Introducing our Spring 2021 Screenwriting Fellows

Shani Am. Moore

Kalen Feeney

Left: A smiling black woman with long braids and blue-rimmed glasses. Right: A smiling white woman with brown hair in a turquoise jacket.

We started Inevitable Foundation in January 2021 to fund and mentor the next generation of disabled screenwriters. Our goal is to close the disability representation gap in film and television. Disabled people make up over 20% of the general population but represent only 2% of characters on screen and less than 1% of those writing in the industry. Our approach is simple: If we empower disabled screenwriters and increase the number of them working in the industry, they will naturally create a bounty of opportunities for disabled actors to portray disabled characters, which will unleash authentic disability narratives across film and television. 

Our Screenwriting Fellowship

In April, we introduced our Screenwriting Fellowship, a $25,000 grant with bespoke mentorship that helps advance the careers and projects of talented, ambitious and professional screenwriters who happen to be disabled. Our Fellows are writers that studios and production companies can staff and buy projects from today, not five to 10 years from now. Even so, they face a number of barriers like other underrepresented groups and our Fellowship helps them break these barriers down and advance to the next level in their careers. 

Today, just six months after starting the Foundation, we are thrilled to announce our inaugural Spring 2021 Fellows, Shani Am. Moore and Kalen Feeney. Please join us in congratulating them on this big accomplishment. 

About Shani

Shani Am. Moore, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, lives with Multiple Sclerosis, which she considers one of her greatest strengths. She grew up in the Bronx, and earned cum laude degrees from Princeton University, UC Berkeley, Stanford Law School, and UCLA Extension. In 2020, she quit a successful job as the first black lead executive at Dolby to become a fulltime screenwriter. She has written for Hulu’s “The Bold Type” and the Netflix series “Sweet Magnolias.” She is represented by Jeff Portnoy at Bellevue Productions and Michael Kolodny and Tahira Aiana at Kaplan Stahler Agency. 

"I'm humbled, honored, and grateful that the Inevitable Foundation has chosen Kalen and me to represent our powerful community,” said Moore. "Being disabled can be costly, and this generous grant, along with personalized mentoring, allows us to create in a way that serves us best: with an unstressed eye towards progress." 

About Kalen

Kalen Feeney is a Deaf screenwriter who is fluent in English and American Sign Language. She earned a master’s degree in screenwriting from Leeds Beckett University in the UK, and a certificate in television writing from UCLA Extension. Feeney has developed and taught screenwriting and playwriting workshops to Deaf participants in the USA, Canada, and England, and consulted on shows such as CBS’ “CSI:NY” and was on the ASL team for Freeform’s “Switched At Birth.” She is represented by Sean Barclay at Gersh, Steve Smith and Evan Lewis at Stagecoach Entertainment (literary) and Gail Williamson at KMR (theatrical). 

“I am honored and excited to receive this special Inevitable Foundation Fellowship, which will enable me to pursue my vision of improving representation of deaf and disabled characters on-screen through writing,” said Feeney.  “I am also committed to diversity and inclusion, and want to help create opportunities for deaf and disabled people behind the scenes in positions such as writers, directors and crew members.”

Our Diverse Applicant Pool

We received hundreds of applications for this first batch of Fellowships, proof of the massive demand and incredible talent within the disability community. Given our ongoing commitment to diversity and intersectionality, we are proud to report that more than 55% of applicants identify as female or non-binary and 45% identify as Black, Latinx, Asian, Indigenous, Middle Eastern or biracial/multiracial, and the applicant pool got more diverse as the review process progressed. 

Fall 2021 Applications: Open Now

Applications for our Fall 2021 batch are now open and we encourage any disabled screenwriters to apply. Learn more.

This is the first of many exciting announcements about our programs and Fellows.

— Richie Siegel and Marisa Torelli-Pedevska

Co-Founders of Inevitable Foundation