ACADEMY REVEALS 2024 NICHOLL SCREENWRITING FELLOWS

LOS ANGELES, CA – Four individuals and one writing team have been selected as recipients of the 2024 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting.  Each individual and writing team will receive a $35,000 prize and mentorship from an Academy member throughout their fellowship year.  They also will participate in a week of virtual seminars, a virtual meet and greet with the Nicholl Fellowships committee, and in-person networking events, including a celebration in Beverly Hills on October 29.  The Nicholl Fellowships were established in 1985 through the support of Gee Nicholl in memory of her husband, Don Nicholl.

The 2024 Nicholl Fellows are (listed alphabetically by author):

Alysha Chan and David Zarif (Los Angeles, CA), “Miss Chinatown”
Jackie Yee follows in her mother’s footsteps on her quest to win the Los Angeles Miss Chinatown pageant.

Colton Childs (Waco, TX), “Fake-A-Wish”
Despite their forty-year age gap, and the cancer treatment confining them to their small Texas town, two gay men embark on a road trip to San Francisco to grant themselves the Make-A-Wish they’re too old to receive.

Charmaine Colina (Los Angeles, CA), “Gunslinger Bride”
With a bounty on her head, a young Chinese-American gunslinger poses as a mail order bride to hide from the law and seek revenge for her murdered family.

Ward Kamel (Brooklyn, NY), “If I Die in America”
After the sudden death of his immigrant husband, an American man’s tenuous relationship with his Muslim in-laws reaches a breaking point as he tries to fit into the funeral they’ve arranged in the Middle East.  Adapted from the SXSW® Grand Jury-nominated short film of the same name.

Wendy Britton Young (West Chester, PA), “The Superb Lyrebird & Other Creatures”
A neurodivergent teen who envisions people as animated creatures, battles an entitled rival for a life-changing art scholarship, while her sister unwisely crosses the line to help.

A total of 5,500 scripts, from 80 countries, were submitted for the 2024 competition.

The 2024 finalists are (listed alphabetically by author):

Kelly Beck-Byrnes, “Where the Boxelders Grow”
Tate Hamilton,    “Delivery Girl”
Jamie Murphy, “Lights over Idaho”
Adele Smaill, “No Ghosts Tonight”
Justine Suh, “Deep”

The five fellowships are awarded with the understanding that recipients will complete feature-length screenplays during their fellowship year.  The Academy acquires no rights to the works of Nicholl fellows and does not involve itself commercially in any way with their completed scripts.

The Academy Nicholl Fellowships Committee is chaired by Julie Lynn (Producers Branch).  The members of the committee are Aldis Hodge and Caitríona Balfe (Actors Branch); Julien Thuan (Artist Representatives); Susan Shopmaker and Academy governor Kim Taylor-Coleman (Casting Directors Branch); Andrzej Bartkowiak (Cinematographers Branch); Allison Anders (Directors Branch); Bruce Hendricks and Marcus Hu (Executives Branch); Blaise Noto (Marketing and Public Relations Branch); Jason Michael Berman, Susan Cartsonis, Julia Chasman and Linda Reisman (Producers Branch); Sue Chan (Production Design Branch); Bobbi Banks (Sound Branch); and Destin Daniel Cretton, Susannah Grant, Ehren Kruger, Adele Lim, Justin Marks, Zak Penn and Katie Silberman (Writers Branch).

The global competition, which aims to identify and encourage talented new screenwriters, has awarded 186 fellowships since 1986.  In 2024, several past Nicholl fellows added to their feature film and television credits:

• Aaron Chung is a staff writer on Apple+’s “WondLa.”
• Elizabeth Chomko directed the docuseries “Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints.”
• Eric Nazarian wrote and directed “Die like a Man.”
• “Holy Irresistible” is from Andrew Shearer and Nicholas Sherman’s 2007 Nicholl-winning script.
• “Interstate” is from Anthony Jaswinski’s 1997 Nicholl-winning script.
• Jason Micallef is an executive producer and writer on Disney+’s “The Acolyte.”
• R.J. Daniel Hanna wrote and directed two features: “Succubus” and “Hard Miles,” which he co-wrote.

For more information about the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, visit oscars.org/nicholl.

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