WMM Executive Director Debra Zimmerman heads to New Zealand next week to participate in several exciting film events. She attends DOCNZ International Documentary Film Festival as a juror and panel member of the fest's Pitching Masterclass and Forum. Zimmerman also participates as a guest presenter at the Expanding Documentary Conference where she will screen a selection from the WMM collection.

In related news, we are excited to announce that WMM film NALINI BY DAY, NANCY BY NIGHT is a finalist at DOCNZ in the International Short Documentary category.


NATIONAL TV BROADCAST OF WMM FILMS

We are pleased to announce the TV broadcast of WMM release KEEP NOT SILENT. Winner of the Israeli Oscar for Best Documentary, KEEP NOT SILENT is a bold and chilling film about Orthodox Jewish lesbians in Israel fighting between faith and sexual identity. The documentary has stunned audiences worldwide and garnered many awards at international festivals. KEEP NOT SILENT airs on the Sundance Channel Sept. 9, 11, and 24th. More info.

Also screening this month are two films from WMM's Production Assistance Program. Al Otro Lado, a documentary that looks at immigration and drug trafficking through Mexico's 200-year-old tradition of corrido music, had its national broadcast premiere on PBS'S P.O.V series in August. Check local listing for rebroadcast info. In addition, Cowboys, Indians, & Lawyers by Julie Dengel airs on Rocky Mountain PBS in September.


WMM FILMMAKERS AT IFP MARKET IN NYC (SEPTEMBER 17-21)

A number of filmmakers from the Production Assistance Program will be participating in this year's IFP Market in New York with their works-in-progress, including:
Sarah Bauer and Jen Dietrich, Not Made in Heaven
Julia Dengel, Exception to the Rulers (co-directed by Jonathan Oppenheim)
Shannon O'Rourke, 7 Minutes
Cynthia Wade, Freeheld: The Legacy of Laurel Hester
Abigail Child, On the Downlow
Carole Rifkind and producer Peggy Stern, The Lab
Joyce Draganosky will also be attending with Happenstance, a new feature screenplay.
 

Discounted Admission to IFP Filmmaker Conference!
WMM filmmakers and friends receive a 25% discount for tickets to the IFP Filmmaker Conference, an event coinciding with the IFP Market. The Conference features 45 panel discussions and workshops and will be attended by more than 2000 filmmakers and notable industry reps from the U.S. and abroad.
Tickets and info


CLASSIC ULRIKE OTTINGER FILM AT NEW YORK'S MoMA

New York filmgoers had a chance to catch WMM's JOHANNA D'ARC OF MONGOLIA, featured in MoMA's "Another Wave: Global Queer Cinema" series, which brings together a broad palette of international queer cinema produced since the late 1980s. This classic film was screened early in September, and both screenings were introduced by filmmaker Ulrike Ottinger. More info


NEWS FROM WMM PRODUCTION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

We are thrilled to announce that the following filmmakers from our Production Assistance Program have been awarded grants from the New York State Council on the Arts:

Lisa Collins, Festival of the Unconquered. A chronicle honoring provocative black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux.
Shola Lynch, Free Angela & All Political Prisoners. A documentary thriller retracing the never-before-told story behind educator and political activist icon Angela Davis.
Amy Goldstein, Hoop. A chronicle of the emerging hula-hooping phenomenon and its inspiring message to follow one's bliss.
Natalia Almada, El General. A documentary about the filmmaker's great-grandfather Plutarco Elias Calles, president of Mexico from 1924 to 1928.
Julie Bridgham, Sari Soldiers. A feature-length documentary that follows six Nepalese women on the forefront of the civil war in Nepal.
Augusta Palmer, The Hand of Fatima. A film about the transformative power of music.