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2018 NATIVE AMERICAN TV WRITERS LAB
May 14, 2018 @ 10:00 am - June 17, 2018 @ 10:00 pm
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NATIVE AMERICAN PARTICIPANTS SELECTED FOR THE 2018 NATIVE AMERICAN TV WRITERS LAB
Los Angeles, CA – The LA Skins Fest, a Native American film festival, in partnership with Comcast NBCUniversal, CBS Entertainment Diversity, Netflix, HBO, United Talent Agency, and Turner, announced today they have selected 7 participants for the 3rd NATIVE AMERICAN TV WRITERS LAB, a talent development program that aims to boost the careers of Native American writers.
The NATIVE AMERICAN TV WRITERS LAB participants will take part in a five week curriculum curated by seasoned writing executives. The lab will consist of daily workshops, seminars and one-on-one mentoring to help each writer develop and complete a pilot in five weeks and hone skills to prepare the writers to move into staff writing jobs.
The 7 participants:
Jason Marcus (Iroquois)
Siena East (Choctaw)
Vladimir Perez (Taino)
Sonya Oberly (Nez Perce)
Riley Page (Lakota)
Jade Puga (Guachichil/Huastec/Lipan Apache)
Erik Fritts-Davis (Ojibwee)
At the end of the program, each participant will have completed an original television script and will take creative meetings with various executives. The five week total immersion lab will be mentored and guided by Gabe Garza (Writer/The Flash, Co-Executive Producer/Bella and the Bulldogs)..
The NATIVE AMERICAN TV WRITERS LAB was created to expand the amount of Native Americans working behind the camera, as a way to increase fair and accurate portrayals of Native Americans on television. During the 2013-14 television season, Native Americans composed only 0.1% of writers staffed on TV shows, according to the 2015 Writers Guild of America-West TV Staffing Brief.
Ian Skorodin (Choctaw), Founding Director of the LA SKINS FEST, said, “Together with our partners at Comcast/NBCUniversal, CBS Entertainment Diversity and HBO, we are honored to offer this incredible opportunity. This lab is a first step in giving a voice to an overwhelmingly talented but overlooked community.”
The 2018 Native American TV Writers Lab is sponsored by Comcast/NBCUniversal, CBS Entertainment Diversity, HBO, Netflix, and Turner Broadcasting.