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PARK CITY, UTAH – JANUARY 25: (L-R) Andria Wilson Mirza, Alexandria Stapleton, Sharon Liese, Olive Nwosu, Cathy Yan, Amber Fares and Maryam Ataei speak onstage during Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: Women Filmmakers Fighting for change Panel hosted by acura at Acura House of Energy on January 25, 2026 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Acura)
Getty Images for Acura
On Sunday, January 26, 2025, WIF, founded in Hollywood in 1973, the institution that advocates for and advances the careers of women working in the screen industries—in front of and behind the camera, at all levels of experience—to achieve parity and transform culture, for the third consecutive year, hosted women filmmakers and industry professionals in partnership with Acura at the Acura House of Energy at Park City, Utah, for a brunch and connection session, including robust panel programming in honor of Sundance. The brunch also shone a spotlight on the fellows of the ReFrame Rise program, a fellowship co-founded by WIF and Sundance Institute that supports 10 mid-career directors and cinematographers, all of whom were present at the event.
Programs included two dynamic panels: Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: Women Filmmakers Fighting for Change with Cathy Yan (The Gallerist), Maryam Ataei (The Friend’s House is Here), Alexandria Stapleton (The Brittney Griner Story), Sharon Liese (Seized), Olive Nwosu (Lady), and Amber Fares (2025’s Co-Existence, My Ass), moderated by WIF’s Director of International Programs Andria Wilson Mirza.The Emphasis on Empathy: The Power of Compassion, panel moderated by Tanya Selvaratnam and featuring Natalie Erika James (Saccharine), Nina Yang Bongiovi and Stephanie Ahn (Bedford Park), Liz Sargent (Take me Home), and Julie Christeas (Run Amok, producer), followed.
PARK CITY, UTAH – JANUARY 25: (L-R) Sharon Liese, Olive Nwosu and Cathy Yan speak onstage during can
