The Academy has announced four individuals and one writing team selected to receive the 2024 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting.
Every individual and team recipient will get a $35,000 prize and mentorship from an Academy member throughout their fellowship year, as well as an invitation to 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.
Some 5,500 scripts, from 80 countries, were submitted. The five fellowships are awarded on the understanding that recipients will complete feature-length screenplays during their fellowship year. The Academy does not acquire rights to the works of Nicholl fellows.
The 2024 Nicholl Fellows are listed below in alphabetical order by author. Project synopses are provided by the Academy.
Alysha Chan and David Zarif (Los Angeles), Miss Chinatown.
Jackie Yee follows in her mother’s footsteps on her quest to win the Los Angeles Miss Chinatown pageant.
Colton Childs (Waco), Fake-A-Wish
Despite their 40-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), 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), 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 of the same name.
Wendy Britton Young (West Chester), 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.
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