FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEMBERS OF WOMEN OF COLOR UNITE CREATE THE, “SCREENWRITING CONTEST TRANSPARENCY” WHITEPAPER, TO ADDRESS GENDER AND RACE BIAS IN HOLLYWOOD WRITING COMPETITIONS
LOS ANGELES, June, 6, 2022 — Members of Women of Color Unite (WOCU) have come together to create, Screenwriting Contest Transparency, a whitepaper addressing gender and race biases in Hollywood writing competitions, labs, and fellowships. The document will be distributed to the over 5000 members of WOCU, creatives, studio and network heads, talent and agents, with the purpose of shining a bright light on unfair practices that impact a marginalized sector of writers.
“Women of Color Unite is proud to support these members who have been diligently working on this call for action for many months. Our industry for far too long has existed on the lack of transparency and the lack of accountability in all facets. That needs to end,” said WOCU founder Cheryl L. Bedford.
The Screenwriting Contest Transparency document provides insight into a culture of inequity that limits opportunities for many writers by perpetuating a tunnel vision view of what type of stories, experiences, and voices a writer should have to be considered “good” or “talented.”
WOCU members Dani Milton, Via Bia, and Julia Morizawa were tired of submitting scripts to TV & Film writing competitions, labs, fellowships, and coverage services, with little to no value in the limited or biased feedback.
“The process of receiving contest notes or paid coverage was becoming very frustrating. I often received notes that seemed distracted by the gender and/or race of my protagonists and were ultimately unhelpful, as they failed to consider story, structure, characters or dialogue. I started noticing that my fellow women writers, particularly women of color, were experiencing the same issues. And I knew something needed to be done about it.” — Dani Milton
“For many, screenwriting contests are used as a hard deadline to complete a new draft, or as a silent prayer thrown to the wind. Yet we wondered what would happen if screenwriting contests and fellowships, with their historic long-shot odds and (frequently) opaque judging processes, built their structures with transparency and equity as their first order of business?” – Via Bia
“As a freelance script reader, I am constantly baffled by other analysts who provide notes along the lines of, ‘Nobody wants to see this story’ or ‘There isn’t an audience for this.’ There is an audience for everything and I can absolutely connect with a story even if it’s about a community I don’t identify with. These comments are often targeted at scripts featuring underrepresented groups. It’s a vicious cycle that needs to end.” – Julia Morizawa
The writers came together and after having a conversation with Cheryl L. Bedford, developed a strategy. They did research, a survey, spoke to other writers of color about their experiences, and created a Call to Action, demanding change. They are asking all writers, creatives, studio & network executives, producers and directors to make the #WritersMakingChange pledge; an initiative for course correction.
This is a way to start knocking down walls that have stopped talented writers from working in Hollywood for too many years.
WOCU is asking producers, directors, writers, production companies, studios, and all creatives to take the #WritersMakingChange pledge in support of the solutions proposed in the paper on the WOCU website here. Writers can not only sign their names, but also share their experiences.
For media inquiries, contact Amy Malone, Girl in Charge Public Relations, 323-972-4081 or amy@gicpublicrelations.net.
MEDIA CONTACT
Amy Malone, Girl in Charge Public Relations
323-972-4081
amy@gicpublicrelations.net