2022 NWFFest VANGUARD AWARD & PANEL
On Saturday June 25th NWFFest honors Ry Russo-Young with our Vanguard Award. Part 1 of Ry’s HBO documentary series, Nuclear Family, will be screened, followed by a red-carpet meet and greet. Next, a panel discussion will include the filmmaker and documentary subject, Ry Russo-Young, her mothers Robin Young and Sandy Russo, and their lawyer, Harriet Newman Cohen, Esq.
Nuclear Family explores the landmark custody dispute that hinged on the parental rights of Ry’s two mothers (a same-sex couple) and the interests of her biological father.
NEVADA WOMEN’S FILM FEST
IS PROUD TO PRESENT…
RY RUSSO-YOUNG
WITH THE
2022 VANGUARD AWARD
For her achievement in film, including her critically acclaimed documentary series, Nuclear Family
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2022 VANGUARD EVENT
Vanguard Event with Ry Russo-Young:
11:00 AM Featured Screening: Nuclear Family (Pt. 1)(60 min)
12:00 PM Red Carpet
12:30 PM Panel Vanguard Award and Panel Discussion, Moderated by Brett Levner
This event is sponsored by the UNLV Department of Film and UNLV Boyd Law School.
PANELISTS:
Ry Russo-Young – Vanguard Honoree
Ry Russo-Young is a bold and innovative director and writer whose work defies traditional limitations in filmmaking. Her early independent work has been associated with the mumblecore genre, though she has gone on to direct the wide release features Before I Fall (2017) and The Sun Is Also a Star (2019) as well as the HBO documentary Nuclear Family and other film and television projects. Nuclear Family explores the landmark custody dispute that hinged on the parental rights of her two mothers (a same-sex couple) and the interests of her biological father. In 2022, Nuclear Family was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, a GLAAD Media Award, and a Peabody Award. Read More »

Sandy Russo
Sandy Russo is a retired public interest attorney who has long been active in the LGBTQ community. In 1979, shortly after meeting Robin Young they were among the first lesbian couples to have children by donor insemination. Sandy and Robin were finally able to marry in Canada in 2004. Sandy continues her political activism supporting women’s rights and LGBTQ families.

Robin Young
Shortly after graduating from college Robin Young moved to the West Village to live with Sandy Russo, her future wife. Robin became a stay-at-home parent for their two young daughters while also managing the family’s small real estate business. Propelled by her experience fighting a paternity suit brought by one of their sperm donors, Robin earned a law degree while the girls were in high school. She later returned to her work in real estate focusing on design and renovation projects.

Harriet Newman Cohen
Harriet Newman Cohen is a founding partner of Cohen Stine Kapoor LLP. Providing sophisticated representation in contested trials and settlements, Ms. Cohen is a negotiator and trial attorney who handles all aspects of matrimonial and family law, including complex litigation in high-net-worth cases.
Ms. Cohen was one of the authors of the equitable distribution law, served on the Child Support Commission of the State of New York and served on the Foster Care Commission of the City of New York. Ms. Cohen was President of the New York Women’s Bar Association, was a member of the New York State Supreme Court, Civil Branch, New York County, Matrimonial Mediation Subcommittee and is a member of the Matrimonial Advisory Committee of the New York State Supreme Court, County of New York, under Justice Deborah A. Kaplan, Chair. Ms. Cohen is a member of the Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. Ms. Cohen serves on the Matrimonial Law Committee of the Bar Association of the City of New York. Ms. Cohen served as a Member of the President’s Advisory Council of Brooklyn Law School. Ms. Cohen has been appointed by the court to represent children in contested family law matters and as a neutral evaluator to assist the court in bringing contested matters to settlement.
MODERATOR

Brett Levner
Brett Levner is an award winning filmmaker and an Associate Professor of Film at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Brett received her BFA with honors in Film & TV Production from New York University and her MFA in Directing from Columbia University.
Brett currently serves on the board of the Nevada Women’s Film Festival and is the founder/faculty advisor of the UNLV student organization, Cinefemmes, which supports women in filmmaking.
RY RUSSO-YOUNG
Ry Russo-Young (born November 16, 1981) is a bold and innovative director and writer whose work defies traditional limitations in filmmaking. Her early independent work has been associated with the mumblecore genre, though she has gone on to direct the wide release features Before I Fall (2017) and The Sun Is Also a Star (2019) as well as the HBO documentary Nuclear Family and other film and television projects.
Her 2005 short film Marion won several awards including a Silver Hugo for Best Experimental Short at the Chicago International Film Festival. Her first feature, Orphans, won a special jury prize at South by Southwest in 2007. Her films Nobody Walks and You Wont Miss Me appeared at the Sundance Film Festival. Nobody Walks won a special jury prize and was released by Magnolia Pictures in 2014. You Wont Miss Me won a Gotham Award for Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You. She also appeared as an actress in Joe Swanberg’s Hannah Takes the Stairs and Alex Ross Perry’s The Color Wheel.
Russo-Young directed Before I Fall, based on the book by Lauren Oliver. The film stars Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, Logan Miller, and Jennifer Beals, and was released by Open Road Films in 2017. Before I Fall premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2017 and also had a special screening at the Next Wave 17 Toronto International Film Festival in February 2017.
Russo-Young’s next feature as director is The Sun Is Also a Star, adapted from Nicola Yoon’s novel of the same name. The film stars Yara Shahidi, Charles Melton, and John Leguizamo, and was co-produced by MGM and Warner Brothers. The film follows high school student Natasha Kingsely (Shahidi) who falls for Daniel Bae (Melton) the day before she is to be deported. It was released on May 17, 2019.
In 2018, Russo-Young directed three episodes of the Netflix original series Everything Sucks!, as well as episodes of Sweetbitter, and Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger. Russo-Young’s You Wont Miss Me won a Gotham Award for Best Film Not Coming to Theater Near You.
In 2015, Russo-Young won a Creative Capital award for her film, The Family Movie. which evolved over several years into a 3-part documentary series. Released in 2021 on HBO, Russo-Young directed and appeared in the film, retitled Nuclear Family. The documentary explores the landmark custody dispute that hinged on the parental rights of her two mothers (a same-sex couple) and the interests of her biological father.
In 2022, Nuclear Family was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, a GLAAD Media Award, and a Peabody Award.
Through this three-part documentary series, Nuclear Family, Ry Russo-Young examines how the power of love, the terror of loss, and the universal pull of family sent a shockwave through her life as a young girl—and how its echoes have reverberated all the way up to today. At a time when being gay or lesbian seemed to mean you had given up the right to have children and a family, Ry was born to two lesbian moms through a sperm donor. Their idyllic life was threatened by an unexpected lawsuit, culminating in a landmark decision that would change the way gay families are viewed evermore. Featuring a lifetime of home videos, press and interviews, the series tracks the arc of Ry’s relationship with her donor—from idealization to villainy and, ultimately, to loss and understanding. Her story, in all its particularity, is also a universal exploration of love, hate, and the universal pull of family.