NYC Mayor’s Office Of Media And Entertainment Announces The Premiere Of NYC Women’s Fund Showcase

The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) announces the debut of the NYC Women’s Fund Showcase, on the NYC Life Channel on Friday, October 15, 2021, at 8pm, with new episodes airing weekly.

A mix of documentary and comedy shorts, feature and series length work, this inaugural four-part showcase chronicles the mosaic of artist, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ life in New York City created by past recipients of the NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre.

The fund, which is currently accepting applications for its third round at www.nyfa.org/nycwomensfund, was established by the NYC’s Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment in 2019 to advance equal representation for films made by, for, or about those who identify as women.

It is administered by New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA). The projects featured in this showcase reflect the voices and perspectives of eight 2019 NYC Women’s Fund recipients of finishing grants:

• Episode 1, premiering Friday, October 15 at 8pm, features 2 NYC Women’s Fund awarded projects; Sanctuary and Folx: a queer documentary series.
  • Sanctuary, the debut film by New York-based Mexican filmmaker Andrea Cordoba, follows main character Amanda Morales on her family’s journey to claim sanctuary in New York, publicly resisting her deportation within a NYC church that ICE recognizes as protected. The film was the top winner at the 2019 Brooklyn Film Festival, winning the Grand Chameleon Award for Best film, as well as the Best Documentary Award.
  • Directed by Krystalline Armendariz, Folx: a queer documentary series explores the strength, diversity, and often overlooked experiences of queer lives through intimate 60-second portraits.

• Episode 2, premiering Friday, October 22 at 8pm, highlights the documentary web series AIDS Burials on Hart Island, directed by Melinda Hunt and produced by the Hart Island Project.
  • AIDS Burials on Hart Island unearths the stories of five New Yorkers who died of AIDS and disappeared onto Hart Island, which serves as the burial site for anyone who dies in New York City whose body is not collected by a licensed funeral director.  
    
     
• Episode 3, premiering Friday, October 29 at 8 pm, showcase the Documentary short, Narmin’s Birthday, the documentary web series, L’Unicorns, and the Fiction Short, Shield.    
  • From directors Lydia Cornett and Jenny Groza, Narmin’s Birthday tells the story of 15-year-old Narmin and her 84-year-old grandmother Ismat, who share a bedroom in their family’s tiny Sheepshead Bay apartment. Though their nights are spent no more than four feet away from each other on parallel beds, the cultural identities they’ve each chosen are worlds apart.
  • L’Unicorns is the first Latinx LGBTQ community in Staten Island under the umbrella of La Colmena Community Job Center. It is a group that aims to create a safe space for the LGBTQ Latinx community centered in the voices of transgender women. This short tells their life stories of immigration and asylum while collaborating in a socially engaged art project with artist Sol Aramendi.
  • From director Danielle Eliska Lyle comes Shield, the story of Zoe, who was put in foster care after the death of her brother. Trauma made it difficult to place her in a permanent home until a new friend embraces the challenge.  
    
     
• Episode 4, premiering on Friday, November 5 at 8 pm, features the fiction web series Stupid Cupid, and the documentary short Lorrie Goulet: Spirit into Stone. 
  • Directed by Sarah Randall Hunt, Stupid Cupid is a relatable and entertaining new web series about four best friends who attempt to fix modern love by creating a dating app—too bad they’re the worst people for the job. When the app takes on a mind of its own, they’re forced back into the dating scene to figure out what went wrong, only to discover their own shortcomings in love.
  • Directed by Lucy Adams, the award-winning documentary Lorrie Goulet: Spirit into Stone takes a look at 94-year-old master sculptor Lorrie Goulet — her life and work, and her mentoring relationship with the filmmaker.

 The New York Foundation for the Arts  

The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) was established in 1971 to empower artists at critical stages in their creative lives. Today, the nonprofit organization’s programs and services are far-reaching and are rooted in a wealth of physical and online resources.

Each year, NYFA awards more than $3 million in cash grants to individual visual, performing, and literary artists throughout the United States. NYFA’s Fiscal Sponsorship program, one of the oldest and most reputable in the country, helps national artists and arts organizations raise and manage an average of $4 million annually.

NYFA’s Learning programs, including its Artist as Entrepreneur and Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program, provide thousands of artists, creatives, and arts administrators with professional development training and support. NYFA’s website, NYFA.org, is used by more than 1 million people and features more than 20,000 opportunities and resources available to artists in all disciplines.

 NYC LIFE

NYC Life is part of NYC Media, the City of New York’s broadcast network and media production group. NYC Media, a division of The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, informs, educates and entertains New Yorkers about the city’s diverse people, neighborhoods, government services, attractions and activities.

NYC Life (WNYE) is available on cable and satellite channels Spectrum 25, FIOS 25, Altice 25, Comcast 1025, DirecTV 25, Dish 25 and RCN 25; and over the air broadcast channel 25.1.

 The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment   

The mission of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) is to ensure New York City continues to be the creative capital of the world by supporting film, television, theatre, music, publishing, advertising and digital content, and ensuring those industries work for New Yorkers.

In 2019, the creative industries accounted for more than 500,000 local jobs and annually, have an economic impact of $150 billion. MOME comprises four divisions: The Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting; NYC Media; the Office of Nightlife; and educational and workforce development initiatives.