Producers Guild Sets Fellows For Second Annual PGA Create Program

EXCLUSIVE: The Producers Guild of America has named the producers chosen for its second annual PGA Create lab, designed to support emerging and mid-career creative producers from underrepresented backgrounds. 

The program’s fall Scripted cycle will feature the participation of feature producers Rui Xu (72), Nerissa Williams Scott (Dill), Robbie Daw & Tyler Steele (Double Wide Dreams), Maya S. Patel & Neeraj Jain (Further to Fly), Ali Salem & Ioana Uricaru (The Swim Lesson), Carolyn Mao & Allison Jordan (Time Away), and Chad Shields (We Were Born Dead). The TV producers taking part are Kathryn Lo (Our Dark Lady), Linhan Zhang (The Black Lotus) and Winnie Yuan Kemp (The Dragon Lady).

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All of the above producers and teams are in active development, financing or packaging of their feature or series. The lab, taking place from October 31 through November 3, will offer them the chance to hone their project pitches, attend master classes with experienced producers and build their network of fellow producers. 

The Google-sponsored PGA Create supports its participants throughout the course of one year, with fellows of both the Scripted and Documentary cycles to reconvene during the PGA Create Forum, a day-long event to be held during the Guild’s Produced By Conference in June 2023. PGA Create’s partnership with Google was brokered by UTA’s brand consulting division, UTA Entertainment & Culture Marketing, which represents the tech giant.

“As Chairs of the One Guild initiative which supports inclusive membership, employment, content and authentic depictions, we are thrilled to continue championing PGA Create,” said Producers Guild members Tonya Lewis Lee, Lori McCreary and Shelby Stone. “PGA Create ensures that the next generation of producers includes diverse creators and perspectives, an important goal for the Guild and Google has been a phenomenal partner in pursuing this through the program.”

The Final Selection Panel for the upcoming Scripted edition of PGA Create included McCreary and Stone, as well as producers Mike Farah (CEO, Funny or Die) and Pam Veasey (Long Slow Exhale). Applications for the program’s second Documentary cycle will open this winter. More information on this year’s Scripted fellows and their projects can be found below.

FEATURES

Rui Xu, Producer, 72

It’s New York City, 1972, and Cuban refugee Gloria Cienfuegos’s life and New Year’s Eve party are upended when her 18-year-old daughter Viv reveals a deep secret, throwing the evening into an avalanche of emotion.

Nerissa Williams Scott, Producer, Dill

Amidst the turmoil of the American Revolution, a young & fiercely intelligent enslaved woman living in Massachusetts falls in love with a Harvard-educated minister and must fight for the right to live as she chooses. Inspired by true events.

Robbie Daw, Writer/Producer and Tyler Steele, Writer/Producer, Double Wide Dreams

Junior high prodigy Misty Rose and her fame-hungry brother Popcorn will do anything to get the f*** out of their trailer park, even if it means destroying their family on the trashiest reality show ever.

Maya S. Patel, Producer and Neeraj Jain, Producer/Cinematographer, Further to Fly

Nilofer finds herself stuck between two worlds – the world she came from in Iran, and the world she inhabits in New York. She imagines her neighbor upstairs as an angel, and their friendship helps her realize she is a woman who can have both – her dreams and her family.

Ali Salem, Producer and Ioana Uricaru, Producer, The Swim Lesson

Mara postponed her career to raise her daughters, allowing her husband to become a star college professor. After discovering he hid a sexual misconduct complaint from a student (their daughter’s swim instructor) Mara develops a secret friendship with his accuser.

Carolyn Mao, Producer and Allison Jordan, Producer, Time Away

Two estranged sisters, one a recovering heroin addict, hit the road to find their Korean birth mother following the death of their adoptive mother. Along the way they find old patterns are as hard to break as their bond.

Chad Shields, Producer, We Were Born Dead

Since 1953, more than 90,000 people have been forcibly disappeared across Colombia; more than any other country in South America. This is the story of two children trying to keep their family together amidst the raging conflict in Colombia.

SERIES

Kathryn Lo, Writer/Producer, Our Dark Lady

Rosalind Franklin’s work lies at the heart of DNA’s double helix discovery, and no one knows it. After Nobel Prize Winner James Watson trashes her reputation on an international stage, a journalist sets out to prove he stole her data.

Linhan Zhang, Producer, The Black Lotus

When Tam Ling, a Cantonese girl, escapes from her brothel, she forges an improbable partnership with a mysterious Chinese gunslinger as they navigate through the ruthless 19th century Nevada frontier and attempt to rescue Tam Ling’s trafficked sister.

Winnie Yuan Kemp, Producer/Co-Writer, The Dragon Lady

The Dragon Lady is the extraordinary true story of a former Chinese refugee named Anna Chennault, who single-handedly stole the presidency for Richard Nixon in 1968 – an incredibly close election that forever changed America with consequences that reverberate into today.

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