For Immediate Release,
11/9/07
DELTA GRADUATES AWARDED ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES PRESTIGIOUS NICHOLL FELLOWSHIP IN SCREENWRITING
(Stockton)
The scriptwriting team of Cecilia Contreras and Amy Garcia has been awarded the prestigious Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Both are San Joaquin Delta College Graduates. Their winning script, “Amelia Earhart and the Bologna Rainbow Highway” entitles the team to a $30,000 prize. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present this distinguished award at a gala dinner in Beverly Hills on Nov. 15.
Cecilia Contreras, of Pleasanton, is the daughter of Delta College English/ESL instructor, Dr. Marcos Contreras, and a 2005 honors graduate in Fine Arts. Amy Garcia, of Manteca, is a 1993 Early Childhood Education graduate. Neither are strangers to awards for this script. The team also won a Gold Prize at the 2007 PAGE International Screenwriting Awards in the Family Film category.
Contreras and Garcia are two of seven young screenwriters who will be honored at the Nov. 15th Beverly Hills ceremony. They are the first female team to earn a Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship. Over 5-thousand scripts were submitted for this year’s competition. Final judging was conducted by a distinguished mix of accomplished writers, cinematographers, producers and agents.
The Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting are valued awards. They serve as springboards to successful Hollywood careers. Fellowships are awarded with the understanding that recipients will complete a feature-length screenplay during the fellowship year. Many past winners have had their scripts produced for theatrical release, and are currently working on Hollywood productions.
Films written by Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship recipients include: Erin Brockovich, Air Force One, End of Days, The Ring, Scream 3, 28 Days, Reindeer Games, Finding Forrester and Akeelah and the Bee.
For more information, please contact the Delta College Office of Public Information and Marketing at (209) 954-5052.
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