Blumhouse and K Period Media, partnership with the Sundance Institute, have announced this year’s Fellows selected for the 2025 “Screamwriting” program, for underrepresented emerging film and television writers aspiring to work in the horror genre.
This year’s nine participants were selected to further develop their scripts with the guidance and mentorship of accomplished filmmakers and executives. In addition to a week-long intensive to focus on developing their projects and honing their skills, participants will receive targeted mentorship and continued support throughout the year.
The group’s week-long intensive lab kicks off in December in Los Angeles with filmmaking advisors Ryan Murphy, Roy Lee, Christopher Landon, Alexis Jacknow, Jacob Chase, Akela Cooper, Raelle Tucker, Michael Mohan, and industry advisers including Neon’s Christian Parkes, 2AM’s Christina D’Souza Gelb, Shudder’s Nick Lazo, Ted Hope and Universal Pictures’ Dwight Caines.
Watch on Deadline
The selected fellows include:
Sean Addo with Rooted: After a mysterious mask accompanies his DNA results, an Afro-Latino man must unlock its dark secret to uncover his missing girlfriend and confront a haunting legacy that once sealed his African ancestors.
Mashael Alqahtani with Sila: Based on an Arab legend. When a sheltered Muslim teen girl inherits a mysterious, demonic hunger for human flesh, she teams up with a shady loner to hide her transformation from her strict, religious mother— before she consumes those she loves the most.
Afshin Hatami with Charlie Eats: An alienated food influencer grows increasingly radical in his mission to share his love of food.
Neil Ferron with Fishmonger: In this supernatural dark comedy, a pathetic Irish fishmonger must survive a sex pact with an ancient fish creature in order to save his mother’s soul from burning in hell.
Joanna Fernandez with Baba Yaga: When a small squad of British soldiers is tasked with hunting down a high-level deserter in a remote forest, they become hunted by the dreaded Baba Yaga, an evil crone whose breath can melt a man’s face off. As paranoia mounts and blood spills, they must race against the clock to complete their mission and wage a very different kind of war for survival.
Alvaro Furloni and Mario Furloni with American Demon: In search of a better life for himself and his teenage son, an undocumented immigrant takes a job allowing himself to be possessed by a demon.
Jorge Rivera with It Wants Us Dead: An expectant mother faces off with an ancient evil that has tormented generations of her family since the Taíno genocide of Puerto Rico. After five hundred years, the entity finally means to claim the prize it could never secure — the soul of the Arawak tribe’s matriarch, reincarnated within the mother’s unborn child.
Warren Wagner with The Only Safe Place Left is The Dark: An HIV-Positive gay man must leave the relative safety of his cabin in the woods to brave the zombie apocalypse and find the medication he needs to stay alive.
The nonprofit invitation-only program is being run through the K Period Media Foundation, a fund of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, and is being led by independent producer Loretta Ramos, who serves as the Fellowship’s Senior Director.
“Horror has always been a launchpad for bold new voices, and this year’s Fellows are no exception. Each of them brings distinct vision and ambition to the genre, and I’m excited to see their ideas sharpen and come alive through the Fellowship,” said Ramos. “We’re incredibly grateful to the team at Fantastic Fest for welcoming our Fellows so generously and giving them the chance to engage with such a passionate and inspiring creative community.”
Added K Period Media founder Kimberly Steward: “Our goal is not just to nurture great projects, but to nurture great careers. By investing in these emerging voices, we’re helping build the next generation of artists who will shape the future of entertainment.”
“There are as many types of horror as there are human fears. So there’s a need for every voice in horror – and these emerging filmmakers will be part of the next generation of artists that keep the genre vital and thriving,” said Blumhouse CEO and founder Jason Blum. “I’m grateful to our partners at K Period Media and Sundance Institute for devoting their time and resources to building this essential program.”