LOS ANGELES, Calif. (November 14, 2019) – Eighty-six film and television writers have been named finalists for the 2020 HUMANITAS Prize, it was announced today by HUMANITAS Executive Director Cathleen Young and President Ali LeRoi. Celebrating its 45th anniversary, the HUMANITAS Prize honors film and television writers whose work inspires compassion, hope, and understanding in the human family.

The finalists are nominated for their work in 10 categories including Comedy Teleplay, Drama Teleplay, Children’s Teleplay, Independent Feature Film, Drama Feature Film, Comedy or Musical Feature Film, Family Feature Film, and Documentary. In addition, this year HUMANITAS has introduced two new categories, Limited Series, TV Movie or Special and Short Film, to reflect the increased significance of those forms in the digital media landscape.

Six college students have been named as finalists for The David and Lynn Angell College Comedy Fellowship and The Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Fellowship. The winning writers in each category will be awarded $20,000 in prize money.

Six HUMANITAS New Voices winners will be honored at the event. The winning writers received mentorship and will be awarded $7,500 in prize money.

All prize winners will be announced at the 45th Annual HUMANITAS Prize event on Friday, January 24, 2020, at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.

“As we celebrate four and a half decades of empowering, supporting, and honoring storytellers, HUMANITAS continues to evolve and grow to reflect the world around us,” said LeRoi. “This year we have added two new categories to recognize work in forms that have seen dramatic increases in both popularity and artistic merit in the age of streaming and online viewing.”

Added Young: “As our world faces enormous challenges to the goal of peace and love in the human family, which is at the core of HUMANITAS’s mission, it is extremely inspiring to be able to honor the work of so many talented individuals. Intelligent, insightful and compassionate storytelling remains one of the most powerful weapons against hate and intolerance, and our finalists’ work epitomizes those qualities.”

The 45th Annual HUMANITAS Prize finalists are:



Drama Teleplay Category

THIS IS US “Our Little Island Girl” Written by Eboni Freeman

POSE “In My Heels” Written By Ryan Murphy & Brad Falchuck & Steven Canals

THE TWILIGHT ZONE “Replay” Written by Selwyn Seyfu Hinds

THE HANDMAID’S TALE “Useful” Written by Yahlin Chang; based on the novel by Margaret Atwood



Comedy Teleplay Category

SHRILL “Annie” Teleplay by Aidy Bryant & Alexandra Rushfield & Lindy West; based on the book Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman by Lindy West

BLACK-ISH “Black Like Us” Written By Peter Saji

ATYPICAL “Road Rage Paige” Written By Robia Rashid

VEEP “South Carolina” Written By Alex Gregory & Peter Huyck



Limited Series, TV Movie or Special Category

WHEN THEY SEE US “Part 4” Teleplay by Ava DuVernay & Michael Starrbury; story by Ava DuVernay

TRUE DETECTIVE “Now Am Found” Written by Nic Pizzolatto

CHERNOBYL “Vichnaya Pamyat” Written by Craig Mazin

LIVE IN FRONT OF A STUDIO AUDIENCE: NORMAL LEAR’S ALL IN THE FAMILY AND THE JEFFERSONS “All in the Family #406: ‘Henry's Farewell’” Written by Don Nicholl; “The Jeffersons #101: ‘A Friend in Need’” Teleplay by Don Nicholl, Michael Ross & Bernard West, Barry Harman & Harve Brosten; story by Barry Harman & Harve Brosten



Children’s Teleplay Category

THE LOUD HOUSE “Racing Hearts” Written by Kevin Sullivan

A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS “The Penultimate Peril, Part 1” Teleplay by Joe Tracz; based on the book by Lemony Snicket

ELENA OF AVALOR “Changing of the Guard” Written by Kate Kondell

NIKO AND THE SWORD OF LIGHT, SEASON 2: NIKO AND THE AMULET OF POWER “The Automatron” Written by Shaene Siders



Drama Feature Film Category

A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD Written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster; inspired by the article “Can You Say… Hero?” by Tom Junod

A HIDDEN LIFE Written and directed by Terrence Malick

DARK WATERS Screenplay by Mario Correa and Matthew Michael Carnahan; based on the New York Times Magazine article “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare” by Nathaniel Rich

BOMBSHELL Written by Charles Randolph



Comedy or Musical Feature Film Category

YESTERDAY Story by Richard Curtis, Jack Barth; Written by Richard Curtis

THE FAREWELL Written by Lulu Wang

JOJO RABBIT Screenplay by Taika Waititi; Based on the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens

THE LAUNDROMAT Written by Scott Z. Burns; based on the book Secrecy World by Jake Bernstein



Family Feature Film Category

THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON Written by Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz

FROZEN 2 Story by Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck, Marc E. Smith, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez; Screenplay by Jennifer Lee

TOY STORY 4 Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Josh Cooley, Valerie LaPointe, Rashida Jones & Will McCormack, Martin Hynes and Stephany Folsom; Written by Andrew Stanton and Stephany Folsom

KLAUS Story by Sergio Pablos; screenplay by Sergio Pablos, Jim Mahoney, Zach Lewis



Independent Feature Film Category

END OF SENTENCE by Michael Armbruster

HOTEL MUMBAI by John Collee & Anthony Maras

BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON Written and directed by Paul Downs Colaizzo

CLEMENCY Written by Chinonye Chukwu



Short Film Category

VARIABLES Written by Sabina Vajraca

PURL Written by Kristen Lester

THEY CHARGE FOR THE SUN Story by Terence Nance; screenplay by Eugene Ramos

KITBULL Written by Rosana Sullivan



Documentary Category

TORN APART: SEPARATED AT THE BORDER Directed by Ellen Goosenberg Kent

ERNIE & JOE: CRISIS COPS Directed by Jenifer McShane

SEA OF SHADOWS Directed by Richard Ladkani

THIS IS FOOTBALL “Redemption” Written by John Carlin & James Erskine



The David and Lynn Angell College Comedy Fellowship

Eliana Pipes (Boston University) FAUXRICUA

Nick Madson (Boston University) DOWN AND OUT

Sheridan Watson (USC) LADY LAZARUS



The Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Fellowship

James Bentley (UCLA) THE PIRATES OF FELLOWSHIP, MAINE

King Lu (Columbia) FROM JUNE TO JULY

Jennifer Frazin (USC) CHOSEN PEOPLE



New Voices Winners

Robert Axelrod, TUCKED

Christina Brosman, SACRIFICIAL

Jeanine Daniels, CONVOLUTED

John Doble, THE AMEN SISTERHOOD

Obiageli Odimegwu, THE SHOW

Roniel Tessler, BLUE MOON

All winners, except for those in the Independent Feature Film, Short Film, College Fellowship, and New Voices categories, designate a nonprofit of their choice. Past recipients have included Young Storytellers, The Writers Guild Foundation, Rosie’s Theater Kids, Film2Future, Hedgebrook, ARC, The Remix Project, P.S. Arts, IDA, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Sundance Institute, KidUnity, WriteGirl, InsideOUT Writers, WeForShe, Venice Arts, 826LA, Story Pirates, The Heidelberg Project, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, A Place Called Home, California Innocence Project, eQuinoxe Europe, The Trevor Project, Ghetto Film School, Alliance of Women Directors, Arrupe Neighborhood Partnership, and Planned Parenthood.

About the HUMANITAS Prize

Since its inception in 1974, the HUMANITAS Prize has awarded over $4 million to more than 360 deserving television and motion picture writers whose work examines what it means to be a fully realized human being in a world struggling with racism, terrorism, sexism, ageism, anti-Semitism, political polarization, religious fanaticism, extreme poverty, violence, and unemployment. By deeply exploring the cultures, lifestyles, sexual orientations, political views, and religious beliefs of people who are very different from ourselves, we can dissolve the walls of ignorance and fear that separate us from one another. For more information, please visit the HUMANITAS Prize at www.humanitasprize.org.

Media Contact:

The HUMANITAS Prize

Lena Parodi

Program Coordinator

press@humanitasprize.org

(310) 454-8769