Introducing Our Fellows: Diverso’s Minority Report 2022
2022 marks the third annual Minority Report: Diverso’s flagship fellowship program for underrepresented student screenwriters. Made by students, for students, it is the first ever initiative of its kind.
At Diverso, we believe that systemic change in Hollywood starts at the student level. Diverso has partnered with IMDbPro, Final Draft, UTA, UPS, and 3 Arts Entertainment to run this year’s MR program, which helps underrepresented students break into the entertainment industry by providing them with exposure, resources, and connections in Hollywood.
MR received submissions from students across over 130 different universities. Scripts were vetted by our Industry Jury: a group of renowned executives and storytellers devoted to championing diverse stories.
Over the course of six months, our four fellows will attend virtual panels with top industry professionals, and receive script and career guidance from a personalized mentor. Their scripts will be read by production companies like A24, Blumhouse, Big Beach, Paramount, Plan B, and more. In past years, our fellows were set up on general meetings with executives from studios and production companies such as Plan B, Paramount, Universal, Big Beach, JuVee, Tornante, and more. Finally, they will be paid to develop their craft.
Hailing from four unique institutions, the MR Fellows will meld their voices and perspectives into a rich cohort of writers. Find more information on them below:
Lore V. Olivera - CURSED LANDS
School: Stanford University 2022
Logline: After her mother’s death, a troubled Chicana discovers she’s been cursed from birth to become the Keeper of her family’s matriarchal ranch in California— a sanctuary for sinister, dangerous creatures from Mexican folklore.
Bio: Lore is all about pink-haired feminism, good ole' "Exorcist" horror, and flowery Macondo-like magical realism. She is a B.A. candidate for English Literature and Film and Media Studies at Stanford University, with an emphasis on screenwriting. She writes female-centered Latinx stories that explore intersections between the horrific and the beautiful.
Kristen Edney - WEFT
School: Columbia University MFA 2023
Logline: A college student’s new weave hair isn’t 100% natural; it’s supernatural. After her grandmother’s tragic accident, she and the possessed hair get tangled up in an epic battle of good and evil in the hood.
Bio: Kristen Edney is a drama writer and director hailing from New York. Relatively new to the craft, her journey into filmmaking has been a wandering one. Majoring in anthropology and gender studies as an undergraduate, Kristen believes the tools from these disciplines contribute directly to her creative process. For Kristen, storytelling can be inclusive and opening. But let’s face it – storytelling can also be a means to maintain power, conformity and mindlessness. To combat these tendencies in her own writing, Kristen is interested in locating power in her stories where it has not previously existed. What happens when those who have been historically perceived as powerless, both embody and exercise it? In doing so, might they also contribute to the very systems that have confined their own existences and those of their communities? When her characters must confront their newfound privilege they are propelled to show us things about what it means to have power as well as the possibilities to exercise it in more nuanced ways. She does not invent characters; they invite her into their worlds – sometimes gentle, and at other times dystopic and uninhabitable. Kristen’s favorite moment is when character and world inform one another in their symbolism, folding in on themselves until the story feels whole. Kristen is the first in her family to pursue a career in filmmaking. She is completing an MFA in Screenwriting and Directing at Columbia University 's School of the Arts.
Harrison Hamm - ROADKILL
School: Loyola Marymount University 2022
Logline: Outed by his Southern Baptist church, an angsty theatre kid turned wanted arsonist embarks on a runaway mission to find his missing boyfriend, while hunted by his youth pastor and followed by a sentient armadillo.
Bio: Harrison Hamm is a dark comedy screenwriter, originally from rural Tennessee. Growing up queer and mixed race in a predominantly white Southern Baptist scene, Harrison turned to film, television, and theater as safe havens and creative outlets. During this time, Harrison discovered that laughter is a powerful resource for both healing and surviving on the margins. Harrison’s stories are driven by morbid humor, LGBTQ+ themes, and even a touch of the surreal. At 17, Harrison wrote, directed, and published his first major work - a stageplay titled THE BRANCHMAN. Now based in Los Angeles, Harrison pursues dual BAs in Screenwriting and Women’s & Gender Studies at Loyola Marymount University, where he co-created and assistant teaches “Queer Television” in LMU’s department of Film, TV, and Media Studies. Recently, Harrison has also interned for Outfest, the world’s leading LGBTQ+ film festival, empowering queer storytellers to drive meaningful social change. Honored to be named a 2022 Fellow in Diverso’s The Minority Report, Harrison looks forward to building community and writing toward a more loving world alongside a diverse community of creatives.
Val Tan - LION CITY RADIO SHOW
School: University of Southern California
Logline: Set in 1940s British occupied Singapore, a rebellious Chinese teenager starts an illegal radio station to blast some unsanctioned local music.
Bio: Val Tan is a filmmaker from Singapore. She graduated from USC School of Cinematic Arts in Film Production with a minor in Screenwriting. As a filmmaker, Val has films selected at LA Shorts, Hollyshorts, and Newport Beach Film Festival. She currently works as a writer/producer hoping to bring more diverse faces to the big screen. Ultimately, Val is passionate about telling stories from the heart, surrounding themes of culture and family.
