Articles

Mar 01 2016

Fusion Finalists Spotlight: Graduate Feature Screenplay

By Editorial Co-Heads Rachel Lambert & Siena Richardson.

Many incredible artists will be featured in this year’s Fusion Film Festival screening and competition. We reached out to the finalists from all 12 categories to get to know more about who they are, what inspires them, and how they feel about being a part of Fusion.

GRADUATE FEATURE SCREENPLAY:

Chloé Hung
MFA in Dramatic Writing – Tisch School of the Arts
Class of May 2016
Hometown: Toronto, Canada
Screenplay: A GLIMPSE OF SUN

Alik Barsoumian
Major in Film & Television – Tisch School of the Arts
Class of Fall 2016
Hometown: Pasadena, California
Screenplay: Antouni (Homeless)

Stephanie Donnelly
MFA in Film Production – Tisch School of the Arts
Hometown: Long Island, New York
Screenplay: THE SOUND OF SETTLING

How did you decide to become a writer/filmmaker/animator/etc.?

Chloé: I’ve always been writing, but the decision to come to grad school to learn about writing and honing my craft came from a desire to see different stories in western cinema, stories of the “Other.” I also used to be an actor and there just were no meaty, substantial roles for me. So I figured I’d tap into my skills as a writer and write parts for people who don’t normally get the big, dramatic parts.

Alik: I grew up as the youngest of five children in a family of artists and musicians, so I was lucky to be exposed to the arts at a young age. After immigrating to the US, my parents opened a small music school where I spent most of my childhood and where I first learned how exciting collaborating could be. I loved everything from writing to music, photography, acting, and filmmaking. Filmmaking, the medium that encompassed all of the arts, seemed a natural choice. As a teenager I remember going to the cinema and feeling overwhelmed by what films gave me: the possibility to empathize with people I had never known and the inspiration to share, in turn, my own story with others.

Stephanie: I decided to become a filmmaker because of my frustration with contemporary cinema. As a woman, I could not relate to most of the characters that I saw onscreen. According to a recent study conducted by the Media, Diversity, and Social Change Initiative at USC, women comprised only twenty-nine percent of speaking characters in films from 2014 and 2015. Not only are women rarely depicted in movies, but they are also usually underdeveloped. As a filmmaker, I hope to change those statistics and create strong, complex female characters that an audience could connect with.

What inspires you?

Chloé: Lately it’s been stories about women enduring extraordinary circumstances. I’m inspired by my grandmother; her life’s story is full of ups and downs, difficult decisions, and perseverance. Seeing great movies or plays inspire me.

Alik: Sifting through photographs, working with actors, reading short stories, traveling, baking, street photography, dancers, writing, conversations with my writing professors, playing and listening to music, Kieslowski, Fellini, and Malick.

Stephanie: Most of my films are inspired by my personal experiences. I enjoy writing about unusual situations I have found myself in and unique people I have known. I am particularly interested in introducing audiences to subcultures that I have been a part of, like the Straight Edge movement featured in my screenplay, that they may not have known much about before. I prefer drawing stories from real life because I feel that it brings an authenticity and fresh perspective to my projects.

Why did you submit to Fusion?

Chloé: It’s a great festival and a wonderful experience to be a part of women celebrating women in film. I had been a finalist last year and attended many of the events and found the festival to be incredibly inclusive and felt proud that this festival came out of NYU.

Alik: The Fusion Film Festival provides a platform for women’s stories ‐ stories that resonated with me when I was growing up, and stories that I feel are important for other young women who are learning to find their way in the world. What excites me about these stories is meeting all of the interesting female characters we have not yet had a chance to see on screen. By submitting my script to the festival, I wanted to participate in the celebration of women and contribute to the growing pyramid of women’s stories ‐ stories that are truthful, diverse, and enrich the future of cinema.

Stephanie: I submitted my feature screenplay to the Fusion Film Festival because I admire its dedication to female filmmakers. Women are vastly underrepresented both in front of and behind the camera. By emphasizing female voices, I think festivals like Fusion can help create greater opportunities for women in film.

Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?

Chloé: This is an important festival to celebrate and encourage female filmmakers. I’m honoured to be a part of this.

Stephanie: I am currently developing The Sound of Settling as my graduate thesis film.

The screening of Fusion Film Festival finalists and the awards ceremony will take place at 6:30pm at Cantor Film Center on Saturday, March 5th.

Mar 01 2016

Fusion Finalists Spotlight: Graduate Half Hour Pilot Screenplay

By Editorial Co-Heads Rachel Lambert & Siena Richardson.

GRADUATE HALF HOUR PILOT SCREENPLAY:

Siobhan Gilbert
Major in Dramatic Writing – Tisch School of the Arts
Class of 2015
Hometown: New York, New York
Script: Ivy League A-Holes

Alyssa Haddad
Major in Dramatic Writing
Class of May 2017
Hometown: Utica, NY
Script: Pinned Down

Jennifer Rudin
MFA in Dramatic Writing
Class of Spring 2017
Hometown: New York, New York
Script: Starring Chloe Fisher

How did you decide to become a writer/filmmaker/animator/etc.?

Siobhan: The women of SNL in the mid-late 90s/early 00s.

Alyssa: I wanted an easy and stable career.

Jennifer: I grew up in New York City and was a professional child actress from age eight to seventeen. I’ve spent my career as an award-winning casting director, including seven years as a casting director for The Walt Disney Company. I’m the proud author of Confessions of a Casting Director: Help Actors Land Any Role with Secrets from Inside the Audition Room (Harper Collins, 2013). After writing the book, I made the decision to shift from casting and focus on my writing.

What inspires you?

Siobhan: Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elizabeth Warren who are not interested in likability and are ruthless in pursuing their goals.

Alyssa: Friends, family, riveting theatre, and poop jokes.

Jennifer: Excellent sushi and a glass of white wine. Oh, and books, theater, and riding my bike!

Why did you submit to Fusion?

Siobhan: Two close friends were finalists last year, and they encouraged me to submit.

Alyssa: We need more female representation in the arts, and I happened to be one.

Jennifer: I submitted to Fusion because my pilot is focused on the world of professional teen actresses, so it seemed perfect subject matter for a women’s film festival!

Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?

Siobhan: I’m no one’s manic pixie dream girl — more of a manic pixie nightmare.

Alyssa: I’m super available for hire on any TV show at any time so don’t be afraid to ask!

Jennifer: For more info, visit www.jenrudin.com and @RudinJen.

The screening of Fusion Film Festival finalists and the awards ceremony will take place at 6:30pm at Cantor Film Center on Saturday, March 5th.

Mar 01 2016

Fusion Finalists Spotlight: Docs-in-the-Works

By Editorial Co-Heads Rachel Lambert & Siena Richardson.

DOCS-IN-THE-WORKS:

Serena Dykman
Major in Film & Television, Minor in Business of Entertainment – Tisch School of the Arts
Class of May 2015
Hometowns: Paris, France and Brussels, Belgium
Film: NANA

Erin Sayder
Major in Documentary Film, Photography, and Psychoanalysis – Gallatin School of Individualized Study
Class of May 2016
Hometown: London, England
Film: Lex

Giselle Bonilla
Major in Film & Television – Tisch School of the Arts
Class of 2017
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Film: Dulce

How did you decide to become a writer/filmmaker/animator/etc.?

Serena: I had been very involved with theatre my entire life, acting on stage. And I had always been curious about the film world. I took a class in London called “from story to screen in 8 weeks” where each student had to write and direct a short film. I took it to understand what it was like, as an actor, to direct. But as soon as I actually had to direct, make these decisions, and share my vision with my cast and crew, I realized that that’s really how I wanted to tell my stories, from behind the lens.

Erin: I realized how much I loved making documentary films when I watched one of the first interviews I ever shot. The subject was so engaging that the footage was even more powerful than when I was in the studio with him. We called it “The Golden Interview,” and it still gives me chills to watch.

Giselle: I have worked professionally as an actress since the age of 12, but I felt my background as a Mexican-American limited my opportunities as an artist. I grew increasingly frustrated over playing the same cholas, immigrants, and illiterate teenagers Hollywood kept regurgitating from an outsider’s perspective. This frustration became a motivating factor for me to pursue a career in writing and directing in order to broaden the narrow perspective Hollywood has on the vibrant beautiful culture Latinos share.

What inspires you?

Serena: New York has been a great source of inspiration for my past shorts. It is an endless well of stories. But in a more general sense, I would say traveling and getting to know other people and ways of life is always an inspiration for me.

Erin: Diane Arbus, Martin Parr, and Lex.

Why did you submit to Fusion?

Serena: I think it’s amazing and very important to make a festival centered around women filmmakers. And what was particularly appealing on top of the female filmmakers and high quality of events, attendees, and panels, was the opportunity to pitch my feature documentary NANA to HBO, VICE, and Chicken & Egg amongst others.

Erin: I submitted to the Fusion Film Festival because it is FABULOUS! Naturally, I love the fact that it celebrates women in the industry.

Giselle: I felt Fusion was the perfect platform to express my suppressed desire to be an artist that doesn’t allow my ethnicity or gender to define me but to inspire me.

Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?

Serena: I have a passion for elephants and South East Asia. And I think that there is something magical in filmmaking in the sense that not everything can be explained or theorized.

The screening of Fusion Film Festival finalists and the awards ceremony will take place at 6:30pm at Cantor Film Center on Saturday, March 5th.

Feb 22 2016

FEMALES ARE STRONG AS HELL: WOMEN WHO WRITE COMEDY

By Paige McCall

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the newest comedic gift from Tina Fey, has been on for one season and is already renewed through season three. This show is lead by the strong, positive female protagonist, Kimmy Schmidt (played by The Office alum, Ellie Kemper), and focuses on her integration into adulthood in Manhattan after being held in a bunker underground for 15 years with three other women and an insane reverend who convinced them the world had ended. This screwball comedy follows Kimmy as she conquers stereotypically harsh environments within New York City with a smile on her face, refusing to be made bitter.

The impressive positivity and perseverance of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt comes not only from Kemper’s incredible portrayal of this unique woman, but also from the talented team of writers behind the show. This team includes powerhouse female screenwriter and NYU Tisch grad Azie Mira Dungey, who will be featured in the Fusion Film Festival’s “Queens of Comedy Writing” panel.

Before getting hired as a writer on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Azie Mira Dungey created, wrote, and starred in her own web series entitled “Ask a Slave” which gained more than 2 million views on her site. It was inspired by her past work in historical re-enactments of life on the Mount Vernon plantation in Virginia that was once owned by President George Washington. There she would answer tourists’ questions about slavery while staying in character as a slave.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt came off its first season on a high. With incredible reception from both fans and critics, the show ended up with seven Emmy nominations, not to mention nods from the Writer’s Guild of America, Screen Actors Guild, Critic’s Choice, Satellite Awards, and more.

As the theme song to the show reminds us: “Females are strong as hell.” Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt continually proves itself to be a place for female strength, with an incredibly positive protagonist who refuses to quit on herself and the people she cares about. She exhibits confidence and strength and strives to help herself and the other women in her life become independent and find authority in their own lives. Whether she’s standing up for herself and the other women from the bunker in court or supporting her boss Jacqueline as she divorces her cheating husband, she refuses to let herself or her friends be victims.

I can’t wait to see Azie, who has made brilliant contributions of female perspective to comedy, speak about her experience in a field where female voices are so clearly valuable but unfortunately so often underrepresented.

Join Fusion for the “Queens of Comedy Writing” panel, Saturday, March 5th at 4:30pm in Tisch Theater 006 to see these and other talented women speak about their insider experiences. The full panel lineup is listed below:

Moderated by: Ophira Eisenberg, comedian and NPR host.

Featuring: Tisch alum Azie Dungey (writer on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and creator of the hit satirical web series “Ask A Slave”), three time Emmy Award winner Julie Rottenberg (HBO’s Sex and the City, and Bravo’s new series Odd Mom Out), and writer Glenn Boozan (SNL’s Above Average).

Jan 31 2016

History of the Women’s Rights Movement: Then and Now

By Paige McCall.

Recently there have been a lot of discussions raised by female celebrities as to the treatment of women in the film industry. People like Patricia Arquette and Viola Davis have used their platform, upon winning awards, to give powerful speeches targeting unequal pay and the lack of roles for women of color in film and television. Emma Watson became an ambassador to the United Nations and launched her campaign, HeForShe, in order to try to encourage men to join her in promoting feminism, something she felt the need to do after experiencing sexualization in the media from an early age as a child actress. Most recently, even the highest paid woman in Hollywood, Jennifer Lawrence, joined the fight, writing an article about the gender pay gap. She points out that even though she is now the highest paid actress in the country, she still makes only a fraction of what her male co-stars make for the same amount of work on the same films. With more and more women in the film industry discussing issues of the gender pay gap, lack of diversity in film and television, and the overall minimal presence of women as compared to men in this industry, it is an important time to look back at what has lead us to this point.

1840: The demand for women’s suffrage in the United States first began in the 1840s, a time when women were beginning to advocate for expanded rights in general.
1848: The movement gained major political traction through the Seneca Falls Convention, the first women’s rights convention in the United States, attended by over 300 men and women. Here, a resolution in favor of women’s suffrage was passed, despite opposition from some of the movement’s organizers, including Lucretia Mott, who thought the idea was too extreme. Elizabeth Cady Stanton ultimately introduced the 19th amendment, despite knowing how controversial it would be. Her husband, who initially supported the movement, refused to attend the convention when he learned his wife was going to propose the amendment which he believed was ridiculous. Stanton and many others persevered, with support from abolitionist leader and former slave, Frederick Douglass. The once controversial idea of giving women the right to vote became the core of the women’s rights movement.
1890: The first national suffrage organization was formed– the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Two organizations that had been competing for over two decades formed to create this group, one lead by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, the other lead by Lucy Stone.
- The competition between these two groups emerged largely over how to spend the funds of the group and also whether or not to support the reconstruction amendments following the abolition of slavery. These would have granted suffrage to former slaves, but it did not include men. The issue was whether or not to try to focus on both the rights of women and African Americans at the same time.
- The same lack of intersectionality that could be seen in the division and competition of these two women’s rights groups is not too different from what exists in modern day feminism. There is currently a similar divide on social issues especially, as there are many feminists who choose only to focus on issues specific to white women, while others, women of color especially, demand intersectional feminism. This divide is commonly referred to as “white feminism” versus “black feminism.”
1875: The Supreme Court ruled against women’s suffrage. This didn’t stop the women’s movement, but rather lead to decades of advocating for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to give the right to vote to women. Suffragists also began fighting for female voting rights on a state-by-state basis.
1900: Carrie Chapman Catt became the leader of the NAWSA, which now had two million members, and re-dedicated the organization to a national suffrage amendment as its top priority.
1916: Alice Paul formed the National Woman’s Party (NWP), a militant group determined to pass an amendment to grant women in the U.S. the right to vote on a national level.
1917: A group of over 200 NWP members, dubbed the Silent Sentinels, were arrested after picketing outside the White House. Some of them even went on a hunger strike for their cause and had to be force fed food after being arrested.
August 26, 1920: The 19th Amendment officially became part of the U.S. Constitution, following many narrow votes in the United States Congress. The amendment read: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”
1923: Connecticut, Vermont, and Delaware were the first states to formally ratify the 19th amendment after the federal ratification. Despite the fact that it was now a federal law that women could vote in national elections, there were still many states that took years to officially ratify it.
1980: The number of women voting in U.S. elections finally matched the number of men voting. In some cases, this was because some women didn’t feel as though they should vote because they had been treated as subordinates for so long. In others, it was because there were some women still being denied a vote– specifically, women of color.
1984: Mississippi became the last state to ratify the 19th Amendment, 64 years after it had become federal law.
- To put in context just how long this took, Steve Jobs unveiled the first Macintosh computer in January of 1984. Mississippi ratified the 19th Amendment in March of that same year.

This lag in progress shows us just how hard and how long women have had to fight to be treated as equals- a fight that continues today Legally, women have the right to vote, but that does not mean that change comes easily in practice. The effects of the long history of the subjugation of women did not dissipate because of one amendment, and that amendment didn’t fix the problem entirely. For many women, especially women of color, they were still denied what had become their legal right.

The women’s suffrage movement and the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920 is an extremely important part of American history, but what isn’t talked about as much is that it didn’t focus on all women.

In the 1920s, radical racism was still prominent throughout America, especially in the South. African Americans, both men and women, were still regularly denied the right to vote in Southern States. Within a decade of the 19th amendment being passed, black women in the South were disenfranchised, not just by fringe practices or threats from racist groups, but by the implementation of state laws. Racism did not belong just to fringe groups but to Southern government officials as well.

We cannot talk about the U.S. Women’s Suffrage Movement without also discussing the U.S. Civil Right’s Movement of the 1960s, because it wasn’t until after this movement that women in southern states could actually vote. To say that the passage of the 19th Amendment gave all women the right to vote is a whitewashing of American history.

The suffrage movement was important, but not all-inclusive, not only after its success in gaining women the right to vote, but during the years of attempting to do so. NAWSA leaders asked black women’s clubs, who wanted to support NAWSA, not to affiliate with them. There were Southern suffragists who wanted only white women to gain the right to vote. In a 1913 march lead by Alice Paul’s Congressional Unit, black women were asked to march in a segregated unit. Ida B. Wells, a prominent African-American suffragist who wrote often of racism and sexism, refused to abide by this request and snuck into her state’s delegation, marching with them in the parade.

While we appreciate the work of the suffragists who fought for women’s right to vote leading up to 1920, we must also acknowledge the imperfection. After the 19th Amendment passed, the women’s movement went pretty silent for a long time, as if the fight was won. But it was more than 40 years later that women’s right to suffrage became universal. This same neglect of addressing problems unique to African American women can be seen in the divide emerging in modern-day feminism.

Intersectional feminism is often times overlooked in favor of “white feminism.” When we remind the world of statistics that women make 78 cents on the dollar we must mention that it is only white women who make even this much. Statistics show that African-American women still make only 64 cents for every dollar a white man makes; Hispanic women, only 54 cents. We cannot talk about sexism without also talking about racism. We cannot talk about the U.S. Women’s Suffrage Movement without talking about the U.S. Civil Right’s movement.

When we look back at the history of this great movement, it is important that we learn from not only its successes but its failures. As feminists continue to fight for more equality today, hopefully intersectionality will win out. If it is true that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, I hope that we are able to recognize the lack of intersectionality that has existed for too long in feminism, and open up the doors of this vital movement to all people, regardless of race, so that we may all enjoy the equality we are due but have been excluded from for far too long.

The film industry can do a lot to relay information to the general public. As women fight to secure a place and equal treatment in this male-dominated industry, they are also creating works that can help them in this fight by informing audiences and encouraging an inclusion of women, as is seen with the film, Suffragette. Now that we have Suffragette giving credit to the history of the first part of the movement that gave women the right to vote, hopefully we will see a new film that focuses on the second important part of women’s history– The Civil Right’s Movement.

Dec 28 2015

Public Relations Team Seeking Perfection with PR Workshop

By AlHanouf Tamimi

The Public Relations team at Fusion Film Festival met with Shonna Keogan, Public Affairs Officer for NYU Tisch School of the Arts, to help them improve their PR skills. Along with the basics, the team has learnt how to properly assemble a schedule up to 6 weeks before an event (in this case, the actual festival date, March 3-5 2016!).

Here are some of the key lessons Shonna gave us:

Always remember to get your key messages out, especially to the press.

Who are your experts? Place two or three individuals in front of the press who are experts in the PR process.

What are the key visuals to highlight?

Always take good photos!

Study your different press contacts: know what to present to each one to grab their attention. (Headlines depend on the news source itself!)

Have your media hit list ready 6 weeks ahead of the festival.

Create shared assets and delegate tasks accordingly within the team. (Yay for teamwork!)

Remember to utilize on-campus publications, too. (NYU websites and social media)

Grab your audience’s attention by presenting up to date information.

Don’t forget to smile!

The PR team at Fusion would like to thank Shonna for taking the time to help them add more knowledge to their PR skills book, and for guiding them in the right direction to create a more hands-on, organized approach. With the festival coming up, this PR workshop was a positive step toward excelling as a team, pre-festival and in the long run.

Dec 10 2015

Throwback Thursday: Do Unicorns Really Exist?

By Kimberly Chng

Fusion Editorial Staff Writer Kimberly Chng took an insightful look back at Fusion’s fantastic first event of this semester, our screening of Leah Meyerhoff’s feature film, “I Believe in Unicorns.”

As I walked into the theatre, I was greeted with whimsical cardboard clouds and cotton candy drapery dangling from the ceiling. It was like being transported to a foggy memory from my preadolescent years. Watching I Believe in Unicorns, however, felt precisely adolescent; it was like scrolling through a tumblr feed perfectly curated for my awkward sixteen-year-old self. Reels of memories from my teenage years suddenly sputtered all over my brain, latching onto each of my neurons, uncovering forgotten secrets and interjecting them into my train of thought between each scene. I could suddenly revisit my past in a way that I could not have done without the powerful experience of watching this film.

I Believe in Unicorns tells the story of Davina, a sixteen-year-old girl who has a penchant for fairytales and fantasy. We witness how this mindset affects her relationships with her “prince charming”, Sterling and her multiple-sclerosis suffering mother. I compare this film to the perfect tumblr feed, not because it feels like a stereotypical teenage love story that involves riding into a golden sunset. I say this because of the subjective point of view through which the story is told: through the female protagonist’s eyes. There is one point in the film when Sterling tells her “you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen”, and Davina quickly quips, “and smart too”. Her quick wit reveals her prince charming to be no more than an empty shell, an illusion that she had created in her head. Through the fantastical nature of this film, it shows just how much we idealize and fixate on perfection. We try to escape reality by finding new ways to cover up what’s really there, immersed in the fantasy that we choose to surround ourselves with.

I watched Davina’s development throughout the film, as her innocuous curiosity transformed into heavyhearted regret, and I was reminded how growing up is a rite of passage we all experience in our lives. That’s why the movie encapsulated the ephemeral nature of youth so well. Youth is fleeting, ever changing, a transitory moment in time we all share. The experience of adolescence and first love crosses all boundaries of culture and age; it plays an integral role in our growth into adulthood. Without these experiences we would be nothing, but we can also still use fantasy to create a place in which we feel comfortable. As adults, perhaps we can all learn something by creating a little fantasy in our very real lives.

Nov 16 2015

Top Five Teen Movies Directed By Women

By Tair Shachar

Fusion recently screened I Believe in Unicorns, a film directed by Tisch alum Leah Meyerhoff that revolves around protagonist Davina’s fantastical coming of age and first love. The movie delves into the adolescent girl’s psyche and Davina’s practical and existential crises, all through a magical, romantic lens. I Believe in Unicorns gave us unique and rare insight into the mind of a teenage girl going through the complicated and bittersweet process of growing up. Here are five, very different, great movies directed by women that tread the grounds of youth’s search for identity and expression.

The Virgin Suicides

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Director: Sofia Coppola

Year: 1999

This film, known as one of Coppola’s best, is set in the 1970s and follows the Lisbon sisters through the perspective and narration of the boys that grew up with them and obsessed over them. The movie explores many hardships of teen-hood such as blooming sexuality, rebellion against overprotective parents,general melancholy and existentialism.

Clueless

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Director: Amy Heckerling

Year: 1995

A hilarious and incredibly fun staple of 90s cinema and culture, Clueless remains iconic and endlessly quotable. Cher is the film’s protagonist whose voice-over narration is genuine and superficial introduces the audience to her world of materialistic, shallow concerns as she strives to remain the most popular, attractive girl in her high school. The film creates an exaggerated portrait of the teens of it’s time and serves as intelligent and funny commentary on consumerism and the obsession with fitting in.

Fish Tank

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Director: Andrea Arnold

Year: 2009

A BAFTA winner and a beautifully crafted film, Fish Tank explores 15-year-old Mia’s struggle with her newly progressing sexuality as it intersects with her home life when her mom’s new boyfriend expresses interest in her. The movie deals with the complexity of sexuality and how it can overwhelms and confuse in the process of growing up.

Pariah

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Director: Dee Rees

Year: 2011

This Tisch alum-directed film tells the story of Ailke, a teenager living in Brooklyn who searches for and struggles with conflicting identities while trying to manage friendships and family.

An Education

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Director: Lone Sherfig

Year: 2009

An Education is an Oscar-nominated coming-of-age drama about 16-year-old Jenny Mellor who temporarily abandons her education in order to spend time exploring the world and receiving a cultural education from an older man who pursues her romantically. Through this excursion, Jenny learns a lot about herself, questioning the course her life is taking and finding her own answers.

Nov 06 2015

Leah Meyerhoff: Paving the Road to a New Life in Film for Women Everywhere

By Mia Chavez & Nicole Tavares, Fusion Public Relations

There was a warm wind blowing through the streets as I made my way to a screening of Leah Meyerhoff’s feature film, I Believe in Unicorns. Perhaps I am being overly sentimental, as some would dismiss wind simply as a feature of any autumn evening. However, I can’t help but wonder if the balmy buzzing air had something to do with the exciting energy surrounding Meyerhoff’s presence at Tisch. There has never been such an exciting time for women in media as there is in today’s world. Change is in the air and you could almost feel it on your skin the night Leah Meyerhoff graced a room full of young filmmakers eager to hear her honest words of wisdom.

Tisch alumna, screenwriter, director, and founder of the women filmmakers’ organization, Film Fatales, Leah Meyerhoff confessed that she never really defined herself as a “female filmmaker.” She saw herself as a filmmaker who happened to also be a female. Once she graduated and began making her way through the real world of filmmaking, she quickly became aware of her minority status. Meyerhoff first encountered these stigmas as she began her journey on the independent film festival circuit with her short film, Twitch, (a precursor to her debut feature film, I Believe In Unicorns.) Meyerhoff said, “At the end of the day, to be a filmmaker, you need that self motivation and drive. You need to generate your own career.” She didn’t let the fact that she is a woman stop her from getting her film made. She believed in her project and the story she wanted to tell, and surrounded herself with a team of people just as eager to make this film a reality.

As a result, Meyerhoff founded Film Fatales, “a collaborative community, rather than a competitive one.” Meyerhoff began the organization when she invited six women filmmakers over for dinner one night to discuss the industry and get some inside advice. The general consensus was so positive that they decided to make the meetings a monthly occurrence among the group. Since the fortuitous dinner, Film Fatales has expanded to hundreds of cities across the country and throughout the world.

Armed with advice from her collaborators in Film Fatales, Meyerhoff worked tirelessly on her short, Twitch. She said, “Short films are an amazing way to explore whether or not your idea could work as a feature. School is a great place to take risks you may not necessarily be able to take in the real feature world.” One of those risks was Meyerhoff’s decision to cast an underage actress as the lead, as well as her actual mother (who suffers from MS in real life) as the mother in the film. Once her experiment proved successful with Twitch winning numerous awards, Meyerhoff decided to proceed with turning Twitch into the beautiful feature film, I Believe In Unicorns. The feature follows the life of 16-year-old Davina, a character loosely based on Meyerhoff. Davina’s vivid fantasies of escaping the responsibility of caring for her ailing mother land her on a wild runaway roadtrip with her rebellious, angst-ridden boyfriend, Sterling.

Being able to glimpse the process Meyerhoff endured to make I Believe In Unicorns was truly inspiring, especially given the autobiographical nature of the two female-driven narratives. Meyerhoff said, “So often, we are waiting for permission to make our films. Above all else, you need to generate your own motivation and give yourself that permission to make this film no matter what.” I left the screening inspired by the increasing number of doors opening for female filmmakers thanks to talented and motivational women like Leah Meyerhoff.

Photo by Chloe Aftel

Photo by Joe Tanis

Nov 05 2015

ALUMNI FEATURE: Interview – Elizabeth Bohinc & Kate Zabinsky

By Piera Van de Wiel and Kara Lawson, Fusion Alumni Relations.

September, 29th 2015: We spoke with Elizabeth Bohinc and Kate Zabinsky, Fusion Film Festival alumnae who recently put together a panel in LA for industry professionals to talk about women in the film and television industries.The panel was two years in the making.

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What was your process in creating the panel?

Having been co-directors of the Fusion Film Festival during our time at NYU, we have a history and particular connection with these themes. After graduation we both moved to Los Angeles and began our careers. We continue to be involved with NYU alumni events as well as with other industry professional organizations. Through our experiences, we noticed that there was a dearth of high-level conversations about women working in this industry. There was the standard fare about balancing work and family life or breaking in. There weren’t examples or conversations about mentorship or how to grow your careers once you are in the door (if they manage to get themselves into the room in the first place). We are women in entertainment. Ultimately, we wanted to hear the opinions and advice of people who have careers we’d like to emulate. We thought back on our experiences at Fusion and realized, with the help of NYU, we had the power to put all these people in a room to foster this conversation. So that’s what we did.

Who was involved?

The two of us [Elizabeth Bohinc TSOA ’10 and Kate Zabinsky TSOA ’11], Joanna Puglisi from Tisch Alumni Relations, and Lauren Nisenson from Gallatin Alumni Relations. We had actually previously worked with Lauren on Fusion in 2010 for our first ever alumni panel. Drew Uriarte, Assistant Dean of Tisch, helped get it off the ground. Thania St. John (Gallatin parent) moderated the panel. Thania is a TV Writer/Showrunner, WGA Board Member, and the Co-Founder of the League of Hollywood Women Writers.

The panelists included: Rachel Brosnahan, Maryam Keshavarz, Toni Graphia, and Campbell Smith.

Rachel Brosnahan graduated from Tisch with a BFA in Drama in 2012. After several guest TV and theater roles, she broke out with a guest role in House of Cards, eventually leading to an Emmy Nomination for Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series for “Rachel.” She is also a series regular in WGN’s Manhattan. In addition to her acting work, she works as an Ambassador for Global Citizen.

Maryam Keshavarz is a producer, writer, and director. After graduating from NYU’s TSOA MFA program with a major in Film & TV, she shot her independent feature Circumstance, which explores homosexuality in modern Iran. Circumstance went on to win several festival awards including the 2011 Audience Award. Maryam teamed up with Academy Award nominated producers Anna Gerb, Neal Dodson, and JC Chandor (A Most Violent Year, All is Lost, and Margin Call) and will be directing her sophomore feature, The Untitled Oliver Diaz Story, in February 2016.

Toni Graphia is a television writer and producer, currently serving as Executive Producer on Starz’s hit fantasy drama Outlander. She has been working television for over twenty years, starting as a researcher on China Beach and working her way up the writing ladder on shows such as Roswell, Grey’s Anatomy, and Battlestar Galactica. In 2005, she won a Peabody Award as part of the writing staff for Battlestar.

Campbell Smith is the Head of Television for Carousel Productions. After graduation, she moved to New York, eventually landing at The Daily Show for six years where she met Steve and Nancy Carell (both correspondents at the time). After writing and producing a number of shows, she teamed back up with the Carells to form Carousel Television. Campbell Smith serve as an EP on TBS’s upcoming comedy series Angie Tribeca.

How did the event go? And how was it received?

The event went incredibly well. The panelists were so dynamic; we could have let them go for hours! We were able to convince UTA (United Talent Agency) to donate their theater for the event. They were very impressed with the event and offered their space to make it an annual event. We plan to do just that.

The audience responded very well. The questions during the Q&A as well as the conversation that continued during the reception were high level, intelligent, and productive.

How has Fusion impacted your careers, and what lessons did you carry over into the business?

Kate: First, actually working for Fusion, organizing logistics and personnel, taught me as much about how to work in the industry as my film classes did. Learning how to collaborate, problem solve, and meet deadlines is just as important as creative instinct once you enter the professional world. As far as thinking about women in the industry, I think Fusion helped me learn to verbalize my questions and concerns. That is to say, I am a woman and I work in film, so it would never have been something I didn’t know about or didn’t think about. But, because I had the experience of Fusion, I am able to look at the challenges that exist and approach them in more productive ways because it’s a conversation I’ve been having since I was a freshman at Tisch.

Elizabeth: I can’t agree more with Kate about Fusion preparing me for the professional world, but I also will say it helped me develop a shorthand with a group of professionals I truly trust to this day. Kate and I obviously work very well together because of our Fusion experience. [It’s the] same with Lauren Nisenson and I. We just know how to collaborate, problem solve, and get it done. Fusion also made me more aware of female industry professionals, which always helped when a development team had to make a list of episodic female directors or writers to staff a show. It’s good to just have a list of diverse, interesting voices in the back of your head at all times. I learned that from Fusion.

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