Winners of the 45th Annual HUMANITAS Prize were announced in a ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel today. HUMANITAS, which honors and empowers film and television writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced, meaningful way, also announced that Emmy Award®-winning writer-producer Jenny Bicks has been named the organization’s new president, succeeding Ali LeRoi, who has served in the role since 2013.
The HUMANITAS Prize Winners are as follows:
Comedy Teleplay: VEEP, “South Carolina,” written by Alex Gregory & Peter Huyck
Drama Teleplay: THE HANDMAID’S TALE, “Useful,” written by Yahlin Chang;
based on the novel by Margaret Atwood
Children’s Teleplay: ELENA OF AVALOR, “Changing of the Guard,” written by Kate Kondell
Documentary: THIS IS FOOTBALL, “Redemption,” written by John Carlin & James Erskine
Comedy or Musical Feature Film: JOJO RABBIT, screenplay by Taika Waititi; based on the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens
Drama Feature Film: A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster; inspired by the article “Can You Say… Hero?” by Tom Junod
Family Feature Film: FROZEN 2, story by Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck, Marc E. Smith, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez; screenplay by Jennifer Lee
Independent Feature Film: END OF SENTENCE, written by Michael Armbruster
Limited Series, TV Movie or Special: WHEN THEY SEE US, “Part 4,” teleplay by Ava DuVernay & Michael Starrbury; story by Ava DuVernay
Short Film: KITBULL, written by Rosana Sullivan
A total of $95,000 was awarded to HUMANITAS Prize winners. Continuing a tradition that began in 2018, each winner or team of winners (with the exception of the Short Film and Independent Feature Film categories) designated one or more nonprofit organizations as the beneficiaries of their prize money. Among the recipient organizations are: BLOC – Black Leaders Organizing for Communities, Planned Parenthood, Common Goal, and Alight.
Distinguished Honorees
The ceremony also honored acclaimed film and television creators Ava DuVernay and Greg Berlanti, who were presented with the Voice for Change Award and Kieser Award, respectively. THE FAREWELL screenwriter and director Lulu Wang won the Breakout Writer Award.
Legendary television writer-producer Norman Lear presented the inaugural Norman Lear Award. This new award honors groundbreaking writing that holds up a mirror to society and inspires viewers to accept personal responsibility and take action for positive change.
“It is an honor and a privilege to help recognize the work of this extremely gifted group of writers, who have each in their own unique way entertained, enlightened and challenged us in the past year,” said LeRoi, who will remain on the organization’s board of directors. “I look forward to working with incoming president Jenny Bicks, my fellow board members, our advisory council and staff to continue the important work of supporting excellence in writing.”
Added HUMANITAS Executive Director Cathleen Young: “With our nation and the world facing tremendous political and social challenges, we turn to great writers and artists to help us make sense of our experiences and to remind us that, whatever our differences, we are all part of the human family. That’s why it is so essential that we recognize the work of master storytellers like today’s prize winners and make every effort to nurture the next generation of content creators.”
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Photo Credit: Siyanight / Shutterstock.com
