Loira Limbal, chief executive and president of Firelight Media, will be honored with the Industry Visionary Award at New York University’s Fusion Film Festival. The event, which highlights the work of women and nonbinary creators in television, film, and new media, will take place from March 4 to 7, 2026, at the Tisch School of the Arts in New York City.
The festival will also recognize Emma Seligman as Artist of the Year. Seligman is known for their films “Shiva Baby” and “Bottoms.” The four-day program includes a pitch competition, masterclasses, panel discussions, screenings, and an awards ceremony. All events are free but require registration.
The festival opens with an invitation-only luncheon honoring Limbal. She directed “Through the Night,” a documentary about three working mothers whose lives intersect at a 24-hour daycare center. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and received several accolades including selection as a New York Times Critic’s Pick and winning the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award.
“Fusion provides a valuable opportunity to grow my filmmaking and leadership skills while also getting to connect with iconic industry leaders and artists,” said Camden Colquhuon, Co-Head of Fusion’s photo-video team. “Loira Limbal’s work as both a filmmaker and Firelight Media’s president is an astonishing example of artist activism at the highest level.”
Ashley Bowerfind, associate director of the festival, added: “Fusion’s expansive alumni network is incredible and I’m grateful to be working in a role that allows me to connect with and learn from them.”
Seligman will accept their award on March 5 during a conversation about their career path from developing “Shiva Baby” as a senior thesis short film at NYU to its success as an independent feature.
Writer/director Susan Sandler, who serves as faculty advisor for Fusion Film Festival, commented: “Emma Seligman’s achievement as Fusion’s Artist of the Year holds a special place in my heart as they studied with me at Tisch and always brought a compelling and dangerously comedic voice to the page.”
Abigail Sun, co-director of Fusion Film Festival, said: “Seligman’s appearance at Fusion is huge for strengthening our in-school and post-grad relationship, as their first feature was developed from their advanced film at NYU. It’s inspiring to follow their career path as a filmmaker highlighting unapologetic queer voices.”
On March 6, Limbal will lead a masterclass focusing on her documentary work. The session will cover ethical engagement with documentary subjects, verité-style filmmaking techniques, distribution strategies, and organizing impact campaigns related to public policy.
Other events include screenings such as the Future of Film Is Female Short Program introduced by Caryn Coleman; panels featuring local film programmers; career advice sessions; and screenings of student finalist projects across multiple categories.
Major sponsors for this year’s festival include Canon, Adobe, Final Draft, Avid, and Abel Cine.
The Tisch School of the Arts has been part of New York University for nearly six decades. It offers students training that combines conservatory education with liberal arts within NYU’s global network spanning campuses in New York City and abroad.
New York University’s Stern School of Business is one of NYU’s professional schools focused on responsible leadership through ethics initiatives integrated into its curriculum (official website). Stern features modern facilities designed for teaching and research (official website) and maintains international partnerships along with an extensive alumni network (official website). The school aims to cultivate innovative leaders engaged in positive societal change (official website), guided by its dean and executive leadership team (official website).
