The Hollywood Reporter: Inevitable Foundation Teams With Netflix for Accelerate Fellowship
Image Description: A logo for Inevitable Foundation which reads “IF” in bold black font inside two blue squares. On the right is the red Netflix logo.
By Abbey White
Inevitable Foundation’s screenwriting fellowship is expanding with help from Netflix’s Fund for Creative Equity.
The newly named Accelerate Fellowship will see the program’s mid-level disabled writers receive expanded support with the multi-year commitment from the streamer.
“We are thrilled to partner with Netflix to launch the Accelerate Fellowship and speed up the transition for disabled writers to become high-level creators,” said Inevitable Foundation co-founders Richie Siegel and Marisa Torelli-Pedevska. “Despite disabled people making up over 20 percent of the U.S. population, less than 0.5 percent of first-look and overall deals go to disabled writers and 97 percent of writers’ rooms have no upper-level disabled writers.”
In addition to the fellowship’s previous offerings, which included $40,000 grants alongside business and writing support to help writers develop and sell their own content, selected fellows will now have access to health insurance, additional mentorship opportunities and expanded educational and community programming. That includes guidance on IP acquisition.
“Netflix’s multi-year commitment — the largest from any streamer, studio or network to date — is a resounding endorsement of our barrier-breaking approach to fostering the next generation of disabled creators,” the co-founders said.
As part of its relaunch and name change (it was previously known as the Screenwriting Fellowship), the program is moving to an annual cycle and has updated its Mid-Level Criteria, which will guide applicants to programs they’re eligible for.
The fall 2022 Accelerate fellows include Monica Lucas, a neurodivergent Puerto Rican screenwriter, and comedy writer David Dineen-Porter.
Lucas was the 2021 JHRTS Feature Drama Winner and a finalist in the Moving Picture Institute’s Short Film Lab. Dineen-Porter was named one of Vulture’s 50 Comics to Know in 2015 and has worked on The Late Late Show with James Corden on CBS and Xavier: Renegade Angel on Cartoon Network.
“Hollywood is a difficult industry with complex social norms that remain obscure to many who attempt to break in; navigating it with Autism has been especially challenging,” Lucas said in a statement. “This fellowship will set me up for success as I work to become a screenwriter who can break down stigma for other storytellers with disabilities.”
