The finalists list has been revealed for the 44th Annual Humanitas Prize, with 58 film and TV writers making the cut to be announced by Humanitas Executive Director Cathleen Young and President Ali LeRoi on Tuesday. While the dedicated Children’s Animation category has been absorbed into a general kids’ section, animation is represented in both the Children’s Teleplay and Family Feature Film nominee lists. The Prize was created in 1974 to honor screenwriters whose work inspires compassion, hope and understanding in the human family.
Six college students have been named as finalists for The David and Lynn Angell College Comedy Fellowship and The Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Fellowship. The winning writers in each category will be awarded $20,000 in prize money.
Further, Humanitas will honor acclaimed writer/director/producer Marta Kauffman (co-creator Friends, Dream On, Grace and Frankie) with The Kieser Award, and NAACP Image Award-winning writer/producer Kenya Barris (creator of black-ish and grown-ish) with the Voice for Change Award.
All winners, except for those in the Independent Feature Film and College Fellowship categories, designate a non-profit focused on nurturing the next generation of writers to receive their earnings. The awards ceremony will be held February 8, 2019 at The Beverly Hills Hotel.
“It’s always an honor and a privilege to lift up writers who are passionate about telling stories that entertain us, but also deeply explore what it means to be a human in a way that promotes peace and love,” said Young.
A partial list of finalists is below. See the full list here.
Children’s Teleplay
ALEXA & KATIE, “Winter Formal, Part 2” Written by Matthew Carlson
MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC, “Surf and/or Turf” Written by Brian Hohlfeld
MUPPET BABIES, “You Say Potato, I Say Best Friend” Written by Laura Sreebny
Z-O-M-B-I-E-S Written by David Light & Joseph Raso, Based on Zombies & Cheerleaders Written by David Light & Joseph Raso
Family Feature Film
CHRISTOPHER ROBIN Screenplay by Alex Ross Perry and Tom McCarthy and Allison Schroeder, Story by Greg Brooker and Mark Steven Johnson, Based on the characters created by A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard
INCREDIBLES 2 Written and Directed by Brad Bird
ISLE OF DOGS Screenplay by Wes Anderson, Story by Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Kunichi Nomura
MARY POPPINS RETURNS Screenplay by David Magee, Screen Story by David Magee & Rob Marshall & John DeLuca, Based upon the Mary Poppins stories by P.L. Travers
