Highlights from the three-day event included an opening night gala at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's BAM Rose Cinema, a film festival at the New York Film Academy in Manhattan, and a full day of workshops on such topics as independent producing, documentary filmmaking, screenwriting and a keynote panel on film financing.

The gala night reception featured a tribute to pioneer African American Women filmmakers with a screening of Liz White's 1961 version of Shakespeare's Othello, starring Yapett Kotto. The Donnell Media Center of the NY Public Library, which is in the process of restoring the film to its original beauty, provided one of the few remaining copies of the film for screening. A special award was given to documentary filmmaker Madeline Anderson who worked as a film editor, associate producer and director at WNET-TV in New York.

On Friday, March 17th, the conference moved to the New York Film Academy in Manhattan. NYFA, along with the Hollywood East Foundation, helped to host the Reel Sisters, which ran from 4pm -10pm. The program consisted of a variety of shorts, documentary works, and the feature film, Drylongso, by director Cauleen Smith. Beyond the Bars: No Extended Embraces, directed by Julia O'Farrow which explores the challenges that women face trying to maintain relationships with imprisoned men, was cited as Best Documentary.

Honors for Best Short went to Tree Shade, directed by Lisa Collins, a 29-minute short that tells the story of a gifted high school student who imaginatively journeys through time to find explanations for tragedies experienced by her female relatives. There were question and answer sessions with the filmmakers throughout the evening.

The conference concluded Saturday, March 18th with workshops on independent producing featuring Dorothy Thigpen of Third World Newsreel and Michelle Mattera of Women Make Movies, and documentary filmmaking featuring independent documentary filmmaker Alonzo Speight. Award-winning screenwriter Myla Churchill conducted the final workshop on the multidimensional aspects of screenwriting. The keynote panel on film financing included Viviana Bianchi of The Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media; Bridget D. Davis of Edmonds Entertainment; Kisha Imani Cameron from New Line Cinema; and Mable Haddock of the National Black Programming Consortium.

Conference attendees were able to gather inside information on such topics as how to raise money for films, which projects get funded and why, followed by an informal networking session. Denise Richardson from WLIB Radio of New York moderated the panel. The conference closed with a champagne reception made possible with the sponsorship of Women of The SUN, Women Make Movies, Third World Newsreel and NY Women In Film & Television. Terra Renee of Renee Productions; Carolyn A. Butts, Publisher of African Voices magazine an L.I.U. Journalism alumna class of 1988; Rodney K. Hurley, Media Arts Department Administrator; Celeste M. Banks, Director of Professional Development; and Clairesa Clay, Film Festival Coordinator rounded out the conference production team. Hurley, who coordinates special projects for the Media Arts Department, offered; “This conference affords our students as well as others seeking to enter the film industry, an opportunity to network, to ask questions, to see role models, to make in-roads into the business, and to reach out to mainstream organizations.”

Sponsors for this year's conference were BET Starz!3, The Municipal Credit Union of NYC, The LIU Brooklyn Campus Women Studies Program, NYC Economic Development Corporation, KEYSPAN Energy, Spike Lee's Forty Acres & A Mule, Inc., and Analog Digital International, Inc. Gifts and promotional materials were furnished by Universal Records, Virgin Records, and Atlantic Records. McDonalds and Wendy’s restaurants of Fulton Street, and Starbuck’s of Court Street in downtown Brooklyn, New York donated food.

Proceeds from the 2000 conference were donated to Montage Entertainment, Inc. Montage was founded and incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1997 to create more opportunities for women, people of color, and other under-represented groups, both behind and in front of the camera. The organization supports films and filmmakers, providing emerging writers, directors, actors, and crew, hands-on training in film production.