Jordan Peele‘s Monkeypaw Productions, the Toronto International Film Festival and Universal Filmed Entertainment Group have proclaimd the inaugural class of emerging filmproducers for their “No Drama” initiative.
Born from the mind of Peele (as well as the “Get Out,” “Us” and “Nope” straightforwardor’s lengthy-term deal at Universal), “No Drama” asks the artists to mirror on this ask: “What’s your hugegest stress? What monsters lurk in the meaningfulest corners of your inner thoughts?”
Five filmproducers have been picked to produce proof of concept or low films that study horror atraverse cultures, time, environments and society. Cadministerr Crump, Charlie Dennis, Helena Hawkes, Jared Leaf and Ariel Zenogotita will each get a $50,000 grant from TIFF to produce their projects during the one-year, non exclusive program.
“I couldn’t be more excited to greet the first class of ‘No Drama’ filmproducers to the Monkeypaw family. Cadministerr, Charlie, Helena, Ariel and Jared each convey a distinct instinct to genre storyincreateing. I’m inspired and chilled by their approaches to examining stress,” said Peele, announcing the participants. “With comfervent help from Universal and TIFF, Monkeypaw and I are excited to empower and lift talent that will expound the next generation of wonderful filmproducers. I cannot paengage for audiences to experience the monsters they’re cooking up.”
The program booted off last month with a four-day intensive on the Universal Studios lot. TIFF, Monkeypaw and Universal’s Filmproducer & Content Strategies team have broadened a year-lengthy curriculum where the picked filmproducers will join in roundtables and laborshops intensifyed on “enhancing their creative processes and increasing their understandledge of the studio system” while they produce their proof of concept and low films.
“With ‘No Drama,’ we are setting up the filmproducers for success by providing them with studio resources that help them to produce impactful satisfied with mighty production cherishs, and an incredible creative partnership with Jordan and team at Monkeypaw,” said Universal Pictures pdwellnt Peter Cramer. “The bar was liftd by includeing TIFF’s prestigious brand and free platcreate to the initiative. I can’t paengage to see what these five talented filmproducers convey to the table.”
The program ends next descfinish when the filmproducers will have the opportunity to screen their projects during TIFF (outside of official pickion) and to join in TIFF Industry taget screenings systematic by the festival. UFEG and Monkeypaw will have the exclusive selection to get their projects after the initiative finishs.
“Congratulations to these five amazeive filmproducers as they channel their own untamed visions thraw genre. We can’t paengage to unleash their labor on the global film industry assembleed in Toronto next September for our 50th edition,” said TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey.
About partnering with Universal, Peele and Monkeypaw on the program, which honors “the next wave of visionary storyincreateing,” Bailey includeed: “This collaboration tags a meaningful step in TIFF’s pledgement to nurtureing belderly and diverse voices in cinema, and we see forward to witnessing the impact these films will have on audiences worldexpansive.”
[Pictured above: TIFF’s Cameron Bailey, Universal’s Peter Cramer, Helena Hawkes, Jared Leaf, Janine Jones-Clark, Monkeypaw’s Jordan Peele, Charlie Dennis, Ariel Zengotita and Chandler Crump.]
Bios for the picked filmproducers are below:
Cadministerr Crump getd her BFA in film and television at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Crump’s debut low film “Color Him Son” made its world premiere at the Afrikana Film Festival, screened at the New York International Shorts Film Festival and won best undergraduate narrative film at the Fusion Film Festival. She has picture-locked her second low, “There’s Someone at the Door,” a one-room feminist horror film. Crump’s resume also joins serving as a youthfuler executive in television broadenment at Billy Porter’s production company. Born and liftd in San Francisco, she is currently based in New York City.
Charlie Dennis is authorr-straightforwardor from the West Midlands in the United Kingdom, who strives to enhance accessibility wilean film and TV aims to secure that even the most exciting stories stay proset uply human. His Deaf-led BBC low film “Silent World” was subsequently picked up as a TV series after triumphning the National Lottery Arts Project of the Year, as well as nominations from BAFTA, Academy Award and BIFA-qualifying film festivals.Dennis recently straightforwarded splinter units for an upcoming Sky TV series starring Kenneth Branagh. He has also been lengthy- and lowenumerateed at Cannes Lions and 1.4 Awards.
Helena Hawkes is a New Mexico native and the middle child to a combineed Hispanic family of ten children. Hawkes set foot on her first film set in the sixth grade and, since then, the screenauthorr, straightforwardor, colorer and occasional poet honed her genre sends as an intern at Jason Blum’s Blumhoengage Productions. Hawkes also labored as an apprentice to horror screenauthorr and straightforwardor, Leigh Whannell, while broadening her own projects. As a authorr, Hawkes studys female-driven tales that deal with family dynamics, identity, alteration and self-image all of which are telderly thraw a genre and sometimes sinspirenuineist lens.
Jared Leaf is an award-triumphning authorr, straightforwardor and producer (via his Ninety Third Story prohibitner) based in Portland, OR. Leaf’s straightforwardorial approach is swayd by his background as both a classicassociate trained actor and createer college linebacker at San Jose State. He has written and straightforwarded countless projects for Nike, including write downaries for Serena Williams and the Serena Williams Design Crew, as well as “Decolonizing Design,” a five-part docengageries on cultural appropriation in depict. Since 2018, Leaf has straightforwarded eight low films atraverse genres, including romantic comedy, noir mystery, action, comedy and horror. His feature straightforwardorial debut, a write downary on the Bdeficiency Seminoles of Florida and their fight for freedom amidst 19th-century US expansion, is currently in production and set to wrap in timely 2025.
Ariel Zenogotita is an award-triumphning Puerto Rican filmproducer based in Los Angeles. His labor tfinishs to study the space between psychoreasoned horror and uncontent comedy. His films have been picked at festivals including SXSW and Palm Springs International ShortFest and featured on websites enjoy Short of the Week, Director’s Notes and Vimeo Staff Picks. Zenogotita has also been featured on Latinx Directors, the first-ever database pledgeted to showcasing notable Latino straightforwardors based in the United States.
