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First Fifteen
June 2, 2024
Feedback from Jonterri Gadson and Teresa Huang ETTA LERAE written by Jana Naomi Smith (psychological drama feature) After being denied access to the documentary subject of her dreams, a filmmaker
First Fifteen
May 19, 2024
Feedback from Jonterri Gadson and Rochée Jeffrey URBAN UPTAKE by Kenisha Morgan (Afrofuturism short) After Ayanna Bell gets fired, she stumbles onto a digital world called Urban Uptake, a place
First Fifteen
April 14, 2024
Feedback from Delondra Mesa and Jonterri Gadson SAINTS OF 145TH by Darian Dauchan (supernatural pilot) When a newbie pastor and his Black clergy are ordained with supernatural powers in a
First Fifteen
March 24, 2024
Feedback from Lauren Glover and Jonterri Gadson UNSETTLING written by Sarah Jayne Brown (dark comedy pilot) A 29-year-old woman struggling to no longer settle for the toxic abuse piled on
First Fifteen
February 25, 2024
Feedback from Lee Edward Colston II and Jonterri Gadson THE BASEMENT written by J.D. Elliby (crime drama pilot) A resilient 12-year-old African-American girl goes on the run from a corrupt
First Fifteen
February 4, 2024
Feedback from Rochée Jeffrey and Ben Smith SWITCH written and directed by Jonterri Gadson (comedy pilot) A half-hour, dark comedy about a wealthy Black woman who fulfills her revenge fantasies
First Fifteen
January 28, 2024
Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho and Jonterri Gadson SUPERMOMS, BLESSINGS…AND RABBIT HOLES by Shaniqua.the.artist (drama short) A young woman’s battle trying to love her child while chasing her dream. Featuring sola bamis,
First Fifteen
November 12, 2023
Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho and Jonterri Gadson PANCAKES & WAFFLES written by Monet Mike (comedy pilot) Fresh out of high school, Gillian Scott accepts a job at a local diner
First Fifteen
October 29, 2023
Feedback from Pilar Alessandra and Jonterri Gadson DON’T FORGET DOROTHY written by Jana Smith (sci-fi feature) A veteran actress and her daughter are both dealing with an identity crisis, body
First Fifteen
April 16, 2023
Feedback with Sylvia L. Jones and Aadip Desai FOXTOWN by Evan Manning (drama/fantasy pilot) When the demolition of a reviled piece of urban blight triggers the formation of a dangerous
First Fifteen
March 19, 2023
Feedback from Kerry Coddett and Kemiyondo Coutinho ME, MYSELF, AND US by Keisha Bissram (dramedy feature) An independent, on-the-road traveler returns to her hometown after fifteen years to learn about
First Fifteen
February 26, 2023
Feedback with Jonterri Gadson and Mika Frank IN THE VILLAGE by Monet Mike (drama pilot) A community fights to navigate the ever-changing waters of its district. Five educators and a self-conscious
First Fifteen
December 11, 2022
Holiday reading of 3rd Rock Realty written by Alex Ubokudom and directed by Tyee Tilghman 3RD ROCK REALTY by Alex Ubokudom An animated situation comedy that centers on a Black
First Fifteen
November 20, 2022
Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho and Jonterri Gadson AMERICAN DEBT by Jeta Stephens (dramedy pilot) Two pre-rich bankers learn that their employer is plotting to bankrupt their neighborhood and take matters into
First Fifteen
October 30, 2022
Feedback with LaToya Morgan and Christina Martin The Monitor by Reynaldo Dumas (sci-fi pilot) In a futuristic society not far removed from our own, crime and racism have purportedly been eliminated
First Fifteen
October 2, 2022
Full in-person reading and party! Triggered written and directed by Kemiyondo Coutinho (industry sample pilot) When Namara attempts to take her first BART ride since a traumatic event, she finds
First Fifteen
September 25, 2022
Feedback with Tanya Barfield and Kemiyondo Coutinho American Steele by Will Loper Jr. (drama pilot) A PTSD-stricken student body president fights to expose the secrets behind a recent shooting at his Southern university. Featuring
First Fifteen
May 15, 2022
Feedback with chandra thomas and Sylvia L. Jones The Flags Need Soil by Ezra Lerner (one-hour dramedy pilot) A depressed gamer yearning for change must decide whether or not to
First Fifteen
April 10, 2022
Feedback with Jonterri Gadson and Kemiyondo Coutinho Viral by Andrew St Juste (comedy pilot) After a failed movie career, an ex-influencer returns to the listicle company that made her famous,
First Fifteen
March 13, 2022
Feedback with Tash Gray Pedigree: 1981 by Chanell Bell (dark comedy pilot) Laurie is determined to make the Best Entertainment Television Network the best entertainment network of all time, but
First Fifteen
February 12, 2022
Feedback with Kemiyondo Coutinho and chandra thomas My Addiction by Shanae Sharon (comedic short film) Kat goes through a cycle of love addiction after meeting yet another man who she
First Fifteen
December 12, 2021
A full reading of Christina Martin’s tech comedy A HUMAN PROBLEM with direction from Brittany Scott Smith A Human Problem by Christina Martin When a tech company’s problem-solving android starts eliminating white people,
First Fifteen
November 21, 2021
Feedback with Kemiyondo Coutinho and Jamila Daniel MAGIC DADDY by Justin Casselle (drama-comedy pilot) A world-renowned magician’s disappearance forces his two adult children to connect with a brother they never
First Fifteen
October 24, 2021
Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho Antisense by Rimi B. Chatterjee (sci-fi pilot) The survivors of climate change gather in Climate Town, a UN-mandated refuge in Southeast Asia, and fight to save
First Fifteen
September 26, 2021
Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho and Rachelle R. Williams Baptême by Jana Smith (surreal mockumentary short film) The petty ass, messy ass ladies of a hit reality series have resumed production.
First Fifteen
June 13, 2021
Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho and Felicia Pride Essence of Rome by Will Loper Jr. (comedy pilot) As a successful TV chef that seems to have it all, Rome Knight learns
First Fifteen
May 16, 2021
Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho and J. Holtham Swamp Boys by Yayabell Debay (fantasy/science fiction feature) An introverted teenage girl visits her estranged aunt in the Swampy town of Castor, Louisiana
First Fifteen
April 11, 2021
Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho and Kevin Avery Past Life by Tish Arana (comedy pilot) After trying ayuasca tea at a spiritual retreat, a young woman discovers she now has the
First Fifteen
March 28, 2021
The Education of Ebony Stone written by Crystal P. Garland and directed by Bianca LaVerne Jones. A single mother, desperate for cash, is recruited to aid an underground radical network
First Fifteen
March 21, 2021
WOC Writers Panel with Lauren Glover, Mika Frank, Elizabeth Kim, Dionn Richardson, and chandra thomas Lauren Glover is a Los Angeles based drama and dramedy writer originally from Columbia, Maryland.
First Fifteen
March 14, 2021
Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho and Anil K. Foreman. Babygirl by Kaypri (dramedy one-hour pilot) Set in the mid-80s hip hop era, Summer, a bi-racial 11 year old from Northern New
First Fifteen
February 28, 2021
Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho and Ester Lou Weithers Strange Fruit by Deborah Jane Burke (musical short film) Lashelle Robinson, a Wall Street executive travels back to the 1800s to rescue
First Fifteen
February 21, 2021
The Cost of Living written by Alma Schofield and directed by Kimberly Hébert. Feedback from Loy A. Webb. In the year 1891, Ida B. Wells, a free black business owner
First Fifteen
January 31, 2021
Full Reading of Lauren Glover’s The Dirty Spoon under the direction of Star Victoria The Dirty Spoon by Lauren Glover (southern gothic drama pilot) In 1930s Savannah, Georgia, blues, jazz,
First Fifteen
January 24, 2021
Feedback with Stephanie Coggins and Kemiyondo Coutinho One Blood by Omar Luqmaan-Harris and Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris (supernatural thriller pilot) In supernatural thriller, One Blood, a lifer at the Louisiana State Penitentiary
First Fifteen
December 13, 2020
BOY-Friends by Devere Rogers and Vladimir Versailles On Sunday, December 13th, we laughed and listened to the full script of Devere and Vladimir’s comedic pilot, BOY-Friends, which followed Derek Duplesis
First Fifteen
December 6, 2020
Feedback with Alesia Etinoff and Kemiyondo Coutinho Grief Is Normal by Tiffany Yvonne Cox & Mildred Marie Langford (dramedy pilot) Two driven, African American women in 1958 Los Angeles, find
First Fifteen
November 22, 2020
La Femme Nakia by Christina Martin and directed by Pete Chatmon On Sunday, November 22nd, we heard Christina Martin’s action pilot La Femme Nakia. A disgraced FBI agent fighting to
First Fifteen
November 8, 2020
Feedback from Delondra Mesa Joy and Pain by Sanford Jenkins (feature) A meditation and an exploration of two families, through a young couple burying a parent and bearing their first
First Fifteen
November 1, 2020
Full reading of Delondra Mesa’s horror pilot River People with direction by Elena Campbell-Martínez A tween journalist discovers her conservative hometown has awakened a curse that will slowly kill them
October 25, 2020
Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho and Keith Josef Adkins Shady Grove by Evan Manning (thriller pilot) In the summer of 2000, a pair of teens working at Shady Grove Theme Park
First Fifteen
October 11, 2020
Root by Katherine Street We were so enthralled when we heard the first 15 pages of Katherine Street’s thriller pilot at our first virtual reading. On Sunday, October 12th, we
September 27, 2020
Name: Sophia and Cinderellas of America At this reading, it was all laughs! First, we heard Mars Wolfe’s comedy pilot Name: Sophia, then comedian/actor Hank Chen performed a set, and
First Fifteen
September 13, 2020
Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho and Marcus Gardley Broken Windows by Jaz Wright A mother picks her son up from jail and confronts him in an attempt to reconcile her failures
First Fifteen
June 28, 2020
Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho and Amy Aniobi Wednesday Morning by Pete Chatmon and Candice Sanchez McFarlane On the morning after Election Day, Jeannine Hamilton discovers that if you’re not at
First Fifteen
June 13, 2020
Feedback from Dewayne Perkins and Kemiyondo Coutinho Dungeon Master by Jaz Wright Dungeon Master is about three underemployed friends in their late twenties who cope with their failure to launch
First Fifteen
June 7, 2020
Feedback from Kay Oyegun and Kemiyondo Coutinho Third Girl from the Right by Crystal Garland Satirical drama about the challenges of being an ambitious Black actress in Hollywood. Featuring Yaani
May 31, 2020
Feedback from Delondra Mesa and Kemiyondo Coutinho Dark Brown by Keisha Bissram (dramatic feature) A young woman growing up into adulthood is still struggling with her youthful past and insecurities
First Fifteen
May 17, 2020
Feedback from Loy A. Webb and Kemiyondo Coutinho The Cost of Living by Alma Schofield (play) In the year 1891, Ida B. Wells, a free black business owner from Memphis,
First Fifteen
May 3, 2020
Feedback from Ngozi Anyanwu and Kemiyondo Coutinho Untitled by Marissa McCoy (coming-of-age feature) After Type-A, perfectionist Malorie suffers a devastating loss she becomes destructive and with the help of her
First Fifteen
April 26, 2020
Feedback with Britt Matt, J. Lee, & Kemiyondo Coutinho Unprofessionalism by Miles Brown (mockumentary web series) A mockumentary style webseries about the daily life of inexperienced, unethical, and underqualified professionals.
First Fifteen
April 19, 2020
Feedback with Sahar Jahani & Kemiyondo Coutinho Nine to Go by Nicole L. Blair and Steven J. Turner Carter Hudson starts a walking baseball tour business, but his inaugural tour
February 23, 2020
Feedback from Kemiyondo Coutinho Untitled Sarah Labie Pilot (comedy pilot) An Ivy-League educated black woman on the verge of getting married into a very white family blackmails a stranger into
January 25, 2020
Feedback from Jocelyn Bioh and Sylvia Jones Everything But the Burden by Tish Arana (short film) When culture vultures apply for citizenship on a new planet colonized by black people,
October 2019
Feedback from Ngozi Anyanwu and Keith Josef Adkins Ivar Tunnel (Shook Ones) by Akilah Walker (short film) A young black woman confronts a white woman taking refuge underneath a bridge
September 2019
Reggie and Jackson Save the World by Reggie Watkins and Jackson McQueen (comedy pilot) When aliens plot to take over Earth, two Black dudes come to the rescue. It’s Atlanta
June 2019
Legacy by Maurice Hall (drama pilot) Past demons resurface for twins, Romerio and Maggie, when their father is released from prison after 25 years for a murder he stills says
May 2019
Life Unknown by Jennifer Sun Bell (short film) After losing her unborn child in a horrific car accident, a timid young woman feeling trapped by her small town and boyfriend
April 2019
For the Taking by Charice Nicole Long (drama pilot) Follows 16 year old Remi Sanders who, on the day of high school graduation, discovers her abductor some eight years ago
March 2019
Welcoming Jolie by Charice Nicole Long (drama feature) An estranged recovering addict returns home for the first time in 5 years to say goodbye to her dying father and make
Resources for creatives
- Write It, Pitch It, Sell Your Screenplay: A Hollywood Buyer’s Insider Guide to Getting Your Script Past the Gatekeepers by DMA/Donna Michelle Anderson
