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EXCLUSIVE: Natural Resources Defense Council, nan Black List, CAA Community + Impact, NBCUniversal, and The Redford Center person announced nan 3 recipients of nan 2026 NRDC Climate Storytelling Fellowship.
This cycle, Kirby Atkins, Claire Barclay, and Teddy Cecil person been selected retired of astir 700 submissions. Mentors will see Dustin Lance Black (Under nan Banner of Heaven, Milk), Stephen Markley (The Deluge, Only Murders successful nan Building), and JJ Philbin (The O.C., New Girl).
Now successful its sixth year, nan NRDC Climate Storytelling Fellowship is simply a programme designed to thief screenwriters create compelling stories involving ambiance alteration and biology justice.
Each chap receives a $20,000 assistance and is paired pinch an intermezo master who tin supply mentorship and imaginative support to further create their stories. Additionally, recipients person counsel from biology experts connected ambiance issues highlighted successful their script, and NRDC’s Rewrite nan Future programme advises connected effective approaches to processing ambiance themes. This year, caller imaginative partner Climate Spring will connection yet different dedicated gathering for each chap pinch a Climate Spring improvement executive to supply improvement proposal and consultation connected their script.
Revised scripts whitethorn beryllium reviewed for improvement by studios, agencies and accumulation companies, including Climate Spring, CAA, HyperObject Industries, Yellow Dot Studios, UTA, WME, and NBCUniversal.
“As we statesman nan fellowship’s sixth cycle, we are energized to spot truthful galore complex, human-centered stories that uncover really nan ambiance situation is reshaping our lives and choices,” said Katy Jacobs, Fellowship Founder and Entertainment Partnerships Director, NRDC. “These stories thief grow our perspective, and floor plan nan measurement toward a much hopeful future.”
The sixth rhythm of nan fellowship launches today, pinch applications to beryllium accepted done December 4.
For much accusation connected this year’s fellows and projects, publication on.
OUT OF ASHES (feature) by KIRBY ATKINS: During nan Dust Bowl, a grief-stricken mother joins a hopeless caravan west—pursued by nan representation of what she’s mislaid and ancient creatures awakened by a shifting climate.
Kirby Atkins is simply a writer and head whose activity spans animation, ocular effects, and characteristic filmmaking. He has developed projects for Robert De Niro, Miramax and 20th Century Fox, and besides directed nan Nickelodeon bid The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. In 2019, Kirby wrote and directed Mosley, nan first New Zealand/China Film Group co-production. The movie received aggregate world awards, and was released worldwide by Paramount Pictures successful 2021. Kirby played nan title domiciled successful nan film, starring pinch nan each New Zealander formed of John Rhys-Davies (LOTR), Lucy Lawless (Xena, Warrior Princess), Rhys Darby (Flight of nan Conchords), and Termuera Morrison (Star Wars).
HINAKI (pilot) by CLAIRE BARCLAY: Hell-bent connected proving his extremist mother is simply a fraud, a Māori journalist chases footage of an biology ‘miracle’ into a confrontation pinch those who judge only they ain nan future.
Claire Barclay is simply a New Zealander of Māori (Ngāti Apa/Ngāti Hauiti) and European descent, based successful London. Since completing an NFTS screenwriting programme successful 2020 she’s received nickname from nan Writers Lab UK, Athena Film Festival Writers Lab and NZFC Black List New Zealand Project. Her activity explores really we travel undone successful nan coming if we don’t look nan past. Hīnaki was inspired by her precocious father, Māori filmmaker Barry Barclay, and his 1985 documentary The Neglected Miracle astir nan title by corporations to patent nan world’s seeds. At nan clip it was made he said ‘it is crazy to ain life.’ Decades later, struck by its prescience connected biodiversity loss, Claire considered a follow-up documentary, but it was a play that took clasp of her instead.
SANDY GRAY (feature) by TEDDY CECIL: In nan distant Scottish Highlands, a young teen sets retired to beryllium nan beingness of a mysterious creature, hoping to sphere nan magic of his organization and protect it from business ruin. This is nan unknown, existent communicative of really nan Loch Ness Monster became a legend.
Teddy Cecil is simply a Los Angeles-based writer, director, and shaper primitively from New York whose activity blends history, folklore and genre to research identity, resilience, and belonging. A postgraduate of New York University’s Tisch School of nan Arts, he began his profession arsenic Ang Lee’s accumulation adjunct and mentee earlier directing euphony videos for artists including 2 Chainz, Nicki Minaj, Big Sean and YG. His activity has been featured successful MovieMaker, IndieWire and FilmBuzz, and includes nan award-winning shorts Helio, which earned millions of views online and won Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy astatine San Diego Comic-Con, and Only a Movie!. After overcoming a uncommon autoimmune illness that forced him into an eight-year hiatus, he returned to filmmaking done Sandy Gray. The task selected for The Black List Projects Lab won nan Save nan Cat Feature Screenplay Challenge Grand Prize and Best Feature Drama astatine Shore Scripts, was named a Black List Reader Recommended and Must-Read script, was selected arsenic 1 of 25 Academy Nicholl Fellowship entrants from 2,500 submissions, and was a finalist successful nan Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition and Roadmap’s Top Tier Competition.
