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Inaugural ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship - Winners Announced!

by ScreenCraft Staff on January 29, 2014

LOS ANGELES, January 29, 2014 – ScreenCraft is excited to announce the recipients of the inaugural ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship. Presented by Celtx, the fellowship is designed to advance the careers of talented screenwriters through ongoing consultation and introductions to key entertainment executives and talent representatives.

Two features and one drama pilot were selected from over 1200 submissions received from around the world, with key input from acclaimed story consultant and NBC's Writers on the Verge instructor Jen Grisanti and Touchback writer/director Don Handfield, who has written projects for Paramount, DreamWorks, Warner Bros. and Lionsgate and who works as producing partner of two-time Academy Award nominee Jeremy Renner at The Combine.

The winning writers are:

  • T.A. Snyder, for his feature "Dead Men"
  • Robert Haffey, for his feature "Men of Violent Means"
  • Amanda Parham, for her drama pilot "D.O.C."

IndieWIRE posted the winners this morning: here.

"The level of talent in this group of writers really excited and inspired me," said Grisanti. "They have unique voices that show the potential of going the distance. Their stories reflect that they have something strong to say. I look forward to seeing their growth in the business."

 

Adds Handfield: "The quality of the finalists was top-notch and I really look forward to sitting down with these three very talented screenwriters. For those that weren't selected--don't be discouraged, success in screenwriting, like everything else, is a matter of persistence--keep writing!"

 

As winners of the fellowship, Snyder, Haffey and Parham will receive one-on-one development with ScreenCraft and a $1,000 stipend and round-trip travel to Los Angeles to be mentored one-on-one by industry professionals including Grisanti, Handfield, and Michael Colleary, UCLA screenwriting professor and writer of such blockbusters as Face/Off and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.

 

These winning scribes will also meet with a literary agent from one of the big five agencies (WME, CAA, UTA, ICM, Paradigm) and with hand-picked development executives and industry representatives at such companies as: Warner Brothers, Lionsgate, Mosaic Media, Kaplan/Perrone, and Participant Media.

 

ScreenCraft, an official sponsor of the WGA Awards in NYC, is a media company and screenwriting consultancy dedicated to helping screenwriters and filmmakers advance their careers.

Celtx is a world leader in development of media preproduction tools for writers and independent filmmakers. Celtx desktop software is used by over four million creators in 170 countries working in 34 language. Celtx all-in-one online workspaces are used by 600,000 creators worldwide to write, storyboard, breakdown, schedule and budget productions. Over 150,000 mobile media creators use Celtx iOS and Android apps to write and create anywhere, anytime.

 

T.A. SNYDER is from small town Illinois.  He graduated from Columbia College Chicago in 2002.  Since then he has remained focused on the foundation for his storytelling passion: writing.

"Writing is more than a dream or a job, it's a way of life.  It can get dark, lonely and divisive, but in the end we're all connected by our search for a little light.  I'm tremendously thrilled to have ScreenCraft shine a light on my work and extend a helping hand toward building a career in the collaborative realm of film."

 

ROBERT HAFFEY is a senior in Drexel University's Film & Video program. When he's not mainlining coffee and typing away furiously at three in the morning, he's directing short films and music videos. He's drawn to the fantasy, scifi, crime, and western genres and he's a fanatical fan of Hip Hop music.

"I'm thrilled at the opportunity to develop my script through Screencraft's Fellowship. They've given me my first major validation as a storyteller and with their help, I know I'll be able to pursue my dreams of a career in filmmaking."

AMANDA PARHAM grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and moved to Los Angeles to earn her MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA. At UCLA, Amanda pursued her love of television writing through an internship in the writers' department at ABC's UGLY BETTY and was two-time winner of the UCLA Showcase screenplay competition. Since graduating, Amanda's screenplays and television scripts have been recognized in a number of prestigious screenwriting competitions, including the Nicholl Fellowship (Semifinalist, top 2%, 2013), the Page International Screenwriting Awards (Finalist, top 1%, 2012 and 2013), and the Warner Bros. Television Writers' Workshop (top 5% submission, 2012). Amanda also had four scripts place in the Second Round (top 10%) at the 2013 Austin Film Festival.

"I'm extremely grateful and excited to be selected for ScreenCraft's Fellowship program and to develop my pilot through ScreenCraft's network of entertainment industry leaders. This is an incredible opportunity, and I can't wait to get started!"

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