NYC’s 15th Annual SWAN Day

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

2:00 PM Greetings from NYC Co-Sponsors

• NYWIFT plus FF2 Media, SAG-AFTRA & WAMC

2:10 PM Q&A: Intro to SWAN Day (Past/Present/Future)

• Moderator: Katusha Jin (Art Avenue Productions)
• Participants:
• Avis Boone (WAM Coalition)
• Jan Lisa Huttner (FF2 Media)

2:30 PM Three Featured Shorts by Women Filmmakers

• MIDAS’ SON Directed by Annetta Marion/Screenplay by Tina Lee & Ela Thier
• 6:18 TO OMAHA Directed by Dana Offenbach/Screenplay by Leah Curney
• A MAN OF HIS TIME Directed by Estelle Parsons/Screenplay by Kate Taney Billingsley

4:00 PM Meet the Filmmakers!

• Moderator: Terry Lawler of TLC Consulting (NYWIFT Executive Director 1997–2018)

• Participants :
• Annetta Marion & Estelle Parsons
• Dana Offenbach (via Zoom)

4:30 PM Reception Libations & Good Cheer celebrating 15 years of continuous annual SWAN Day programming. BONUS: The added joy of coming together f2f at our first in person program since the COVID lockdown!

Inspired by the classic myth of King Midas, MIDAS’ SON tells the story of Billy, a young man adrift in his life. As he prepares for his wedding, Billy returns to his childhood home to find out why his parents have not yet responded to the invitation to his wedding. The homecoming brings up old and unhealed resentments. During the trip home, Billy takes baby steps towards repairing broken relationships and, eventually, redemption. (RT: 17 min)

It’s 1959, at a whistle-stop diner somewhere near Omaha. Ed Merriweather, a traveling salesman with a big heart and an empty wallet, just wants a cup of joe. But after a surprising encounter with two women – a mercurial housewife and a studious teenage waitress – Ed leaves with a new perspective. (RT: 15 min)

Two descendants of the infamous 1857 Dred Scott Decision meet in a cafe off the New Jersey turnpike. Jim Taney, a descendant of Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney who penned the opinion, offers an apology from his family to the family of Walter Scott, a descendant of the formerly enslaved Dred Scott. Through a vulnerable conversation about racism in America, Jim awakens to his own ignorance and discovers why an apology alone just won’t cut it. (RT: 32 min)