The deadline for this program was December 01, 2022.
The Black List has partnered with NRDC's (Natural Resources Defense Council) Rewrite the Future program, The Redford Center, and The CAA Foundation to launch a second iteration of the NRDC Climate Storytelling Fellowship.
Though the deadline to opt in for this opportunity has passed, we plan on reopening submissions in April 2023. Please reach out to NRDC's Rewrite the Future at rewritethefuture@nrdc.org with any questions, or if you'd like to join their newsletter to be notified of future opportunities.
The Fellowship will grant $20,000 each to three writers to support revision of a feature screenplay or pilot that engages with climate change in a meaningful way through events, actions, character, emotions, plot, and/or setting.
In addition, NRDC will connect each fellowship recipient with the following professionals for feedback and guidance on their scripts:
- A credited professional screenwriter with an interest in climate storytelling
- A climate story consultant from NRDC’s Rewrite the Future program to advise on effective approaches to climate storytelling that are entertaining and impactful
- As applicable, one or more NRDC experts to advise on climate issues highlighted in the script.
- After receiving these consultations, Fellows have six (6) months to complete a revision of their script. Revised scripts may be reviewed for development by prominent studios, agencies and/or production companies including Hyperobject Industries, Madica Productions, UTA and WME.
- At the end of the Fellowship, each recipient will provide a designated representative of the NRDC with a short reflection of how the grant has been used to advance their work and/or career in addition to a revised version of their script including an overview of the changes they made during the revision process.
The first 400 writers that opt in with a qualified screenplay or pilot will receive one free month of hosting and one free evaluation. If you meet these criteria when you opt in, you will receive a notification. Fee Waivers must be requested no later than October 23, 2022.
Each fellowship recipient will retain complete ownership of their work.
To be considered for the fellowship, a script should engage with climate in a meaningful way through events, actions, character, emotions, plot, and/or setting.
WHAT IS A CLIMATE STORY?...
The script can be in any genre but climate change and solutions must drive action and affect choices made by characters.
A climate story is one in which climate change affects characters, influences choices, and drives action.
A climate story acknowledges that we already live in a climate-altered world whether or not our house has burned up or been washed away in a flood.
We worry about climate change. We feel shame and grief about it. We talk about it with our partners and friends. People discuss whether it makes sense to have children, or wonder where the safest place is to live, or what they can possibly do to help.
Climate can be a central factor in motivating characters and driving plot. The story and genre options are limitless because climate can touch every aspect of life, from food, health, and relationships to justice, jobs, and national security.
There have been few climate stories in mainstream entertainment, especially considering the scale of the crisis. Most depict extreme weather disasters, societal breakdown, and apocalypse. That dark and narrow vision is understandable, and it can be entertaining, but if all the climate stories we see show characters stuck in despair, or in dystopian futures, it reinforces the view that there’s no way out.
It also overlooks the enormous potential for original content that illuminates the more complex and nuanced human reality of the climate crisis, including stories about people fighting for a healthier, more equitable and sustainable future.
We need it all–the bleak and the inspirational, the fantasies, dramas, satires, and rom-coms.
It is the power and privilege of writers to show us how climate change is transforming our world, and to help us find a path to salvation.
Note: For TV pilot submissions, applicants who make the short list must also provide a long synopsis or treatment describing the primary story arcs and how the climate themes will be developed throughout the show.
THE SELECTION PROCESS
Writers who meet the submission requirements will be able to opt into consideration via the Black List website until November 30, 2022. Up to 15 writers will be invited, based on the strength of their scripts as determined by the Black List, to submit a one-page personal statement and professional resume. From those submissions, three fellowship recipients will be selected no later than February 15, 2023.
Evaluations purchased before midnight on October 30, 2022 will be guaranteed consideration. The Black List recommends—but does not require—that writers obtain at least one script evaluation for their hosted scripts, as the data from script evaluations inform the process by which the short list of writers is determined for this opportunity.
NEW TO THE BLACK LIST?
If you are new to the Black List, register for a FREE account by clicking the REGISTER button below. Once you are logged in, you will be able to apply for a Fee Waiver and submit your script. If you have any questions, please check out our FAQ or email us at support@blcklst.com.
The script can be any genre but climate change and solutions must be a main driver of the action and affect important choices made by characters.
The climate crisis intersects with a wide variety of topics so a successful climate script could incorporate impacts and/or solutions in many areas:
Stories that personalize climate issues like environmental racism and climate injustice, climate disruption of food, water, public health, war/national security, natural disasters, corporate malfeasance, immigration, political scandal, conspicuous consumption, deforestation, wildlife and wilderness, pollution, sea-level rise, and other regional effects.
Stories that show the impacts of the climate crisis on people and communities, disproportionate effects on BIPOC frontline communities; personal impacts on relationships, emotions/psychology, romance, family planning, jobs, and career choices; facing the ethical dilemmas of a fossil fuel economy; becoming part of the solution through personal/community/political action, education, politics and journalism, activism, etc.
Stories that feature people discovering and engaging in climate solutions, including, “green” innovations in farming and food, public health, law and policy, energy, transportation, science and high-tech, business and finance, building and product design, waste management, circular economy, community-based innovation like greening neighborhoods, food justice, urban farms, etc.
Stories about thought and action leaders meeting the immense challenge of solving the crisis and transitioning to a just, equitable, decarbonized economy.
Stories that show alternative futures, beyond the cliches of climate disaster/dystopia.
Scripts that highlight a new perspective on the human relationship with the planet that:
Engenders hope and illustrates solutions
Addresses human agency
Revises the relationship of “taking from” or carelessly destroying ecosystems to “caretaking,” or sustaining ecosystems
You must submit an original feature film script or pilot teleplay relating to climate change on www.blcklst.com for at least one week during the Program Submission Period and affirmatively opt-in to the Program Submission Call.
You must agree to (1) these Submission Requirements, (2) all terms relating to the Program posted on the Site, which you should review and read in full, and (3) the Submission Agreement, which governs the submission of your script to Company and Black List. The Submission Agreement includes important, legally binding terms and conditions, including arbitration of any disputes, which you must read in full before accepting.
If requested, you must submit by a date determined by Company the following materials, which are also governed by the Submission Agreement:
A resume and biography;
Contact and other personal information;
Executed originals of the Submission Agreement; and
For TV pilot submissions, a long synopsis or treatment describing the primary story arcs and how the climate themes will be developed throughout the show.
If selected by Company, you will agree to enter into an agreement with Company (or a WGA-signatory entity affiliated with Company) to provide support in connection with your script.
You must be at least 18 years of age and not a minor in the state or country of your residence at time of submission.
If the script is written by a team consisting of one or more writers, (i) each member of that writing team must comply with these Submission Requirements, including agreeing to the Submission Agreement described below, and (ii) all members of the writing team must opt-out of the Program if any other member becomes ineligible (including as a result of failing to timely agree to the Submission Agreement or failing to timely provide the materials listed above).
The script must be wholly original to you and you must be the sole owner of all rights. The script must not in any way infringe upon the copyright of any person or entity or, to the best of your knowledge in the exercise of reasonable prudence, constitute libel, defamation or invasion of privacy or any other rights of any third party. You understand and agree that Company will share any information that you provide in connection with the Program with Black List.
For further questions, see our help page