Overview
New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT) is a nonprofit professional organization founded in 1977 that advocates for women working in the entertainment industry. NYWIFT has approximately 1,500 members across producing, directing, writing, editing, cinematography, executive leadership, and other disciplines. The organization's Scholarship Fund was established in 1995 to support the next generation of women filmmakers, editors, cinematographers, animators, and other content producers.
NYWIFT administers scholarships through two distinct channels: institutional scholarships at 7 New York area schools, and a national preservation scholarship open to students across the United States. In 2024, NYWIFT presented 8 scholarships across its partner institutions.
In 2025, NYWIFT added the Nancy Mysel Preservation Scholarship, a $5,000 annual award for an undergraduate or graduate student dedicated to audiovisual preservation. The scholarship is named after Nancy Mysel, who worked for 13 years at the UCLA Film and Television Archive as one of its leading film preservationists, collaborating with Martin Scorsese's Film Foundation, the National Film Preservation Foundation, and the Film Noir Foundation. The Mysel family funds the scholarship through a donation to NYWIFT.
NYWIFT also administers 4 completion funding grants for women filmmakers beyond the scholarship program: the Loreen Arbus Disability Awareness Grant, In-Kind Post Production Grants, the Nancy Malone Marketing and Promotion Grant, and the Ravenal Foundation Feature Film Grant.
History
NYWIFT was founded in 1977 by a handful of women who saw a pressing need in New York for a networking and education forum for women in the entertainment industry. The Scholarship Fund was established in 1995 to support the next generation of women in media.
Key milestones include the 1995 establishment of the Scholarship Fund, the 1995 founding of the Women's Film Preservation Fund (WFPF) in conjunction with the Museum of Modern Art, which has preserved over 150 women-led films in 30 years, and the 2025 launch of the Nancy Mysel Preservation Scholarship. CEO Cynthia Lopez, an 11-time News and Documentary Emmy Award winner and former Commissioner of the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, currently leads the organization.
Award Value
Institutional Scholarships:
- Cash scholarships awarded at 7 New York area institutions: Brooklyn College, City College of New York, Columbia University, Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, Hunter College, NYU, and Stony Brook/Killer Films MFA in Film program
- Amounts vary by institution and year, typically ranging from $2,000 to $10,000
- All recipients join NYWIFT's Next Wave membership program for emerging professionals, providing access to events, screenings, panels, workshops, and networking programs
- Recipients are also honored at the Academy for Careers in Television and Film (TvF) through the NYWIFT Sabrina Wright-Gilliar Award ($2,500 annually)
Nancy Mysel Preservation Scholarship (new in 2025):
- $5,000 annual cash award
- Open to undergraduate and graduate students dedicated to audiovisual preservation
- National in scope, not restricted to New York area schools
- Applications for the second cycle are open through April 10, 2026 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time
No stipend or cost-of-living component exists for either scholarship type.
Eligibility
Institutional Scholarships
Eligibility for the institutional scholarships is determined jointly by NYWIFT and the partner school. General requirements include:
- Applicants must be women enrolled in or accepted to an accredited film, television, or digital media program at one of the 7 partner institutions
- Open to undergraduate and graduate (typically second-year) students
- Applicants must demonstrate financial need, academic achievement, and a commitment to a career in the entertainment industry
- Students apply through their school's financial aid or film department, not directly through NYWIFT
Selection is faculty-nominated, not open-application. Each school manages its own selection process in coordination with NYWIFT.
Nancy Mysel Preservation Scholarship
The preservation scholarship has published, specific eligibility requirements:
- Applicants must be undergraduate or graduate students dedicated to audiovisual preservation
- Must be a US citizen or permanent resident
- Must be currently living in the United States
- NYWIFT works with specific schools and organizations to identify candidates, including NYU, the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation, UCLA, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Amsterdam, Central Michigan University, and the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA)
- The scholarship is not exclusively limited to students at these institutions
Selection for the preservation scholarship is open-application. Students submit directly to NYWIFT.
Past Recipients
2024 Institutional Scholarship Recipients
NYWIFT presented 8 scholarships in 2024 to students at Brooklyn College, City College, Columbia University, Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, NYU, and Stony Brook University, plus 1 Sabrina Wright-Gilliar Award recipient at the Academy for Careers in Television and Film (TvF):
- Rubing Zhang (NYU Tisch): Sundance Ignite x Adobe fellow with a short narrative premiere at Outfest
- Claire Jamison (Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema): MFA candidate in directing
- Natania Dorma (Academy for Careers in Television and Film): Sabrina Wright-Gilliar Award recipient, first-year FIT student studying Film and Media
- Additional recipients at Brooklyn College, City College, Columbia University, Hunter College, and Stony Brook University
2023 Institutional Scholarship Recipients
- Mahalia Jackson (Brooklyn College): Film Production undergraduate
- Sisa Quispe (City College): MFA candidate in Film/Cinema/Video Studies. Her film Last Wish explores the complexity of the Incas with collaboration from Quechua communities.
- Sarah Rhye (Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema): MFA Directing candidate
- Yehui Zhao (Hunter College): MFA candidate in Integrated Media Arts
- Claire Barnett (NYU): MFA Directing candidate
- Liza Renzulli (Stony Brook University): MFA candidate in Directing and Screenwriting
Nancy Mysel Preservation Scholarship
The first cycle of the preservation scholarship was announced in September 2024 at the NYWIFT FinanceHER Institute. The second cycle is open through April 10, 2026. First-cycle recipient information has not been publicly profiled as of August 2026.
What Made Their Application Stand Out
For the institutional scholarships, selection is managed by each partner school in coordination with NYWIFT. The schools evaluate applicants on financial need, academic achievement, and commitment to a career in the entertainment industry. Because the schools nominate recipients, the path to a NYWIFT institutional scholarship runs through the institution, not through a direct NYWIFT application.
The 2024 recipients demonstrate the profile NYWIFT rewards: students who are already building festival and industry credentials alongside their academic work. Rubing Zhang was a Sundance Ignite x Adobe fellow with a short narrative premiere at Outfest. Sisa Quispe (2023) brought a decolonizing perspective to her filmmaking, collaborating with Quechua communities in her film Last Wish.
For the Nancy Mysel Preservation Scholarship, applicants must submit a cover letter to CEO Cynthia Lopez, a current resume, and an essay articulating their dedication to preservation, previous experience, and how they plan to contribute to the preservation industry. The essay is the primary differentiator, as it must demonstrate both technical knowledge of preservation practices and a clear career trajectory in the field.
As CEO Cynthia Lopez stated, "NYWIFT's mission is to build a more inclusive, welcoming, and sustainable working environment, and we accomplish that in no small part by cultivating new opportunities for networking and raising up the next generation of women industry leaders."
Renewal Requirements
NYWIFT scholarships are one-time, non-renewable awards. There is no renewal process, no GPA requirement to maintain, and no multi-year commitment. The scholarship is disbursed as a single payment.
Recipients can be nominated again in a subsequent year if they still meet the eligibility requirements (enrollment at a partner institution, female-identifying, pursuing an eligible field of study). Each year requires a new nomination from the school's financial aid or film department.
The Nancy Mysel Preservation Scholarship is a one-time award. Recipients cannot reapply for the same scholarship in a subsequent year. However, recipients retain access to the NYWIFT Next Wave membership program, which provides ongoing access to events, screenings, and networking.
Application Process
Institutional Scholarships
Students at the 7 partner institutions should contact their school's film department or financial aid office for application instructions. Each school manages its own selection process in coordination with NYWIFT. There is no centralized NYWIFT application form for the institutional scholarships.
Nancy Mysel Preservation Scholarship
Applications are submitted directly to NYWIFT at scholarships@nywift.org. All application materials must be submitted in PDF format and include:
- A cover letter addressed to NYWIFT's CEO, Cynthia Lopez
- A current resume
- An essay articulating the need for the grant, what the grant will be used for, the applicant's previous experience, interest in and dedication to preservation, and a description of how they plan to contribute to the preservation industry in the future
The deadline for the second cycle is Friday, April 10, 2026 by 11:59 PM Eastern Time. There is no application fee.
What Filmmakers Should Know
The NYWIFT institutional scholarships are only accessible to women enrolled at 7 specific New York area schools. If you are not at one of these institutions, you cannot apply. The schools manage selection, so the path to a scholarship runs through your institution's film department, not through NYWIFT directly.
The Nancy Mysel Preservation Scholarship is the most accessible NYWIFT award for students outside New York. The $5,000 award and national eligibility make it the only NYWIFT scholarship open to students at any US institution. The application requires a cover letter, resume, and essay, with a deadline of April 10, 2026.
The key trade-off is that NYWIFT scholarships are tuition supplements, not production grants. Women filmmakers seeking completion funding should look at NYWIFT's 4 grant programs instead: the Loreen Arbus Disability Awareness Grant, In-Kind Post Production Grants, Nancy Malone Marketing and Promotion Grant, and Ravenal Foundation Feature Film Grant. These target working filmmakers with projects in progress rather than students.
Watch
See Also
For understanding women's careers in film and building a professional network, see Film Grants and Funding. To plan your production budget and determine how scholarship or grant funding fits into your financing plan, use the Indie Film Budget Calculator. For evaluating the cost of applying against projected returns, use the Ad Spend Break-Even Calculator.
