Los Angeles - Sundance Institute announced today the 12 fellows chosen to participate in its first-ever Episodic: Pilot to Series Lab, designed as an immersive two-part experience hosted on Sundance Collab, where selected emerging TV writers will workshop an original pilot and develop a series overview. Beginning with the Lab, Fellows will benefit from a full year of customized, ongoing support from Feature Film Program staff, Creative Advisors and Industry Mentors, led by Founding Director of the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program, Michelle Satter and Director of the Episodic Program, Jennifer Goyne Blake. Working with accomplished showrunners, the Fellows will participate in one-on-one story meetings, craft workshops, and Writers' Rooms, which together provide creative and strategic tools for success. Creative Advisors joining this year's Lab are Erica Rivinoja, Danny Chun, Sanjay Shah, Graham Yost, Teresa Hsiao, LaToya Morgan, Shalisha Francis, Lee Eisenberg, Charles Eglee, Malcolm Spellman, Katori Hall and Jenny Bicks.
The upcoming gathering of the Episodic Lab: Pilot to Series will take place October 10-12, 2020; fellows will reconvene in February 2021 with a polished draft of their Lab project to participate in pitch sessions, group conversations about the episodic landscape, and meet with producers and creative executives to discuss next steps and career goals. Industry mentors include: Kathryn Tyus-Adair, Justin Rosenblatt, Yvette Urbina, Tiffany Hawthorne, Carrie Gillogly, Marta Fernandez, Sarah Timberman, Deniese Davis and Candace Rodney.
Sundance Institute champions independent creators, says Satter, and we need to stay nimble and responsive across formats, media and narrative structure. By convening emerging talent together with established advisors, we aim to create a basis for sustainable careers, even among an ever-evolving industry. With the ongoing support of our Episodic team and Advisors, many of our writers have been staffed on shows, and a growing number are now developing their pilots at a variety of networks.
We're excited to support these visionary writers at this pivotal stage in their artistic development - providing a targeted intervention to empower and nurture them as they hone their craft and give shape to their ideas, adds Goyne Blake. As the episodic space rapidly evolves, TV writers need sustained, meaningful mentorship to build sustainable careers.
The projects and fellows selected for the 2020 Episodic Lab: Pilot to Series are:
The Cavi
Desperate to leave their previous lives behind, a trio of street hustlers look to solve the clues behind an underworld myth called The Cavi, a West Coast tall tale that is said to lead to a hidden treasure for the ages.
Justin Calen Chenn was a homeless teenager when a fly-ass Black man who drove a mad chicken blue Chevy took him under his wing. Growing up as a motel kid, he got involved in a life of street hustle and organized crime, but left that world behind after witnessing a horrific incident in 2016. A former participant in the Imagine Impact accelerator, Justin is writing and/or producing projects with notables such as eOne, Chernin Entertainment, Lucas Foster, Sly Stallone's Balboa, Justin Lin, Matt Jackson, and Imagine Entertainment. He is also working with Jari Jones, Stephen Dr Love's Made With Love, Amy Jephta, Don Lee, Stephan James, Young Thug's 300 Entertainment, and Regina Kings Royal Ties.
Dignified Death
A by-the-book former ICU nurse starts working at a hospice agency where she clashes with her rule-bending veteran supervisor, and learns what it really means to provide patients with a dignified death.
Lauren Glover is a Los Angeles-based dramedy writer originally from Columbia, Maryland. A former registered nurse with experience working in the psychiatric, intensive care, and hospice fields, Lauren writes darkly comedic stories with a humanistic and nuanced approach. Lauren is currently a writers' assistant on Amazon's Fairfax. She was previously a showrunner's assistant to Pam Veasey on LA's Finest. Lauren is developing her pilot A Dignified Death with producer Aaliyah Williams.
fiftyTWO
When a die-hard New York Baby Boomer and his Gen Z granddaughter move to Baltimore and become unlikely roommates, they must navigate their new city and deal with their own questionable life choices.
Elissa Blount Moorhead is a filmmaker exploring the poetics of everyday Black life. She directed Jay Zs long form music video 4:44, Back and Song, an experimental 4-channel film, and an episode of PBS/Firelight Medias new series Masters in the Making. Elissa created and directed a 3D mapping and augmented reality installation called As of A Now. She is the author of P is for Pussy, an illustrated childrens book and is featured in the anthology How We Fight White Supremacy: A Field Guide to Black Resistance. Eilssa was previously supported by the Episodic Program as a Fellow in the 2020 Sundance Institute Episodic Makers Lab. Moorhead has been recognized with the Sundance Institute | Comedy Central Comedy Fellowship.
Ericka Blount Danois has worked as a music and culture writer, screenwriter, author, researcher, and producer. Her award-winn ing works include Love, Peace and Soul: The History of the Show Soul Train and the documentaries Time is 11/matic, Tupac (Untitled), and PBSs Finding Your Roots. Erickas interview portfolio includes conversations with Fidel Castro, Earth Wind & Fire, Lenny Kravitz, and Andy Rooney. She is the recipient of a Ruby Award, Deadline Club Journalism Award for Columbia University, and an award from the Society of Professional Journalists. Ericka was previously supported by the Episodic Program as a Fellow in the 2020 Sundance Institute Episodic Makers Lab. Danois has been recognized with the Sundance Institute | Come
