Nancy Schwartzman

Nancy Schwartzman
Nancy Schwartzman in 2015
Born	Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, US
Residence	New York City, US
Alma mater	Columbia University
Occupation	Filmmaker
Known for	films on technology, teenagers, and sexuality

Nancy Schwartzman is an American director, producer, and mobile app developer, and the CEO of Tech 4 Good. She works in the intersection of sexuality, youth culture, and new media.

Schwartzman directed the 2009 documentary The Line, which premiered at the International Women's Film Festival^[1] in Tel Aviv and plays festivals and colleges. She is the director of The Line Campaign, an interactive campaign known for breaking taboos with college youth. The Line Campaign is supported by the Fledgling Fund,^[2] The Playboy Foundation,^[3] and NotAlone.gov,^[4] the White House's website about sexual assault.

As a mobile app developer, she is the creator of the Circle of 6 app,^[5] winner of the White House Apps Against Abuse Challenge.^[6] Circle of 6 is cited in the White House report on ending violence on campus, and recipient of awards from the Avon Foundation and the Institute of Medicine.^[7] The app has 350,000 users in 36 countries, is free for all users, and is customized for 9 college campuses.

She is an impact producer, working on the documentary social impact campaigns for The Invisible War and Girl Model.

Personal life

Schwartzman was raised in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. She attended Harriton High School and the Shipley School during her childhood.

In 1997, Schwartzman graduated from Columbia University in New York City with a BA in Art History and a minor in Film. As an undergraduate, she studied at Reid Hall in Paris, becoming fluent in French and made the Dean's List from 1995-1997.

She currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York City.

Work

Before becoming a documentary filmmaker, Schwartzman worked as a production assistant for Killer Films and received credit for Todd Solondz's Happiness and Todd Haynes' Velvet Goldmine.

In response to a spike in street violence in NYC, Schwartzman began her activism as the founder of NYC - Safestreets.org^[8] in December 2005. The initiative was noted in the New York Times, New York Daily News, Village Voice, and others. Safestreets.org is Brooklyn-based neighborhood watch organization that provides maps to illustrate routes where sexual assaults have been reported. NYC-Safe Streets.org also partners with community businesses which agree to serve as "safe havens" for women who may feel fearful while walking alone.

Schwartzman was also a founding editor and Creative Director of heeb magazine^[9][10] from 2001, known for its satire and sardonic approach to reaching Jewish readers of all streams, but geared predominantly towards the urban, younger generation. She transformed public and private spaces to create sets for photography feature stories: “Love, Challah and Betrayal,” “Jewess,” and “The Passion” and set the aesthetic tone for the first six months of the magazine.

The Line (2009)

In the film The Line, Schwartzman "explores the issue of consent, the burden of blame and the trouble society has defining the two."^[8]

xoxosms (2011)

xoxosms^[11] is a documentary that follows the life and loves of two modern youths, and explores the digital intimacy that comes with new social networking technology, seeing it less as harm than something that fosters open communication.

xoxosms was produced by Cinereach and premiered on PBS POV in July 2013. It was also featured on the BBC Radio 4 Digital Human series.

"Circle of 6" (2012)

Circle of 6 is a free anti-violence iPhone. It is "It’s fast, easy-to-use and private. Originally designed for college students to prevent sexual violence, we also know it’s handy for teenagers, parents, friends, or all communities seeking to foster healthy relationships and safety."^[5] It won the 2011 White House Apps Against Abuse Contest,^[12] where Vice President Joe Biden called it "a new line of defense against violence" for young people.

Users add six trusted friends' contact information to the app. With just two touches, users can send their circle a message that they need to be picked up (with GPS information included), that they need an interruption, or that they're concerned about whether their relationship is healthy.^[13] Says Schwartzman, "we know that people suffer in isolation, so providing resources and embedding the information into the app itself can break that silence."

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nancy Schwartzman.

• Press coverage for The Line