The Black List Opens Submissions For Six Diversity Lists And Introduces The Desi List For South Asian Writers

Valerie Complex
·6 min read

EXCLUSIVE: The Black List is opening submissions for six diversity lists in partnership with GLAAD, CAPE, the MPAC Hollywood Bureau, The Salon, the Latin Tracking Board, NALIP, 1IN4 Coalition, and the WGA Disabled Writers Committee, in addition to establishing the Desi List-–a new, curated list that will shine a light on the most promising feature scripts and pilots from South Asian writers.

“South Asians make up a quarter of the human population; Asian-Americans are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the U.S.; and South Asians are the fastest growing group of Asian-Americans. That’s a lot of math to say something pretty simple: we’re here, the talent’s here, and the audience is here,” said The Salon co-founders Nik Dodani, Bash Naran, and Vinny Chhibber in a statement.

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“We’re excited to partner with The Black List to accelerate the development of the best scripts from South Asian writers to make it a little easier for the industry to rally behind talent from our community. To ensure that the diversity of our community is reflected in the list, we’re recruiting a large and eclectic group of writers, directors, actors, producers, executives, agents, and managers to review and evaluate the submissions.”

Interested writers and creators may submit their scripts for further consideration until July 1, 2024. Writers selected for each diversity list will be announced beginning in the fall of 2024, exclusively by Deadline. Submissions for the 2024/2025 Diversity Lists are expected to open in winter 2024.

AMC Networks will provide 400 fee waivers for eligible submitting writers across all active diversity lists. These fee waivers include one free month of hosting and one free evaluation on the Black List website. This access will allow 400 writers to submit their work for diversity list consideration at no cost and provide access to the entire blcklst.com ecosystem, where their work can be made accessible to thousands of industry professionals and submitted to a wide array of Black List partnerships and programs beyond just the diversity lists.

“We’re honored to team up with our partners at The Black List in offering important access and meaningful opportunity to writers for their stories to be told,” said Naila McKenzie, Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at AMC Networks. “There’s an endless pool of untapped talent and storytelling and we hope this sponsorship will further ensure more diverse voices are heard in the industry so that viewers will continue to see themselves reflected across television and film.”

The Black List will also be partnering with the 1IN4 Coalition as a new partner for the Disability List.

“The Black List strives to create opportunity by providing an incredible platform for artists to share their untold stories, and 1IN4 is thrilled to partner with them on the Disability List. Thanks to the Black List team for helping to foster authentic disability representation and encouraging creatives to use the 1IN4 Authentic Disability Representation Rubric (1IN4 Rubric) when including any disability storyline,” said Stephen Letnes, composer and co-founder of 1IN4. More information about the 1IN4 Rubric can be found here.

The Indigenous List, created in collaboration with IllumiNative and Sundance Institute, aims to return in 2025.

The decision to open submissions for all six diversity lists at once takes into consideration that writers can belong to multiple communities. The Black List hopes that qualified writers will submit to the various diversity lists that best represent their unique identities.

“As the second longest running Diversity List partner, CAPE is excited to return for the fourth edition of the CAPE List to discover new scripts that reflect a wide breadth of diversity within Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities,” said Michelle K. Sugihara, CAPE Executive Director. “We look forward to continuing our track record of produced scripts, such as Doua Moua’s The Harvest and Jaskaran Singh’s recently wrapped Jersey Boy.”

“Given that 25% of the US adult population is disabled, disability is not a rarity. Portrayals of it on our screens shouldn’t be either,” said Dr.Grishma Shah, artist and Entertainment Psychologist of 1IN4. “1IN4 is on a mission to reframe the experience and understanding of disability by breaking down the systemic barriers that exclude disabled people from being employed in front of and behind the camera.” See 1in4coalition.org for more information.

“For 39 years, GLAAD has championed and amplified diverse, authentic, multidimensional media stories about LGBTQ people in order to accelerate acceptance for our community. Now more than ever, our partnership with The Black List allows us to shine a spotlight on groundbreaking stories that deserve a broad platform that will reach millions of people. We’ve seen prior GLAAD List films like Anything’s Possible, Knock At The Cabin, Three Months, and Before I Change My Mind go from page to screen and we look forward to finding more unproduced gems this year,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.

“These diversity lists prove that we still have a long way to go, as it takes a number of our organizations to come together to highlight the talent of exceptional creatives that would not have been noticed or seen otherwise,” said NALIP Executive Director Diana Luna. “It is my hope that one day we will no longer need a Latine List and that all creatives will have equitable access within the film industry. Until then, we will continue to champion and provide opportunities to underserved creatives.”

“LATB is thrilled to be partnering again with the Black List to compile a list of the best scripts written by Latine writers,” said Andrea Juarez Wax of LATB. “We believe it is vital to keep supporting Latine writers and we’re excited to see all the materials that come out this year!”

“Against the backdrop of the dire circumstances in the Middle East, the need to champion Muslim voices and narratives shows courage and conscience and has never been more critical,” said Sue Obeidi, MPAC Hollywood Bureau Director. “We are grateful to Franklin Leonard, Kate Hagen, and the Black List team for their collaboration, which allows us to highlight important stories the world needs. We’re thrilled to partner with the Black List on the third annual Muslim List.”

“Hollywood gets the best movies and television and makes the most money when it makes movies and television about everyone, and we simply haven’t done that historically. I’m incredibly excited to read and inevitably fall in love with the scripts these partnerships identify, and I hope everyone else does too,” said Black List founder Franklin Leonard. “Special notice here goes to Black List SVP Kate Hagen for both the vision and the gargantuan logistical effort to synchronize these processes for the benefit of everyone, especially the writers who will submit.”

Please visit the Black List website for more information on each Diversity List

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