WIFTI Worldwide Webinar in collaboration with WIFT Bhutan

Women filmmakers make up only a tiny percentage of the whole industry in Bhutan; they are also less visible and marginalized within a male-dominated field.

Being Bhutan’s first female director, Karma Deki faced many challenges and fortunately, this propelled her to initiate Bhutanese Women in Film and Television to support women in the industry and to amplify their voices and work.

Her dream is to support every woman working in the film industry by highlighting women’s achievements, providing professional development support, and advocating for equity and women’s empowerment in this male-dominated industry.

Meet the inspiring women that are making films and advocating for women’s filmmaking craft in Bhutan!

February 21, 10am Central European Time / 3pm Bhutanese Time

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Namgay Zam is an independent journalist, and also the Executive Director of the Journalists’ Association of Bhutan. She has more than a decade’s experience in all forms of media. Zam is a trainer and consultant for media and gender issues. She is a mental health advocate and an LGBTIQ ally as well. Zam is a Young Asia Leader and a Fulbright Humphrey Fellow.

Nyema Zam is the Founder and CEO of Samuh, the first of its kind OTT platform in Bhutan. She is a communication and media specialist with over two decades of experience in Media.  She has worked with the National Broadcaster of Bhutan, BBS as a News Anchor, News Editor and as the Head of Marketing and Public Relation Division. She has also worked as a media and communication consultant for UNDP Bhutan, Tourism Council of Bhutan and Ministry of Economic Affairs. Nyema has a masters degree in strategic communications from the University of Western Australia and is passionate about collaborating with a wide range of agencies and communities in developing an inclusive creative eco-system in Bhutan. She is a mother to two teenage boys and loves reading, travelling and listening to music during her free time.

Sonam Yangzom is one of the few women filmmaker in Bhutan. She is a videographer, video editor, director and documentary filmmaker. She has devoted most of her career in film making. Her documentary, The Curse has won the Best Documentary in  American Academy of Neurology 2016 and best documentary in Beskop Tshechu. Her documentary Lyonpo Ugyen Tshering’s milestones and Parkinson won the best documentary award in Bhutan Film Festival, 2017.

Excellence in Craft with WIFT Australia on International Women’s Day 2022

Excellence in Craft is back in 2022 with a Mexican bang! (Watch out, new date!)

In this masterclass we’ll meet with Argentinian/Australian Leticia Cáceres who is a writer and director for both stage and screen. Most recently she directed six episodes of the drama series Bump for the Australian streamer Stan. She will be in conversation with Mexican/American writer/director Katina Medina Mora (Emily in Paris, Firefly Lane, Selena) who will share with us some of her journey from the independent Mexican film industry, to shooting with Lily Collins in Paris for Netflix. What she has learnt, what not to do and what the future holds for her. Some of the burning and delicate questions that they’ll touch on are: who gets to direct big budget shows for the large streamers? How to navigate when you’re pigeonholed as a creator? Does your heritage and nationality always make you the best filmmaker of your culture’s stories, or can other creators take that role on without being ridiculed and scrutinised?

All of this and much more awaits on this International Women’s Day special of Excellence in Craft in collaboration with WIFTI and WIFT Australia (Queensland chapter).

Thursday, March 3 at 3pm Mexico – 9pm London 

Friday, March 4 at 7am Brisbane – 8am Sydney

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Leticia is a filmmaker and a multi award-winning stage director. Leticia has directed two blocks of Stan’s hit original series Bump (series 1 and 2) produced by Roadshow Rough Diamond.  Bump broke viewing records for Stan in its first season and went on to screen globally through broadcasters The CW (USA), BBC iPlayer (UK)  HBOMax (Latin America) and Canada’s CBC Gem. 

In 2022 Leticia is set to direct the stage adaption of Anne Deveson’s memoir Tell Me I’m Here for Belvoir St Theatre.

Born in Pittsburgh in 1980, Katina was raised and lives in México City.

Katina studied at The London Film School with a Master in Direction. Her first film, LuTo, shot in 15 days on a micro-budget (10,000 dollars in production) was selected for Los Cabos Film Festival and won a prize for Digital Distribution, was presented at other festivals. Now it’s on Netflix worldwide.

For TV, she directed two episodes on the TV series “The Search” for Netflix. She also directed 5 episodes on the TV series “Selena”, a number 1 show on Netflix, and last year she directed two episodes for “Emily in Paris”, also a number 1 show for Netflix and nominated for the Golden Globes in 2020 and the Emmys in 2021. Recently she directed 2 episodes for Firefly Lane also for Netflix.

Her third feature film “La Espera” is going to be shot this March 2022, this is produced by the well-known producer Inna Payan and has attached for the main character the Oscar nominated Marina de Tavira. She is developing her fourth feature “Will” set in Texas with Ricardo Chavira attached as the lead.

Annual WIFTI Event @Berlinale 2022

Humor is an essential part of the most successful content of the film and TV industry. To laugh is a lot of fun. It unites people, it gives audiences a great time. However – to create great humor isn’t always a walk in the park. To be funny can be a serious and challenging business. Time to look into the roles of women who create the things that brighten our days with laughter and fun.

Meet comedy experts for a personal conversation!

At our annual Berlinale event, WIFT Germany and many international WIFT Chapters are hosting sessions with small groups featuring their local talent and experts on anything comedy in our industry.

Starting with quick keynotes by our inter-/national experts from different fields in our industry: writing, directing, composing, acting, casting, producing etc., you will have the opportunity to discuss your most pressing questions with them directly.

You are cordially invited to join us to expand your personal network and to have a good time!

February 12th 2022, 5.00pm-6.30pm

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WIFTI Summit 2022 to take place in Nigeria

Celebrating the Women in Film & Television International 25 years anniversary, the 2022 WIFTI Summit will take place in Nigeria this August.

Nigeria has a population of 200 million people, 371 tribes, 36 states and with Nollywood represents one of the biggest film industries in the world. In partnership with His Imperial Majesty the Ooni of Ife, the WIFTI Summit will be taking place in Nigeria as we explore the cradle of storytelling.

With this years’s gathering of our global WIFT community, we aim to bring different people from different backgrounds together for a genuine appreciation for each other as human beings in all their differences and connecting through storytelling.

While we are exploring possibilities to connect our members for this event, taking into consideration the challenges of the ongoing pandemic, we will explore physical, virtual or hybrid options as our goal is to strengthen every single one within our thriving network.

We plan to provide you with further details by the end of March 2022, and we look forward to the WIFTI Summit 2022!

WIFTI Worldwide Webinar with Bunny Yan in conversation with Imogen Ross

WIFTI Sustainability Conversation #2: Sustainable Wardrobe & Set – Tips & Tricks that will save you money & the environment

December 2, 9am CET / 6pm AEST / 7pm AEDT

Join us for this conversation with sustainability expert turn fashion storyteller Bunny Yan, presented in collaboration with WIFT Australia. Bunny will be in conversation with moderator Imogen Ross.

Bunny Yan created an award-winning digital series that focuses on the fascinating side of impact-positive fashion. Combining 20+ years of knowledge with her magnetic personality she delivers a world of cool transformations, daring technologies, surprising materials and boundless potential. Her superpower: Storytelling based on human emotion & behaviour aka making boring stuff fun.

Imogen Ross is a production/set/costume designer and visual artist/maker of many things based in the Illawarra on Australia’s east coast. Collaboration, imagination, and integration of complex ideas with diverse cultural narratives is her speciality. She is a proud member of the APDG (Australian Production Design Guild) and is the current Environmental Sustainability writer for the APDG quarterly newsletter, researching and promoting sustainable choices as design options for both live performance and screen designers across Australia. See: https://apdg.org.au/2021/09/apdgreen-conversations-ecoscenography-linking-sustainable-practises-across-international-borders

Register for the webinar here!