“A Special Connection:” Blue List Artistic Director Jennifer Lee '05 and Film Faculty Honor ‘22 Winners with Mixer

By
Emily Johnson
April 08, 2022

Columbia University School of the Arts celebrated the winners of the ninth annual Blue List screenwriting competition on March 16, 2022, in an online mixer that demonstrated the capacity of Columbia’s network to foster new screenwriting talent.

It was a delight to see the winning alumni return to catch up with teachers and administrators—“I miss you!” could be heard frequently—and to see such a devotedly supportive artistic community in action.

The Blue List competition was inspired by Franklin Leonard’s Black List platform for the hottest unproduced screenplays. In that spirit, the Blue List, now sponsored by MUBI, honors the most acclaimed screenplays and television pilots written by Film & Playwriting graduates of the School of the Arts, and connects the winners with leading industry professionals. The winning scripts are also hosted on the Black List itself.

The winners represent a wide swath of interests and themes: there’s a pilot about a dystopian future in which a Department of Defense worker joins a rebel group to restore democracy (Riot by Jaclyn Noel ’19) and a feature following a Franciscan friar on a mortal journey across 18th century New Spain (Consumption by Connor Simpson ’19.) There’s a multi-generational ensemble series about a sprawling Irish-Catholic family (CeremonyTim O’Connor ’17), and a feature about the son of a Holocaust survivor playing little league baseball (Herschel at the Bat by Eric Schuman ’17.) Spanning histories, legacies, and genres, it’s an impressive group.

There’s a kind of electricity to an in-person event that is of course difficult to replicate in an online setting, but the excitement about these talented alumni brought an energy to the event that was hard to ignore. Participants were encouraged to jump between Zoom breakout rooms to meet with each of the winners, reminiscent of hopping tables at a party, chatting and catching up.

To kick off the evening, Associate Professor Andy Bienen gave a touching and heartfelt thanks to the newly appointed Artistic Director of the Blue List, alumna Jennifer Lee ’05.

Lee is the Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios, and perhaps most famously the writer and director of Frozen and Frozen II, two of the top-grossing animated films of all time. Her tenure at Disney has produced contemporary classics like Raya and the Last Dragon and Encanto. As a student at Columbia, Lee won the William Goldman Award for excellence in screenwriting, and won the Columbia University Film Festival with her script Hinged on Stars.

“From the minute we asked Jen to get involved, and to become the Artistic Director, the enthusiasm and generosity with which she embraced the idea and ran with it was just so inspiring to all of us,” Bienen said.

“There’s a reason why Frozen and Frozen II are loved all over the world, and it’s not just the great storytelling, and it’s not just the amazing songs. In my view—and I’m not alone—the Frozen movies are luminous films, and they express something profound and wonderful about being human. All of that luminousness and insight come from Jen.”

Lee was a gracious and exuberant presence. In a very lovely gesture, she led the Zoom room in a round of applause for each and every Blue List winner.

“One of the greatest things about Columbia is that everything I learned there, I have taken with me, and I use every day,” she said in her remarks, lauding the awards and scholarships the Film department offers to launch emerging filmmakers.

“Your talent is pure and there, it’s undeniable,” she said, addressing the winners, “But we all know access and connections—it’s a business too—are so complicated.” 

“This year, I’m here; what can I offer that someone else can’t? Meaning what does my job allow me to offer you, as a special connection?” She announced that she had arranged for the Blue List winners to meet with some of her close colleagues from Disney, directors and writers who will also read the winning scripts in order to meet with and advise the students.

Originally the winners were meant to remain in their own Zoom room as attendees rotated in and out, but as the evening progressed people were jumping rooms left and right, piling into one room for a big group hangout, or having in-depth one-on-one conversations. 

They discussed current projects, memories from the program, and prospective connections. “You should talk to—” was just as common a refrain as, “What’s the story about?”

“So tell us, what is the story of Miranda?” Film Program Chair Jack Lechner asked winner Martin Murray ’20

“Our protagonist Rebecca is in a very prestigious dance conservatory..she gets kicked out because of bad behavior, and she links up with a really negative friend from her past, who’s become this social pariah,” Murray explained. Reconnected, the friends decide to revisit the witchcraft they attempted as kids: “What if we as adults do the spell again for real?”

Throughout the event, Lee made an effort to speak to every winner. Her goal for the night: to get to know each creator in order to better pair them with a mentor. Lee asked Ciara Ní Chuirc ’21 to describe her focus and the kinds of stories she likes to tell.

Ní Chuirc is a Playwriting alumna whose play Made By God was recently produced at the Irish Repertory Theatre. Her winning script is a pilot about a young Irish expat in Florida reckoning with her family legacy: she comes from a long line of women who sit up with the dead. 

“I write a lot about Ireland, I write about immigration, I write a lot about memory, I write a lot about the whole abortion debate, because we just legalized abortion in Ireland in 2018.” Ní Chuirc also talked about becoming a US citizen: “A lot of what I write is about living between two cultures, and not quite being part of either of them.”

On hearing this, Lee immediately knew which mentor to pair with Ní Chuirc. “Ok now I’m like, it has to be Susie!” she exclaimed, going on to explain that the mentor she had in mind is a first generation immigrant to the US who similarly writes about her in-betweenness. “She’s also just an incredible, well-rounded storyteller.”

Gina Hackett ’20 won for her script “Great Men,” a pilot for a limited series about the wives (former and present) of a famous adventurer, who gather to try to sort through clues to his whereabouts when he disappears. The series already has a team in place, and for the moment, a showrunner attached. Hackett discussed how television production generally seems to have more resources accessible. She and Lee discussed setting her up with a mentor in line with her development goals.

The Film Program faculty and administrators in attendance, and Lee herself, were generous with their attention, so plainly excited to be among Columbia colleagues and encouraging former students to reach new heights.

Between the in-jokes and memories, between the introductions and recommendations, it was a pleasure to witness something magical: a professional artistic community flourishing and launching the writers and filmmakers of tomorrow.