THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

JANUARY 2021 NEWSLETTER

     
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MOME LOOKS BACK AT 2020

As we reintroduce our monthly updates for a new year, it's worth taking a moment to look back at 2020. It was a year of pain and loss, but also a year that showed the creativity, determination, and courage of the people in the industries we serve. Over the past year, MOME, our fellow City agencies and all of those in the communities we support worked on: the safe return of TV and film production; connecting businesses and workers to resources through a series of Town Calls; creating opportunities for local talent online and throughout the city through initiatives like Virtual NYC: Curator Collections, Music for the Soul, and Off Broadway in the Boros: Pop Ups; providing education and opportunity to 7,500 New Yorkers; launching MEND NYC, a free mediation program for businesses and their neighbors; broadcasting vital info and news on NYC Media; working with other agencies on safe, broadcast editions of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and New Year's Eve in Times Square. For a complete review, please visit: MOME's 2020 Highlights.

MOME PRESENTS 'MINY' AWARD TO AWKWAFINA AND JEFFREY WRIGHT

MOME's Commissioner, Anne del Castillo, presented the awards to Awkwafina, the Golden Globe-winning actress, comedian, writer, and producer from Queens, and to Jeffrey Wright, the Tony-, Emmy-, AFI- and Golden-Globe-winning actor, philanthropist, and proud resident of Brooklyn. Both recipients have made significant contributions to our city during the pandemic. Awkwafina is donating some of her earnings to the Welcome to Chinatown grassroots initiative to support struggling businesses. Wright founded Brooklyn For Life! which supports local businesses and serves meals to first responders, hospital workers and residents of public housing. The "Made in NY" Awards were established in 2006 to recognize people and organizations that make significant contributions to New York City's entertainment and digital media industries. Awkwafina was honored at the New York Women in Film & Television's 41st MUSE Awards; Mr. Wright at the 30th annual IFP Gotham Awards.

NEW YORK MUSIC MONTH EXTENDED PLAY

In response to the pandemic, which has brought almost all live performance to a standstill, MOME has expanded one of its best-known programs, New York Music Month, to six full months of programming from January through June, featuring 40-plus events and growing, all safe, virtual and free. You will find something for every audience, from artists and industry to fans. Stay tuned for more programming as the year progresses.

For an updating list of events and more, check out NYMusicMonth.nyc.

JANARTSNYC

This annual celebration of the performing arts is a partnership of independent festivals, that typically brings together more than 45,000 performing arts leaders, creators, and enthusiasts from across the globe. The 8th annual edition is entirely online, adapting to the pandemic, while bringing artists, industry professionals and the public together to reach an even larger, more diverse, global audience. The rich offering of festival performances, conferences and networking events takes place through January 30 and features a vast array of new work (much of it tailored for the pandemic age) and critical conversations on the future of the performing arts.

For information about this event, the partners who make it happen, and the events, visit JanArtsNYC.

OFF BROADWAY IN THE BOROS: POP-UPS ON NYC LIFE

MOME's innovative series of live performances on the streets of the city can now be seen on the lifestyle channel of the City of New York's broadcast network, NYC Media. The series of five performances, 20 minutes each in length, will air each Friday at 8pm, through April 23, 2021. The "Off Broadway in the Boros: Pop Ups" series was created to provide support for artists and organizations struggling during the pandemic and to call attention to the important contribution small theatres make to New York City's cultural fabric. MOME worked with small theatre groups on these pop-up performances, which took place in October 2020 in public plazas in each of the five boroughs. Offering these performances via NYC Media is part of the City's larger efforts to bring local theatre, along with a variety of arts and entertainment experiences, into the homes of New Yorkers.

THE 3RD ANNUAL NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC SCHOOL FILM FESTIVAL

Presented by MOME and the NYC Department of Education, this program is now open for submissions, through March 16. Films must be five minutes or less in length and made by students. A panel of educators and media professionals will select films to be included in the festival and will be screened virtually on May 6. Following the May 6 virtual screening, student filmmakers will be invited to virtual discussions with industry professionals.

For more information, visit The 3rd Annual New York City Public School Film Festival.

TOWN CALLS FOR ENTERTAINMENT, ARTS, NIGHTLIFE AND HOSPITALITY

The Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment's Office of Nightlife held two multi-agency Town Calls, one for business owners, and one for workers, in nightlife, hospitality, entertainment and the arts. Hundreds of New Yorkers received information about the latest federal stimulus packages, PPP, EIDL and the forthcoming Shuttered Venue Operators Grants, plus City and State loans, grants and other available resources. Recordings of these events will be posted – when they are available – on the Office of Nightlife page on MOME's website.

THE NEW YORK AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL

MOME is proud to support the 28th edition of this beloved annual event, which returns with a virtual program titled "Notes from Home: Recurring Dreams & Women's Voices," which celebrates the shared aspirations that drive humanity through time and the voices of the women who push the culture forward while preserving treasured traditions. Presented by Film at Lincoln Center and African Film Festival, Inc., this year's NYAFF will showcase ten features and 21 short films from Africa, Europe, North America, and South America. Offerings will be shown at Film on Lincoln's Center's Virtual Cinema from February 4 to 14 and in the Maysles Documentary Center Virtual Cinema from February 18 to March 4. To order tickets please visit here.