Film Otsego Announces New Film Festival for New York Women

ONEONTA—Film Otsego will premiere a new film festival aimed at female New York filmmakers when the Made by New York Women Film Festival debuts at Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center next year, March 7-9.

Any women who is in a key position—writer, director, producer, cinematographer, line producer, art director—can enter work in feature, short or student film categories. A filmmaker is eligible to submit if she is a native New Yorker or a New York resident, or if she shot her film in New York.

The film festival is the second event the film commission has organized specifically for female filmmakers. In October 2021, the film commission staged a four-day Women in Film familiarity tour (“fam tour”) for women filmmakers, connecting more than a dozen professional filmmakers with each other and Otsego County.

“Among the many wonderful results of our first women in film event were two ‘customers’ on the tour—Alysa Blasetti and Cheyenne Phillips—who became board members,” Otsego County Film Commissioner Greg Klein said. “Now they are taking leadership of our next women in film event, and it is exciting to see them create something special.”

Producer Alysa Blasetti is the programing director for the film festival. She is a co-owner of Otsego Media and has made a half dozen films in the region, including “Ouija Witch” (2022), and “Popeye the Slayer Man,” which was shot this year in Oneonta. Blasetti is the vice president of Film Otsego and is designated to take over as board president in May 2025, just two months after the film festival.

“Going through the first Women in Film tour was an amazing experience,” Blasetti said. “We had a lot of fun, and we toured the area and met a lot of people. I am really looking forward to the event in March.

“There are so many fabulous, intelligent, talented women in film, which I think sometimes we need to pay a little bit more attention to,” she said.

Actor-model-writer-producer Cheyenne Phillips will be the festival director, helping the filmmakers and customers navigate the three days of events and screenings, including a Friday meet and greet and keynote event, a full-day Saturday festival, including vendors, performances, open mics, and plenty of screenings, and a Sunday awards brunch and tour of potential Oneonta film locations.

Phillips also joined the film commission board soon after the 2021 tour. She met Blasetti on the tour and stared in “Ouija Witch” a year later. She and Klein started a business to develop a Christmas film for her, “A Cooperstown Christmas,” and are now working together on another film project and a theater project for her.

“The generosity and support in Otsego County for film has been overwhelming,” Phillips said, “allowing us to use and showcase (the region) as part of our presentation to established and emerging filmmakers.

“Film Otsego provides a wealth of creative and knowledgeable personnel eager to assist filmmakers with our expertise on everything from locations, to crews, producers, writers, directors and actors, to name a few,” she continued. “So, as festival director, it is my duty to ensure everyone’s needs are realized and satisfied that weekend and when the filmmakers return to make their films here.”

The logo for the film festival was designed by Film Otsego board member Andie Alban, who teaches graphic design at ONC Boces in Milford.

Submissions for the festival, and questions, can be submitted to Blasetti at alysa@filmotsego.org and fees can be paid via Venmo at Film Otsego.

Submissions are open through the end of 2024.

Fees are $50.00 for features and $25.00 for shorts. Submissions are free for student films. Members of the PANO Network for women filmmakers get 20 percent off submission fees.

For more information about Film Otsego, contact Klein at greg@filmotsego.org.