HBO Access Pilots Are Now Available to Stream
Starting THURSDAY, NOV. 7, the HBO Access pilots from the 2018 Directing Fellowship class will be available to stream exclusively on HBO NOW and HBO GO, as well as on HBO On Demand and affiliate portals.
Pilots include:
HALFWAY | Run Time: 16:21
Written & Created by Katherine Craft
Directed by Carey Williams
Logline: Recently released from prison, Krystal must navigate the new rules and strong personalities of her local Christian halfway house if she has any hope of regaining custody of her estranged daughter.
UNIMUNDO 45 | Run Time: 13:38
Written & Created by Claudia Forestieri
Directed by Thembi Banks
Logline: When her parents threaten to self-deport, a jaded Latina news producer sheds her cynicism and becomes an activist — on live TV.
STERLING | Run Time: 20:12
Written & Created by Bryce Ahart & Stephanie McFarlane
Directed by Ryan Zaragoza
Logline: A small West Texas town struggles to pick up the pieces after a devastating mass shooting at their local high school.
DIRECTOR BIOS
Carey Williams — Recently hailed by Filmmaker Magazine as one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film, Carey Williams is a talented director rapidly on the rise. Williams is currently in pre-production on his first feature R#J with Timur Bekmambetov, a participant in the NBC Emerging Directors Program and has set up the feature version of his award-winning short film, “Emergency.”
Thembi Banks — Born in Harlem New York, Thembi Banks is an award-winning writer/director who received her MFA from USC’s Film & TV Production program. Thembi was a 2017 directing fellow at Film Independent’s Project Involve, she was also a 2018 HBO Access Directing Fellow, a 2019 Ryan Murphy Half Initiative Directing Fellow and a participant in Powder Keg’s inaugural female directing program, created by Paul Feig. She will be making her feature film directorial debut with YOUNG. WILD. FREE written by Juel Taylor in 2020 and is currently writing a feature for Universal Studios with Malcolm D. Lee attached to produce and direct.Her most recent television directing credit is on Issa Rae’s show “Insecure.”
Ryan Zaragoza — Ryan Zaragoza is a writer/director originally from El Paso, Texas. He’s an alumni of Ryan Murphy’s HALF Initiative, WBTV Director’s Program, and HBO ACCESS, where he directed STERLING, which premiered at SXSW. Ryan is currently directing an episode of ALL AMERICAN season 2, and is slated to direct an episode of “Animal Kingdom” in early 2020.
WRITER BIOS
Claudia Forestieri — Claudia is a bilingual, biracial TV writer of Dominican-Italian descent who was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Miami. Her storytelling career began in the world of news where she served as a reporter and producer for Telemundo stations in Miami, San Francisco, Chicago, and Los Angeles. She broke into TV writing in 2017 and has since staffed on Freeform’s “Good Trouble” and Netflix’s “Selena: The Series.”
Katherine Craft — Katherine Craft is a playwright, screenwriter, and Texas native. She’s the creator of “Kappa Crypto,” a Snap Original series, currently streaming on Snapchat. She’s also the founder of Conspire Theatre, a prison theater program that worked with women during and post-incarceration. Her short films have played in the Tribeca Film Festival, PBS Online Film Festival, and the LA Asian Pacific American Film Festival, among others.
Bryce Ahart & Stephanie McFarlane — Bryce and Stephanie are both alums of NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where they each graduated Cum Laude from the Dramatic Writing Department. After completing the 2017–2018 HBOAccess Writer’s Fellowship, they went on to staff on The CW’s “Legacies.” Most recently, their pilot, “Sterling,” premiered at SXSW and is currently continuing the festival circuit.
ABOUT HBOACCESS DIRECTING FELLOWSHIP
The HBOAccess Directing Fellowship selects 3–4 fellows to participate in a biennial program designed to foster diverse directing talent. The program includes a series of master classes which lead into the production of pilots. Delivered by industry professionals both internal and external to HBO, the classes cover a variety of subjects including creative topics such as story and character, as well as the technical aspects of production and post. Upon completion of the course, the fellows are then given a budget and crew to direct a short presentation allowing them full immersion in a true industry production. HBO will continue to support the directors by screening the films for the entertainment community and offering shadowing opportunities on HBO series.
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