THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

JULY/AUGUST 2019 UPDATES

     

'MADE IN NY' TV SHOWS RECEIVE 130+ PRIMETIME EMMY NOMINATIONS!

Congratulations to our "Made in NY" television productions, which picked up more than 130 nominations at this year's Primetime Emmys, led by favorites Saturday Night Live, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and the acclaimed new series When They See Us, Fosse/Verdon and Russian Doll.

The Following "Made in NY" series earned the most nominations:

• 20 Nominations - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (episodic series)
• 18 Nominations - Saturday Night Live (variety series)
• 17 Nominations - Fosse/Verdon (limited series)
• 16 Nominations - When They See Us (limited series)
• 13 Nominations - Russian Doll (episodic series)

THE NYC WOMEN'S FUND FOR MEDIA, MUSIC & THEATRE IS TAKING APPLICATIONS

The Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) and New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) have announced that applications are open for NYC Women's Fund for Media, Music and Theatre. The $5 million grant program launched last year, awarding a total of $1.5 million to 63 film, digital, and theatre projects in the first round in February 2019. In the new round of funding, $500,000 has also been allocated for music projects, at up to $20,000 per grant.

Originally launched as the "Made in NY" Women's Film, TV and Theatre Fund, this signature MOME initiative addresses the underrepresentation of all who identify as women in the entertainment industries. With the addition of music to the list of eligible categories, MOME is increasing its efforts to target gender inequity in stubbornly male-dominated industries.

Eligible projects for music grants include new EPs, albums, and videos for yet-to-be released works from all genres. Projects must have a significant female writing credit, producer credit, engineering credit, and/or musical lead. NYC-based producers, composers, engineers, solo musicians, ensemble bands, and orchestras that are not currently signed to a major label can apply. Applicants must also show evidence of a growing fan base and have played multiple live shows. All recipients must be NYC residents.

Applications, eligibility requirements and details about upcoming information sessions are available at nyfa.org/NYCWomensFund. You can use hashtag #NYCWomensFund to participate in the conversation. Applications close on October 1, 2019, and recipients will be announced in March 2020.

SMALL BUSINESSES IN MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT CAN APPLY FOR AMP NYC

Small businesses in the media and entertainment space can now apply for AMP NYC to help expand their businesses.

AMP NYC is a three-month accelerator program for media and entertainment companies looking to increase business, elevate their brands, expand audience reach, and respond to rapidly changing shifts in the market. The program teaches competitive positioning, change management, marketing, and sales through a tailored curriculum which includes one-on-one mentorship from leaders in the industry.

AMP NYC is the first municipal initiative of its kind, modeled after an accelerator that has traditionally targeted start-ups, updated to serve NYC-based established businesses. The program is a rigorous, three-month program running September to December that requires a minimum three-hour time commitment on a weekly basis.

For more information about the program, please click here.

DREAMING OUT LOUD PROGRAM CULMINATES WITH PUBLICATION OF ANTHOLOGY OF ESSAYS, MEMOIRS, STORIES & POEMS BY IMMIGRANT DREAMERS

PEN America has published an anthology of writing by young, aspiring writers and students who struggle with the day-to-day difficulties because of their immigration status, Dreaming Out Loud: Voices of Undocumented Students.

The DREAMing Out Loud Writing Workshop series, a partnership with PEN America, MOME, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, is a tuition-free writing workshop for undocumented immigrants led by award-winning authors. The workshop is designed to help build a diverse talent pipeline for the publishing industry and empower DREAMers to use their voices to counter misinformation about immigrants. It received a Mayor's Grant for Cultural Impact this year from the Department of Cultural Affairs.

The anthology is a collection of the writing of participants from the most recent workshops and includes an introduction by DREAMing Out Loud director and co-founder, award-winning novelist and essayist Alvaro Enrigue, who, along with writers Charlie Vazquez and Lisa Ko, taught and mentored the students. The 58 personal essays, short stories, and poems provide insight into the challenges, hopes, and dreams of young people trying to make sense of the puzzle of their lives, identities, and future.

For more details about the DREAMing Out Loud Program and Anthology, please visit https://pen.org/dreaming-out-loud/ or MOME's website.

CONGRATS TO CYCLE 6 POST PRODUCTION GRADS!

Congratulations to the 15 new graduates of the "Made in NY" Post-Production Training Program 6th cohort, who celebrated the culmination of their five-week program on July 11th. Small Business Services Commissioner Gregg Bishop and MOME Acting First Deputy Commissioner Janet Allon spoke at the graduation.

This brings the total number of Post-Production training grads to 90 since the program launched in 2018. More than half of the graduates have gone on to jobs at companies including Technicolor, VICE Media, HBO, Sixteen19, The Mill; and to work on feature films including Disney's Mary Poppins Returns and Netflix's upcoming Ang Lee film, Gemini Man.

You can learn more about applying for the free program and upcoming information sessions by visiting here.

"BROADWAY IN THE BOROS" CULMINATES IN STATEN ISLAND WITH PERFORMANCES FROM "BEETLEJUICE" AND "CHICAGO"

Broadway in the Boros, Summer 2019 culminated at the newly minted plaza inside Empire Outlets at St. George Ferry Station on the Staten Island Waterfront on July 26th. The plaza was packed with Broadway fans on a sunny, summery Friday for performances from the new musical Beetlejuice and long-running Chicago.

The signature series of free outdoor lunchtime musical performances features current cast members and musicians from Broadway's hit musicals. Two weeks earlier, Co-op City in the Bronx hosted packed performances from Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and Wicked. Julie James, host of the popular SiriusXM Radio show "On Broadway," emceed, presiding over fun ticket giveaways, trivia games, and more.

MOME thanks all of its partners for another successful Broadway in the Boros season, media partner WNYC, Just Water for providing refreshments, GalaPro for providing captioning for those with low hearing and loss of hearing, our ASL interpreters Brandon and Christopher, the Broadway community for its help in bringing its magic to NYC's neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs, local elected officials for their support and enthusiasm, and all the fans who came out for the shows.

TUNE IN - WNYC RADIO's "ARIA CODE" DISCUSSES AMERICAN OPERA "SUSANNAH"

Folk musician Rhiannon Giddens and soprano Renee Fleming talk feminism and opera on the latest episode of "Aria Code," discussing the themes of innocence, blame and lust at the heart of Carlisle Floyd's great American opera "Susannah." Aria Code is produced by WQXR and The Metropolitan Opera. You can listen to the episode here.

NYC OFFERS AN EXCITING LINE-UP OF INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVALS THIS SUMMER

Several international film festivals have returned or are returning to NYC this summer, including the 8th annual Dominican Film Festival July 23-28, and the 16th annual NY Latino film Festival August 12-18th and the 42nd Annual Asian American Film Festival.

The Dominican Film Festival (DFFNYC) was a six-day festival of screenings, discussions and workshops, including more than 70 films screening at five venues throughout NYC by established, award-winning filmmakers as well as new content creators. More information can be found at the festival website.

The New York Latino Film Festival (NYLFF) begins on Monday, August 12, with more than 83 films representing 10 countries, spanning all genres including features, shorts, documentaries, web series and experimental films featuring, about and for the U.S. Latino community. The festival will open with the New York premiere of the film Princess of the Row, starring Martin Sheen, Edi Gathegi, Ana Ortiz, Tayler Buck, and Jacob Vargas. More information is available at NYLatinoFilmFestival.com.

The 42nd Annual Asian American International Film Festival, presented by Asian CineVision in association with Asia Society, opened July 25 and runs through August 3. The first and longest running Asian American film festival in the United States, The AAIFF has screened films from over 20 countries, served as the U.S. premiere for directors such as Wayne Wang and Ang Lee, and continued to support the New York Asian American film community. For more information, please visit the website.

INTRODUCING THE NEW YORK MUSICAL FESTIVAL'S "INTERSECTING CHORDS" CONCERT SERIES

The New York Musical Festival (NYMF) introduced the concert series "Intersecting Chords" on Monday, July 29, 2019 at 1pm and Friday, August 2, 2019 at 5pm, that celebrates female, queer, and trans artists who are changing the landscape of musical theater.

The series features music by Angela Sclafani, Helen Park, Shaina Taub, Preston Max Allen, Kat Sherrell, Ty Defoe, Zoe Sarnak, Rona Siddiqui, Emily Xu Gardner Hall, The Kilbanes, Laura Galindo, Seonjae Kim, Mori Einsidler, Sarah Flaim, Sav Souza, Nicolette Blount, Miriam Laube, Carmel Dean, and Rivky. For more information, go to the NYMF website here.

NYC THEATRICAL WARDROBE UNION CELEBRATES 100TH ANNIVERSARY

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)'s local 764 NYC Theatrical Wardrobe Union (TWU) celebrated their 100th Anniversary at a formal reception on Sunday, June 23rd at The Metropolitan Club.

A Mayoral Proclamation was presented to President of Local 764 TWU and Department Director of Education and Training Pat White and IATSE President Matthew Loeb by Carla Hoke-Miller, Director of Theatre Programs at MOME.

WOMEN IN THE WORLD AND IFC CENTER ENJOY A SUCCESSFUL INAUGURAL 51FEST

Media and Entertainment Commissioner Anne del Castillo gave opening remarks at the inaugural 51 Fest, which took place at NYC's IFC Center July 18-21.

A multi-platform event celebrating the power of the female voice, 51 Fest showcased and celebrated women through film screenings and conversations that were all "by" or "about" women. Women make up a majority of the United States - nearly 51% - but all too often women's stories and creative voices have been marginalized.

We congratulate those who made the festival a success including festival found Tina Brown; Program Director and film industry veteran Anne Hubbell; Executive Director of IFC Center's DOC NYC and Split Screen Festivals Raphaela Neihasuen; and Women of the World Senior Producer Nicole Savini.

For more information about the festival, please go here.