Humanitas
The Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Award
2019
Reads in Coverfly
Active Since 2017
The Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Award recognizes one student writer whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced, meaningful way.
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About

HUMANITAS created The Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Fellowship in 2017 thanks to a generous endowment from acclaimed television writer and producer Carol Mendelsohn, best known for her work on the crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which was once ranked as the top-watched TV show in the world.

The Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Fellowship exists to recognize and reward the talents of young writers with financial support to empower them to tell meaningful stories.


A SIGNATURE HUMANITAS STORY MUST:

  • Challenge us to use our freedom to grow and develop.
  • Confront us with our individual responsibility.
  • Examine the consequences of our choices.

SUBMISSION TYPES

  • 30-minute (22 to 38 pages)
  • 60-minute (44 to 60 pages)
  • 90-minute (75 to 90 pages)
  • Feature Film (105 to 120 pages)
  • New Media (submissions must include 3 scripts–5 to 12 pages each)


 PLEASE NOTE

  • Spec episodes of existing shows will no longer be accepted. We are looking for original scripts for either film or TV that showcase each writer's voice and point of view as an individual.
  • Plays and short stories are not accepted.
  • Submitted scripts must be original work.
  • Students may be contacted for interviews as part of the selection process.
  • Students must be enrolled in a BFA or MFA program


SUBMISSION MATERIALS

  • Name, email address and phone number
  • Logline
  • Brief synopsis
  • Script (.pdf)

Benefits

Prize: $20,000 Grant

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2024 Finalists on Coverfly

Top 1%
TV Script  · Historical  · 62 Pages
On a Sunday night in 1973, a gay bar in New Orleans is torched to the ground, killing 32. But it is when the powers-that-be systemically work to bury the story that a movement rises to reclaim the memory of the ones they lost – and loved.
Los Angeles, CA
In conservative ‘90s Pakistan, gay and genderqueer AJ Currie was born “othered” by default, and started world-building nice and early as a way of escaping the confines of his reality. An immigrant who adores a good fashion moment, AJ writes about outsiders in their own worlds, trying to find a way in. His work balances humanist contemplation wit...
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Top 2%
Feature  · Drama  · 111 Pages
Unexpected is a drama following Luca Aguilar, a 25 year old Transgender man who moves to Austin, Texas to attend film school. For the first time, Luca is able to explore the gay dating scene and his new life, only to discover after a random hook-up that he is unexpectedly pregnant.
Bennett Kaspar-Williams (he/they) is Trans, non-binary, queer writer and advocate who began his career in entertainment working on the hit documentary film Disclosure. Bennett is a graduate of the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television’s Professional Program in Screenwriting, a father, and a husband. Bennett believes that representation matters!...
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Top 1%
TV Script  · Drama  · 61 Pages
A beloved comedian's life is thrown into chaos when his friend and long-time double-act is accused of sexual assault.
Los Angeles, California
Zoe Miller is a 2024 Screenwriting graduate from the American Film Institute Conservatory.
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Announcements

Aug 22nd
Finalists