Announcing The 4th Annual ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship Recipients

by ScreenCraft on May 16, 2017

LOS ANGELES, May 16, 2017 – ScreenCraft is excited to announce the recipients of the 4th annual ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship. The program is designed to advance the careers of talented screenwriters through ongoing consultation and introductions to key entertainment executives and talent representatives. Past ScreenCraft Fellowship winners have optioned their projects and signed with top Hollywood representatives at United Talent Agency, 3 Arts, Anonymous Content, Paradigm Talent Agency, ICM, Bellevue Productions and more.

Selected from over 2,000 applicants worldwide who submitted features and pilots, these ScreenCraft Fellows will each receive a $1,000 writing grant and a trip to Los Angeles to meet with executives, producers and representatives, and the following ScreenCraft mentors: Geoffrey Fletcher, Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Precious; Diana Ossana, Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Brokeback Mountain; Robert Moresco, Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Crash and producer of Million Dollar Baby; and Kristina Reed, Academy Award-winning Producer of Disney’s Feast as well as Big Hero 6, Kung Fu Panda and studio executive on worldwide blockbuster Frozen.

The recipients are:

Ryan W. Smith, feature screenplay Jacaranda
Anna Klassen, TV drama pilot teleplay 14 Words
Anya Meksin, feature screenplay Taminex

Jacaranda, a searing dramatic thriller set in 1986 Apartheid South Africa, centers on a young black freedom fighter who sets out to rescue her father, who has been wrongfully arrested for a bombing she caused. Through her pursuit, she comes face-to-face with the grotesque underbelly of the Apartheid regime, and forms an unlikely friendship with a member of her perceived enemy.

In 14 Words, intrepid Sophia attempts to infiltrate a white supremacy group called Aryan Resurgence to further research for her exposé. Meanwhile, the cult's leader is stepping down and his son — who has radical new plans for the group — is taking over. Sophia inches closer to uncovering the hate group's darkest secrets, but little does she know, she's the key to their biggest plot yet.

Taminex is an emotional and suspenseful sci-fi thriller set over the course of one night about a sheltered young woman in the midst of an urban pandemic. When her boyfriend Gene falls ill with a deadly virus, Leigh must venture outside her cocoon of safety to procure the only drug that can save Gene's life and her own--Taminex. Amid a citywide shortage, Leigh must rely on a mercurial black-market drug dealer she met online, who promises to sell her Taminex but only if she travels to the city's most dangerous district and the outbreak’s epicenter.

These winning writers will also receive complimentary passes to Robert McKee’s legendary STORY seminar in either LA, NYC or London, and three months of one-on-one consultation and creative development with the ScreenCraft team and network of entertainment industry mentors.

The full list of semifinalists is posted here.

The runners-up of the 4th Annual ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship reflect a distinctive slate of genres and voices. This year's talented finalists are listed alphabetically by author.

The finalists are:

Aaron Yeung, Darlings

Andrea Jaag, A Woman Dies

Catherine Wright, Sedger Mor

Daniel Weingart, The Countdown

Déjà Cresencia Bernhardt, Half Angels

Heather Faris, Ripple

Jamie Bircoll, Mark of Cain

Jeffrey Storms, Buscón, Levee

Jessica A. Sieff, St. Claire

Jessica DiGiacinto, Giving Up The Ghost

Kelly Beck Byrnes, Glitches