5th Annual Native American TV Writers Lab

NATIVE AMERICAN PARTICIPANTS SELECTED FOR THE 5TH ANNUAL NATIVE AMERICAN TV WRITERS LAB

Sponsored by Comcast NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Walt Disney Television, the Cherokee Nation Film Office, Kung Fu Monkey Productions and Snowpants Productions. The LA Skins Fest, a Native American film festival, in partnership with Comcast NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Walt Disney Television, the Cherokee Nation Film Office, Kung Fu Monkey Productions and Snowpants Productions, is thrilled to announce the selection of the NATIVE AMERICAN TV WRITERS LAB fellows for 2020.

“The Cherokee Nation Film Office is proud to sponsor the Native American TV Writers Lab as it falls right in line with our mission to increase the presence of Native Americans in every level of the film and television industries.” announced Jennifer Loren, director of the Cherokee Nation Film Office. “Representation matters; especially as it pertains to how Natives are portrayed in film, television and pop culture, and we are happy to provide support to an organization actively working to increase Native voices in Hollywood.

Founded in 2016, the NATIVE AMERICAN TV WRITERS LAB is an intensive TV scriptwriters workshop that prepares Native Americans for writing careers at major television networks. Fellows take part in a five week curriculum curated by seasoned writing executives. The lab 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. This year’s lab is instructed by writer Cari Daly.

The 8 participants are:

Doane Tulugaq Avery (Inupiaq)

Emma Barrow (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma)

Sheila Chalakee (Muskogee Creek)

Kris Crenwelge (Choctaw)

Boise Esquerra (Hopi)

Brian Ramian (Acjachemen)

Kaherawaks Thompson (St. Regis Mohawks of Akwesasne)

Brian Vallie (Crow)

At the end of the program, each participant will have completed an original television script and will take creative meetings with our corporate partners.

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. Native Americans continue to maintain the lowest representation of writers on current television series.

“It is vital that we prepare our writers to tell our stories and offer genuine opportunities to showcase our voices and stories,” said LA SKINS FEST Director Ian Skorodin. “We have an immensely talented community eager to share new narratives in an ever expanding industry.”

The 2020 Native American TV Writers Lab is sponsored by Comcast NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Walt Disney Television, the Cherokee Nation Film Office, Kung Fu Monkey Productions and Snowpants Productions.

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