New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) produced a screening series entitled Immigrant Women: Sharing Our Voices Through Film. The series presented the works of women immigrant and first-generation American filmmakers, focusing on the immigrant experience within the five boroughs of New York City. This initiative presented one screening per month from February through June 2015.

The second screening on March 30th, focused on capturing the immigrant experience through fictional narrative.

Bella
9:17
Directed: Olga Goister 
Bella is a short film about a Gypsy girl who wants to experience American culture. However, she is in for a surprise when she comes home to her family and discovers that her parents have arranged for her to be married.

I Am Julia
2014, 15:00
Written by Marisol Carrere
A “fish out of water” story: I Am Julia, is a short film that focuses on the experiences of a young Latina girl, Julia, as she adjusts to the hostile environment of a new school while starting a new life in a foreign country.

Temblor
2014, 10:06
Directed by Marina Fernandez
Dreams that New York inspires are not always sweet, even less so for the young Spaniard who yearns for connections in the city of frozen streets and lost glances. Temblor is a quiet short film from the intimate perspective of an immigrant struggling to adapt in the barren New York winters. Her imagination and fears come to life through a hybrid of live action and animated sketches.

About the filmmakers: 

Olga Goister is a Ukrainian born New York based film producer, writer and a storyteller. She has been involved in numerous productions including the upcoming film, Anesthesia, directed by Tim Blake Nelson and starring Kristen Stewart, Glenn Close and Sam Waterson. She has produced numerous commercials for companies like Lufthansa, Dish Network, Blue Cross Blue Shield, as well as documentaries, music videos and short films. Her previous positions encompass all aspects of film business; from creative development for feature film scripts and television pilots to post-production, marketing and distribution. She is currently pursuing her MFA degree in Film at Columbia University.

Marisol Carrere is an award winning actress, writer, and producer as well as the Founder, Directing Producer, and CEO of Carrere Films International and LLC. Her piece, I am Julia,acts as a cinematic memoir for this Colombian-born writer and documents the bullying that she went through as an immigrant student. Carrere has taken strides to end bullying through community work in schools, hosting workshops, and founding the “I am Peace” Project, in which students express notions of peace through screenwriting, media, and the arts. Her hard work in these programs has earned her recognition of “New Yorker of the Week” by NY1 News. This year, Marisol Carrere will be awarded the “Progressive Woman” Award by the Latin American Intercultural Alliance (LAIA) on its 11th annualWomen’s History Month Celebration.

Marina Fernandez Ferri is a passionate freelance producer who loves to work on innovative and challenging visual projects, contributing creatively to the process. Possessing a multicultural background, she has been working for over ten years as a producer in both the US and in Spain and has produced award-winning content in all genres and mediums including documentary, narrative, branded content, commercials, and television.

A Q&A reception with the filmmakers followed the screening.

Produced by Elizabeth Estrada

A special thanks to City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley who selected New York Women in Film & Television to receive funding for the Cultural Immigrant Initiative.