine the finalists.

​National Lampoon and its NL GIRLZ RULE, LLC will sponsor the submissions process. Submissions will be free, at no cost to the writer, and will be accepted from November 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024.

Winners will be notified by April 30, 2024 and announced at the Cannes Film Festival 2024.

To submit and to learn terms and conditions of the NLGR Script Contest, please visit this website.  Entrants must be active members in good standing a WIFT-US member organization.  WIFVNE members are members of WIFT-US. 

Straight to your inboxes! Here's the October 2023 edition of the WIFVNE Wire. Recaps on recent festivals and events, plus photos and news about WIFVNE members and future events and film festivals.

The New England Voice Over Summit, held October 14-15 in Waltham, MA, was a wonderful weekend of artists sharing their techniques and talents.  it was a cerebration of creativity as attended empowered each other to try new things. 

WIFVNE President Emerita Alecia Orsini was on hand --or rather, on voice? -- for NEVO, and provided these photos.  Networking Wednesday host -- Erica Brookhyser also attended NEVO, sharing her voice.