Monday, June 10, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
James Bridges Theater, Melnitz Hall, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
The Event
The Screenwriters Showcase is an annual event, part of the UCLA TFT Film Festival, and is designed to celebrate the work of the Screenwriting MFA Program and introduce outstanding student scripts to the industry. Students submit feature-length and TV scripts that they worked on in the program, which are read and critiqued by industry experts.
This year, the UCLA Screenwriters Showcase is Monday, June 10, 2024. The Showcase features an awards ceremony for the screenwriting students’ highest-rated feature scripts and TV pilots as selected by the industry professionals.
Previous Screenwriters Showcase participants have signed with managers and agents, become staff writers on TV series, optioned winning scripts, and have received many other distinctions and awards. Please visit the UCLA TFT Screenwriters’ website for more information: UCLA Showcase 2024
Student Hosts: Ruby Baden, Cliff Chi, Khalif J. Gillett , Niki Iyer
Distinguished Award in Screenwriting Honoree
Sev Ohanian
In 2018, Ohanian received the Sundance Institute Amazon Studios Narrative Producer Award and the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Award, and in 2021, he was named as one of Hollywood Reporter’s 35 Under 35 alongside his sister Ramela Ohanian(!). Up next for Ohanian is the Untitled Ryan Coogler / Michael B. Jordan Film for Warner Bros.
Award Categories
Original Feature
Border Bait – Sarah Morales
In Defense of a Married Man – Simon Smith
Out of the Box – Cara-Lynn Branch *WINNER*
Feature Adaptation
All That Is Gold – Sean Niu *WINNER*
Scripted Fiction – Sarah Morales
The Demon Steed – Kevin Nail
Half-hour Pilot
Debate Bitches – Ruby Baden
Far Fetched – Bailey Nemirow
First Chair – Emma Kantor *WINNER*
Hour-long Pilot
Neighborhood Heisters – Haden Beswick-Hale
Run – Niki Iyer
The Fool Dances for Free – Sean Niu *WINNER*
The Nominees
Sarah Morales
Sarah Morales is an LA-based writer focused on horror feature films with female ensembles and plenty of gore. She received her BS in Neuroscience from UCLA and is a 2024 graduate of UCLA’s School of Theater, Film & Television, where she received the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation award for her integration of science with storytelling.
Emma Kantor
Raised in Oakland, California, Emma Kantor is drawn to television that incorporates both humor and heart. After years participating in orchestras from middle school through college, Emma realized that she was a much better writer than violinist. Now, her violin is collecting dust in her Los Angeles apartment’s closet, taking up valuable shoe space. Is it haunted? I00%. Emma is delighted to graduate this year with an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA. First Chair *WINNER of Half Hour Pilot*
Haden Beswick-Hale
My name is Haden Beswick-Hale. Originally from Chicago, Illinois I attended undergrad at Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida where I received a BFA in digital filmmaking before attending UCLA. I enjoy writing stories based around my own experiences, bringing memories to life and adding drama or comedy as it best sees fit. I’ve always enjoyed directing as well, and I hope to get an opportunity in the directors chair as I move forward into the unknown!
Simon Smith
Simon Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Penn State University. He also writes dark, comedic screenplays about dysfunctional families and institutions. Although he spent time growing up in Hong Kong, his roots in northwestern Pennsylvania inspire his often surreal perspective of rural America—the setting for much of his work.
Bailey Nemirow
Bailey Nemirow writes romantic and irreverent female-led stories. Originally hailing from North Carolina, she holds a BA in Film & Media Arts from American University in Washington, DC. She receives her MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA this June. When she’s not writing scripts, she can be found recommending books in independent bookstores. Yes, the one she works as a bookseller at, but also as a chatty customer.
Ruby Baden
Ruby Baden is a comedy screenwriter. She is originally from Baltimore, Maryland. She attended Johns Hopkins University where she majored in Film and Media Studies and minored in Marketing. She has never used that minor once.
Sean Niu
Sean Niu is a multidisciplinary filmmaker from Los Angeles, California who is currently finishing his MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA’s Theatre, Film and Television Program. He also has an MBA from MIT and Bachelor of Science from the London School of Economics. Before UCLA, Sean worked on products at MIT and Amazon that created alternate realities and helped computers see — now his stories address his anxieties for a future he helped build. *WINNER of Hour Long Pilot and Feature Adaptation*
Kevin Nail
Kevin Nail is a multi-racial screenwriter and filmmaker born and raised in Fort Worth, TX. He graduated with a BFA in Film from the University of Texas in Arlington in 2020. While at UTA, Kevin’s short films “Motivation Monday”, “The 4”, and “Legend Mary” competed in and won multiple film festivals. Since 2022, Kevin has lived in Los Angeles and will earn his MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA in June of 2024. He generally writes in the horror, thriller, and crime genres. Prior to his work in film, Kevin earned a BA degree in Journalism (also from UTA). He worked as a freelance journalist for years before returning to UTA to pursue film. Kevin has also had three poems and two short stories published.
Cara-Lynn Branch
Cara-Lynn Branch is an LGBTQ+ American/Canadian writer from Toronto, which means she grew up with a deep love of baseball and the ability to make maple syrup. She is a member of the Writers Guild of Canada and a recipient of multiple writing awards, including the Stowe Story Labs / Sidewalk Film Festival Fellowship, the Telefilm New Voices Award, and an AFF finalist placement. Cara-Lynn is a 2024 graduate of UCLA’s School of Theater, Film & Television, where she focused on writing queer narratives. A sufferer of wanderlust, when she’s not writing, she can be found gallivanting the world for inspiration. *WINNER of Original Feature*
Niki Iyer
Niki Iyer is an aspiring film and television executive from the SF Bay Area, California. A former national-level track and field athlete and a bioengineer, she’s on her third life as a storyteller. Having graduated from UC Berkeley’s film program in May 2021 with an emphasis in television writing and producing, Niki is passionate about telling stories that are thematically centered around identity, instinct, and morality. Raised in the cutthroat Silicon Valley by Indian immigrants, she hopes to expand upon the action thriller and action adventure genres that she was exposed to at a young age. In an attempt to bridge the gap between executive leadership and creative insight, Niki joined UCLA’s MFA Screenwriting program in Fall 2022. Through her time at UCLA’s MFA Screenwriting program, Niki has received training in the one hour drama writing discipline while honing her skills specifically in the action adventure, sports, and thriller genres. She will be graduating from the program in Spring 2024. Apart from her educational background, Niki has had experience in development, having interned at FilmNation Entertainment, Perfect Storm Entertainment, and Proximity Media. Prior to her time at UCLA, she worked as an executive assistant supporting CEO Franklin. Leonard at The Black List, where she founded and led the inaugural Desi List.