Category: Press Release

Hey, we didn’t write this – not all of it anyway

2018 Writers Guild Awards Nominees

 

From the WGA

TVWriter™ congratulates everyone listed below. (And asks the not-so-musical question, “Why no nominees for Original Web Series? Huh? Huh?”)

TELEVISION NOMINEES

DRAMA SERIES

The Americans, Written by Peter Ackerman, Tanya Barfield, Joshua Brand, Joel Fields, Stephen Schiff, Joe Weisberg, Tracey Scott Wilson; FX

Better Call Saul, Written by Ann Cherkis, Vince Gilligan, Jonathan Glatzer, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, Heather Marion, Thomas Schnauz, Gordon Smith; AMC

Game of Thrones, Written by David Benioff, Bryan Cogman, Dave Hill, D.B. Weiss; HBO

The Handmaid’s Tale, Written by Ilene Chaiken, Nina Fiore, Dorothy Fortenberry, Leila Gerstein, John Herrera, Lynn Maxcy, Bruce Miller, Kira Snyder, Wendy Straker Hauser, Eric Tuchman; Hulu

Stranger Things, Written by Paul Dichter, Justin Doble, The Duffer Brothers, Jessica Mecklenburg, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Alison Tatlock; Netflix

COMEDY SERIES

Curb Your Enthusiasm, Written by Larry David, Jon Hayman, Justin Hurwitz, Jeff Schaffer; HBO

GLOW, Written by Kristoffer Diaz, Liz Flahive, Tara Herrmann, Nick Jones, Jenji Kohan, Carly Mensch, Emma Rathbone, Sascha Rothchild, Rachel Shukert; Netflix

Master of None, Written by Aziz Ansari, Andrew Blitz, Zoe Jarman, Cord Jefferson, Sarah Peters, Sarah Schneider, Michael Schur, Leila Strachan, Gene Stupnitsky, Lakshmi Sundaram, Lena Waithe, Jason Woliner, Alan Yang; Netflix

Silicon Valley, Written by Alec Berg, Donick Cary, Adam Countee, Jonathan Dotan, Mike Judge, Carrie Kemper, John Levenstein, Dan Lyons, Carson Mell, Dan O’Keefe, Clay Tarver; Aaron Zelman; HBO

Veep, Written by Rachel Axler, Sean Gray, Alex Gregory, Peter Huyck, Erik Kenward, Billy Kimball, Steve Koren, Dave Mandel, Jim Margolis, Lew Morton, Georgia Pritchett, Will Smith, Alexis Wilkinson; HBO

NEW SERIES

American Vandal, Written by Seth Cohen, Lauren Herstik, Dan Lagana, Kevin McManus, Matthew McManus, Jessica Meyer, Dan Perrault, Amy Pocha, Mike Rosolio, Tony Yacenda; Netflix

The Deuce, Written by Megan Abbott, Marc Henry Johnson, Lisa Lutz, George Pelecanos, Richard Price, Will Ralston, David Simon, Chris Yakaitis; HBO

GLOW, Written by Kristoffer Diaz, Liz Flahive, Tara Herrmann, Nick Jones, Jenji Kohan, Carly Mensch, Emma Rathbone, Sascha Rothchild, Rachel Shukert; Netflix

The Handmaid’s Tale, Written by Ilene Chaiken, Nina Fiore, Dorothy Fortenberry, Leila Gerstein, John Herrera, Lynn Maxcy, Bruce Miller, Kira Snyder, Wendy Straker Hauser, Eric Tuchman; Hulu

Ozark, Written by Whit Anderson, Bill Dubuque, Ryan Farley, Alyson Feltes, Paul Kolsby, David Manson, Chris Mundy, Mark Williams, Ning Zhou, Martin Zimmerman; Netflix

LONG FORM ORIGINAL

American Horror Story: Cult, Written by Brad Falchuk, John J. Gray, Joshua Green, Todd Kubrak, Crystal Liu, Tim Minear, Ryan Murphy, Adam Penn, James Wong; FX

Feud: Bette and Joan, Written by Jaffe Cohen, Tim Minear, Ryan Murphy, Gina Welch, Michael Zam; FX

Flint, Written by Barbara Stepansky; Lifetime

Godless, Written by Scott Frank; Netflix

Manhunt: Unabomber, Written by Jim Clemente, Tony Gittelson, Max Hurwitz, Steven Katz, Nick Schenk, Andrew Sodroski, Nick Towne; Discovery Channel

LONG FORM ADAPTED

Big Little Lies, Teleplay by David E. Kelley, Based on the Novel by Liane Moriarty; HBO

Fargo, Written by Monica Beletsky, Bob DeLauren, Noah Hawley, Ben Nedivi, Matt Wolpert, Based on the film Fargo; FX

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Teleplay by Peter Landesman and Alexander Woo and George C. Wolfe, Based on the book written by Rebecca Skloot; HBO

The Wizard of Lies, Teleplay by Sam Levinson and John Burnham Schwartz and Samuel Baum, Based on the Book Written by Diane B. Henriques and Truth and Consequences by Laurie Sandell; HBO

SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA ORIGINAL

No nominations

SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA ADAPTED

“John Hancock” (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot), Written by James C. Oliver & Sharla Oliver; abc.go.com

“Chapter 2” (The Walking Dead: Red Machete), Written by Nick Bernardone; amc.com

“Justicia” (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot), Written by Mark Leitner; abc.go.com

“Starboy” (Zac & Mia), Teleplay by Allen Clary and Andrew Rothschild, Based on the novel Zac & Mia by A.J. Betts; go90.com

ANIMATION

“Brunchsquatch” (Bob’s Burgers), Written by Lizzie Molyneux & Wendy Molyneux; Fox

“A Father’s Watch” (The Simpsons), Written by Simon Rich; Fox

“Ruthie” (BoJack Horseman), Written by Joanna Calo; Netflix

“The Serfsons” (The Simpsons), Written by Brian Kelley; Fox

“Time’s Arrow” (BoJack Horseman), Written by Kate Purdy; Netflix

EPISODIC DRAMA

“The Book of Nora” (The Leftovers), Teleplay by Tom Perrotta & Damon Lindelof, Story by Tom Spezialy & Damon Lindelof; HBO

“Chicanery” (Better Call Saul), Written by Gordon Smith; AMC

“The Heart Attack is the Best Way” (Good Behavior), Written by Chad Hodge; TNT

“Homecoming” (The OA), Written by Brit Marling & Zal Batmanglij; Netflix

“Slip” (Better Call Saul), Written by Heather Marion; AMC

“The Soviet Decision” (The Americans), Written by Joe Weisberg & Joel Fields; FX

EPISODIC COMEDY

“The Burglary” (Grace and Frankie), Written by Brendan McCarthy & David Budin; Netflix

“Intervention” (The Carmichael Show), Written by Willie Hunter; NBC

“Judge” (Veep), Written by Ted Cohen; HBO

“Rosario’s Quinceanera” (Will & Grace), Written by Tracy Poust & Jon Kinnally; NBC

“The Verdict” (Trial & Error), Written by Jeff Astrof; NBC

COMEDY/VARIETY TALK SERIES

Conan, Head Writer: Matt O’Brien, Writers: Jose Arroyo, Daniel Cronin, Andres du Bouchet, Jessie Gaskell, Michael Gordon, Brian Kiley, Laurie Kilmartin, Leah Krinsky, Stephen Kutner, Todd Levin, Levi MacDougall, Conan O’Brien, Paul Richter, Frank Smiley, Mike Sweeney; TBS

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Writers: Samantha Bee, Ashley Nicole Black, Pat Cassels, Eric Drysdale, Mathan Erhardt, Travon Free, Joe Grossman, Jo Miller, Jason Reich, Melinda Taub; TBS

Jimmy Kimmel Live, Writers: Jimmy Kimmel, Tony Barbieri, Jonathan Bines, Joelle Boucai, Gonzalo Cordova, Devin Field, Gary Greenberg, Josh Halloway, Sal Iacono, Eric Immerman, Jesse Joyce, Bess Kalb, Jeff Loveness, Molly McNearney, CeCe Pleasants, Danny Ricker, Joe Strazzullo; ABC

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Writers: Tim Carvell, Josh Gondelman, Dan Gurewitch, Geoff Haggerty, Jeff Maurer, John Oliver, Scott Sherman, Will Tracy, Jill Twiss, Juli Weiner, Ben Silva, Seena Vali; HBO

Late Night with Seth Meyers, Writers: Jermaine Affonso, Alex Baze, Bryan Donaldson, Sal Gentile, Matt Goldich, Dina Gusovsky, Jenny Hagel, Allison Hord, Mike Karnell, John Lutz, Seth Meyers, Ian Morgan, Seth Reiss, Amber Ruffin, Mike Scollins, Mike Shoemaker, Ben Warheit; NBC Universal

Real Time with Bill Maher, Writers: Scott Carter, Adam Felber, Matt Gunn, Brian Jacobsmeyer, Jay Jaroch, Chris Kelly, Bill Maher, Billy Martin, Bob Oschack, Danny Vermont; HBO

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Writers: Dan Amira, David Angelo, Steve Bodow, Kashana Cauley, Devin Delliquanti, Zach DiLanzo, Hallie Haglund, David Kibuuka, Matt Koff, Adam Lowitt, Dan McCoy, Trevor Noah, Joseph Opio, Zhubin Parang, Owen Parsons, Daniel Radosh, Lauren Sarver-Means, Michelle Wolf; Comedy Central

The Jim Jefferies Show, Head Writer: Jason Reich, Writers: Jim Jefferies, Subhah Agarwal, Kevin Avery, Curtis Cook, Lucas Kavner, Matt Kirshen, Bryan Olsen, Laura Willcox, JJ Whitehead, Scott Y. Zabielski; Comedy Central

COMEDY/VARIETY SKETCH SERIES

Nathan For You, Writers: Leo Allen, Nathan Fielder, Carrie Kemper, Michael Koman, Adam Locke-Norton, Eric Notarnicola; Comedy Central

Portlandia, Writers: Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein, Karen Kilgariff, Jonathan Krisel, Graham Wagner; IFC

Saturday Night Live, Head Writers: Chris Kelly, Sarah Schneider, Bryan Tucker, Writers: James Anderson, Kristen Bartlett, Jeremy Beiler, Neal Brennan, Zack Bornstein, Joanna Bradley, Megan Callahan, Michael Che, Anna Drezen, Fran Gillespie, Sudi Green, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Erik Kenward, Rob Klein, Nick Kocher, Michael Koman, Dave McCary, Brian McElhaney, Dennis McNicholas, Drew Michael, Lorne Michaels, Josh Patten, Katie Rich, Pete Schultz, Streeter Seidell, Will Stephen, Kent Sublette, Julio Torres; NBC Universal

The President Show, Writers: Emily Altman, Anthony Atamanuik, Emmy Blotnick, Neil Casey, Mike Drucker, Noah Garfinkel, John Gemberling, Peter Grosz, Mitra Jouhari, John Knefel, Alison Leiby, Christine Nangle, John Reynolds, Jason Ross, Rae Sanni, Evan Waite; Comedy Central

Weekend Update Summer Edition, Writers: Megan Callahan, Michael Che, Mikey Day, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Dennis McNicholas, Josh Patten, Katie Rich, Pete Schultz, Streeter Seidell, Kent Sublette, Brian Tucker; NBC Universal

COMEDY/VARIETY SPECIALS

39th Annual Kennedy Center Honors, Written by Dave Boone; CBS

89th Annual Academy Awards, Written by Billy Kimball, Jon Macks; Special Material Written by Jack Allison, Tony Barbieri, Jonathan Bines, Joelle Boucai, Gonzalo Cordova, Gary Greenberg, Josh Halloway, Sal Iacono, Eric Immerman, Bess Kalb, Jimmy Kimmel, Jeff Loveness, Molly McNearney, Danny Ricker, Joe Strazzullo; ABC

AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Diane Keaton, Written by Bob Gazzale, Jon Macks; TNT

Michael Bolton’s Big, Sexy, Valentine’s Day Special, Written by Scott Aukerman, Dave Ferguson, Mike Hanford, Tim Kalpakis, Joe Saunders, Akiva Schaffer; Additional Material Written by Zach Kanin, Claudia O’Doherty, Tim Robinson; Netflix

Nathan For You: A Celebration, Written by Leo Allen, Nathan Fielder, Carrie Kemper, Michael Koman, Adam Locke-Norton, Eric Notarnicola; Comedy Central

QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

Hollywood Game Night, Head Writer: Grant Taylor; Writers: Michael Agbabian, Alex Chauvin, Ann Slichter, Dwight D. Smith; NBC

Jeopardy!, Written by Matthew Caruso, John Duarte, Harry Friedman, Mark Gaberman, Deborah Griffin, Michele Loud, Robert McClenaghan, Jim Rhine, Steve D. Tamerius, Billy Wisse; ABC

DAYTIME DRAMA

General Hospital, Head Writers: Shelly Altman, Jean Passanante; Writers: Anna Theresa Cascio, Suzanne Flynn, Charlotte Gibson, Lucky Gold, Kate Hall, Elizabeth Korte, Daniel James O’Connor, Dave Rupel, Katherine Schock, Scott Sickles, Christopher Van Etten, Christopher Whitesell; ABC

Days of Our Lives, Writers: Ron Carlivati, Sheri Anderson, Lorraine Broderick, David Cherrill, Lisa Connor, Carolyn Culliton, Richard Culliton, Rick Draughon, Cydney Kelley, David Kreizman, David A. Levinson, Rebecca McCarty, Ryan Quan, Dave Ryan, Elizabeth Snyder, Tyler Topits; NBC

CHILDREN’S EPISODIC AND SPECIALS

“American Girl – Ivy & Julie” (American Girl), Written by May Chan; Amazon

“American Girl – Knowledge is Power” (American Girl), Teleplay by Alison McDonald, Story by Alison McDonald and Caron Tschampion; Amazon

“Just Add 1965” (Just Add Magic), Written by Lauren Thompson; Amazon

“Meet Julia” (Sesame Street), Written by Christine Ferraro; HBO

“The Magical Wand Chase: A Sesame Street Special,” Written by Raye Lankford, Jessica Carleton, Ken Scarborough; HBO

CHILDREN’S LONG FORM

No nominations

DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS

“Confronting ISIS” (Frontline), Written by Martin Smith; PBS

“Poverty, Politics and Profit” (Frontline), Written by Rick Young; PBS

“Unseen Enemy,” Written by Janet Tobias; CNN

DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS

“Divided States of America” Part One (Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS

“Rachel Carson” (American Experience), Written and Directed by Michelle Ferrari; PBS

“The Great War” Part II (American Experience), Written by Stephen Ives; PBS

“The Great War” Part III (American Experience), Written by Rob Rapley; PBS

“The Vietnam War,” Episode Six: “Things Fall Apart,” Written by Geoffrey C. Ward; PBS

NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT

“Obama Wiretap Allegations” (World News Tonight with David Muir), Mark Berman, Barbara Rick, Tom Llamas; ABC News

“September 29, 2017” (World News Now), Written by Matt Nelko, Jack Sheahan, Debbie Humes, Carla Brittain, Constance Johnson, Lloyd deVries, Craig Morancie; ABC News

“White Helmets” (60 Minutes), Written by Scott Pelley, Nicole Young, Katie Kerbstat; CBS News

NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY

“Chief of Chobani” (60 Minutes), Written by Steve Kroft, Oriana Zill de Granados; CBS News

“Fighting Famine” (60 Minutes), Written by Scott Pelley, Nicole Young; CBS News

DIGITAL NEWS

“At the Capitol With Those for Whom Last Night Mattered the Most,” Written by Emma Roller; SplinterNews.com

“Becoming Ugly,” Written by Madeleine Davies; Jezebel.com

“The Super Predators,” Written by Melissa Jeltsen, Dana Liebelson; Huffingtonpost.com

“Why Did Politicon Make Me Want To Die?,” Written by Libby Watson; SplinterNews.com

RADIO/AUDIO NOMINEES

RADIO/AUDIO DOCUMENTARY

“2016 Year in Review,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio

“Castro, Cuba & Communism,” Written by Thomas A. Sabella; CBS News Radio

“CBS Radio 90th Anniversary,” Written by Dianne E. James, Gail Lee; CBS News Radio

“Remembering Princess Diana 20 Years Later,” Written by Andrew Evans; ABC News Radio

RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT

“Hugh Hefner: A Social Revolutionary in Silk Pajamas,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio

“World News This Week November 18, 2016,” Written by Joan B. Harris; ABC News Radio

“World News This Week: June 9, 2017,” Written by Tara Gimbel Tanis; ABC News Radio

RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY

“Chuck Berry,” Written by Jerry Edling; CBS News Radio/KNX

“Dishin’ Digital on WCBS-AM,” Written by Robert Hawley; WCBS

“Holiday Stories,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio

“One Nation, Overdosed: An Investigative Report,” Written by Tara Gimbel Tanis; ABC News Radio

PROMOTIONAL WRITING NOMINEES

ON-AIR PROMOTION (RADIO OR TELEVISION)

“CBS Comedy,” Written by Dan Greenberger; CBS Television

“The Good Fight,” Written by Brian Retchless; CBS On-Air Promotions

TELEVISION GRAPHIC ART AND ANIMATION

No nominations

WGAW 2017 Officers & Board Of Directors Election Results

The Writers Guild of America West has announced the results of its 2017 Officers and Board of Directors election.

The following members were elected to serve as Officers: President – David A. Goodman; Vice President – Marjorie David; Secretary-Treasurer – Aaron Mendelsohn.

The following eight members were elected to the WGAW’s Board of Directors for two-year terms, effective immediately: John August, Nicole Yorkin, Andrea Berloff (inc.), Meredith Stiehm (inc.), Angelina Burnett, Luvh Rakhe (inc.), Michele Mulroney, Zak Penn (inc.). *Editor’s Note: (inc) denotes incumbent.

The ninth finisher, Patti Carr, was elected for a one-year term on the Board of Directors to fill the vacancy created by Marjorie David’s election as Vice President.

NUMERICAL VOTING RESULTS

President: David A. Goodman (1,952)

Vice President: Marjorie David (1,962)

Secretary-Treasurer: Aaron Mendelsohn (1,322), Carleton Eastlake (553).

Board of Directors: John August (1,634), Nicole Yorkin (1,561), Andrea Berloff (inc.) (1,510), Meredith Stiehm (inc.) (1,436), Angelina Burnett (1,337), Luvh Rakhe (inc.) (1,337), Michele Mulroney (1,284), Zak Penn (inc.) (1,172), Patti Carr (1,096), Spiro Skentzos (920), Francesca Butler (734).

A total of 2,142 valid ballots were cast. The ballot count was supervised by Votenet Solutions.

The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) is a labor union representing writers of motion pictures, television, radio, and Internet programming, including news and documentaries. Founded in 1933, the Guild negotiates and administers contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of its members. It is involved in a wide range of programs that advance the interests of writers, and is active in public policy and legislative matters on the local, national, and international levels. For more information on the WGAW, please visit: www.wga.org.

Keely MacDonald Named Fox Writers Lab Fellow

by TVWriter™ Press Service

Fox Inclusive has named a fellow for its Fox Writers Lab.

Writer Keely MacDonald has been selected from the sixth annual group of finalists and has received a script development deal with Fox Broadcasting Company. A 2012 grad of Duke University, MacDonald became an intern on Fox’s Sleepy Hollow in 2013, eventually graduating to full-fledged writer on show with the season four episode, “Insatiable.”

Launched in 2011, Fox Writers Lab (formerly known as the Fox Writers Intensive) is an initiative designed to nurture writers who have diverse voices, backgrounds and life experiences in an effort to create a strong pipeline of talent for potential staffing on Fox television shows and films.

During this year’s program, the Lab writers each developed and wrote an original pilot script, working with producer Sheila Hanahan-Taylor of Practical Pictures and Kelly Kulchak, head of current programming at Dreamworks Animation. The writing culminated in a “Pitchfest” in which writers pitched their original ideas to network and studio executives.

Other writers who participated in the lab were Arielle Diaz, Brad Marques, Elizabeth Oyebode, Erick Castrillon and Esteban Arango, Jennifer Graham Imada, Lauren Tyler, Mellori Velasquez, Nicky Young, Pilar Valdes, Tania Lotia and Yasemin Yilmaz.

All the writers are being promoted throughout the Fox creative community and submitted for potential staffing on current and future Fox Entertainment productions. This year’s 12 writers were selected from a pool of nominations submitted by showrunners, talent representation and arts organizations across the country, so if you aren’t already a kind of junior showbiz insider, be aware that this may not be the program for you.

Attn LA Writers: Opportunity is a’Knockin’ at ‘theOffice’

Announcing the 2017 Fellowship to theOffice
by TVWriter™ Press Service

Know how we’re always saying that if you want to be in the Biz you should live in L.A.? Well, here’s an example of what we’re talking about.

If you’re looking for the perfect place to leave the distractions of life behind and kick your productivity into overdrive, enter now to win a FREE 6-Month Premium Membership to theOffice. (Yep, that’s the name. We’d put a (sic) after it, but that just makes us feel pompous.)

theOffice is a quiet, communal workspace on 26th Street in Santa Monica. It’s one of the country’s premiere co-working spaces, fostering creativity and productivity in a zen, distraction-free environment for over 13 years.

The membership roster consists of A-list screenwriters, authors, journalists and other creatives. Current and charter members include JJ Abrams, Paul Feig, Chris Weitz, Matthew Carnahan, Clark Gregg, Gigi Levangie Grazer, Jen Celotta and many more.

Dozens of screenplays and novels have been written there. No conference rooms. No phone calls. No conversation. It’s where serious writers go to get it done.

Wade Gasque, manager at theOffice, says:

As a writer myself, I’ve done the coffee shop shuffle. I know how hard it is to find somewhere dependable to work, somewhere without the distractions of home, somewhere quiet and inspiring where I can quickly get into the zone and get words on the page. That’s precisely what we offer here at theOffice. But because many up-and-coming writers might not have the dedicated funds for a monthly writing space like theOffice, we started offering a free fellowship a few years back. The fellowship is essentially a 6-month Premium Membership to theOffice. You get your own door code to access the space at all hours so you can get as much done as you can for the next six months. We’re looking for up-and-coming writers of talent who are dedicated to their craft.

This fellowship is completely free to enter, but the deadline is drawing near. Apply by August 8th or you’re out of luck. All of the details are at www.theOfficeFellowship.com including info on this year’s judges – Mark Cullen, Nicole LaPorte and David Scarpa.

Send submissions and inquiries to: theOfficeFellowship@gmail.com

Website: www.theOfficeOnline.com
Twitter: @theOffice_LA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theOfficeinLA/

Indie Video: ‘Ace and Anxious’

NOTE FROM LB: Boy, life sure is funny. Just yesterday, we were lamenting that one of our favorite contributors, Ms. Bri Castellini, was no longer writing a regular column here at TVWriter™, and lo and behold, along came the following info.

It’s a press release, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t also well-written and interesting and true. Especially since it plugs one of the most talented young creatives we know. Who, in that self-same article yesterday was heard to question her ability to self-promote. Way to overcome, Bri!

Take it away, Undead Burrito Productions:

 ACE AND ANXIOUS
the new award-winning short film about asexuality and anxiety
is now available for online viewing
by Undead Burrito Productions & TVWriter™ Press Service 

Undead Burrito Productions is proud to present the brand new award-winning short film, Ace and Anxious, written and directed by Bri Castellini, which is now available for online viewing thanks to St. Lawrence International Film Festival Online. The film will be available throughout June 2017 here while the judges make their decisions, and if it wins an award, it will be available on their “Filmmakers to Watch” page and shared with their industry database.

About the Film

After a resurgence of her panic attacks, Emma (played by Dana Shiree), an asexual graphic designer, panics, because her mental health care costs are already so high. When a condom company hires her to make an infographic on the benefits of sex, however, she discovers that one of those benefits is decreased anxiety and stress. She shares this discovery with her therapist, Jenny (played by Rachel Casparian), and announces her intention to try out this unconventional treatment option. With her roommate Kevin (played by Colin Hinckley) as a bouncer, she sets up a series of interviews via a Craigslist ad to test her hypothesis that sex will cure her panic attacks.

The screenplay won “Best Short Screenplay” at the New York Short Film and Screenplay Competition in 2016 and the London Indie Fest in 2017, and was an official selection in the screenplay category at the Silver Screen Film Fest, 2017, the Freedom Film Fest, 2016, and Paris Art and Movie Awards, 2016.

The film won “Best Comedy” at the Women’s Only Entertainment Film Festival and is an official selection at both the St. Lawrence International Film Festival and the Howling Wolf International Short Film Festival.

About the Director

Bri Castellini has an MFA in Writing and Producing for Television and a BA in Creative Writing, studying in New York and Oregon, respectively. She currently resides in Brooklyn with her partner and works as the Community Liaison for Stareable.com. Outside of Ace and Anxious, she is the creator, writer, producer, and star (among other things) of the award-winning comedic zombie web series Brains, the executive producer (among other things) for the web series Relativity,  the producer and assistant director for the web series Stray and the web series The Mother Lode, and the associate producer for the web series History.