Valerie Woods, Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Mentor, Speaks at the Athena Film Festival

Valerie Woods, Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Mentor, Speaks at the Athena Film Festival

The Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting is always proud to help sponsor the Athena film festival. This year we were happy to send mentor Valerie Woods to discuss her career and love of writing.

Val’s ability to share that love makes her a treasured mentor in our program.

Valerie Woods, Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Mentor, Speaks at the Athena Film Festival

Valerie Woods, Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Mentor, Speaks at the Athena Film Festival

Valerie Woods, Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Mentor, Speaks at the Athena Film Festival


Questions about the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting?

Leave a comment here or email me, Executive Director, Dr. Rosanne Welch and I’ll be happy to answer your questions.


Visit Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting for more information.
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From The “When Women Wrote Hollywood” Archives 15: Peace Begins At Home by Clara Beranger

Months of research went into the creation of the essays in “When Women Wrote Hollywood.” Here are some of the resources used to enlighten today’s film lovers to the female pioneers who helped create it.

From The “When Women Wrote Hollywood” Archives 15: Peace Begins At Home by Clara Beranger

From The

From The

THE GREAT DESIRE of individuals in every country of the world is for peace and security. We have discovered that the cessation of war does not automatically mean the establishment of peace.

Within a wide circle of acquaintances and friends, I have found that the only persons who have achieved true inner peace and serenity are those who believe in God and try to live according to the moral principles embodied in the Bible. They recognize the truth that peace begins at home. They know that in order to extend peace from the home to the world they must cultivate habits that create peace. At the same time they must free themselves from old habits that cause inharmony and dissension.

Because I believe that every one of us can and should be a link in the chain of world peace, I have attempted to set forth in these chapters certain common human faults and to present the spiritual means by which they can be changed to character traits conducive to individual and world well-being.


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† Available from the LA Public Library

Students Brainstorm During Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop via Instagram

Brainstorm During Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop

Brainstorm During Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop via Instagram

First year MFA candidates Marco Antonio Rodriguez and Doreene Hamilton brainstorm together during January’s workshop.


Questions about the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting?

Leave a comment here or email me, Executive Director, Dr. Rosanne Welch and I’ll be happy to answer your questions.


Visit Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting for more information.
Follow @StephensMFA on Instagram

Follow and Like the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting#MentorMonday 8 - Dawn Comer Jefferson - Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

Stephens College MFA Alumni Jackie Perez named Director of Development for the Hawaii Filmmakers Collective

Congratulations to Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Jackie Perez (Class of 2017) who was just named Director of Development for the Hawaii Filmmakers Collective.

Stephens College MFA Alumni Jackie Perez (Class of 2017) named Director of Development for the Hawaii Filmmakers Collective

Stephens College MFA Alumni Jackie Perez (Class of 2017) named Director of Development for the Hawaii Filmmakers Collective

Our Executive Team is growing! I want to welcome Rosalie, the HFC Executive Assistant and Jackie, the HFC Director of Development. As many of you know, it takes a lot to drive this ship forward and with their help and expertise, we are striving to foster and showcase independent filmmakers in Hawaii and above all Make More Films!

Thanks Rosalie and Jackie for joining our team and making HFC your kuleana and ohana!

Mary Michelle Baghdady
HFC Executive Director


Visit Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting for more information.

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#MentorMonday 8 - Dawn Comer Jefferson - Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

#MeetTheGraduatesMonday: Cierra Winkler – Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

Every Monday we will be profiling a member of the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting 2020 graduating class. This exciting, fresh crop of writers are the future of the industry and are going on to do BIG things, so get to know them now! 

#MeetTheGraduatesMonday: Cierra Winkler

#MeetTheGraduatesMonday: Cierra Winkler

Cierra Winkler is a screenwriter and playwright from the Appalachian region of northeast Georgia. She is currently pursuing her MFA in TV & Screenwriting from Stephens College at Jim Henson Studios, where she’s been able to cultivate her love for creating Southern characters who defy stereotypes and bring authentic Southern voices to the screen. Cierra also enjoys telling female-driven epic adventures, and she’s even had the audacity to rewrite Homer in an epic reimaging of the Odyssey as told from Queen Penelope’s point of view.

In 2019 Cierra placed 2nd out of 400 pitches in Screencraft’s Pitchfest at the Atlanta Film Festival for her Odyssey-based feature screenplay Queen of Ithica. She was also a finalist in the 2019 Athena Film Festival’s Writer’s Workshop. Cierra is a member of the Atlanta Film Society and has been accepted into their Spring 2020 Production Academy, where she’ll be training for different positions within the Georgia film industry. Cierra will graduate from Stephens with her MFA in May 2020 and looks forward to what adventures in the film industry lie ahead!


Visit Stephens.edu/mfa for more information.

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Follow and Like the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

#MentorMonday 8 - Dawn Comer Jefferson - Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

Pavel Jech Presents on short film screenplay writing at the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop

Pavel Jech Presents on short film screenplay writing at the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop

Pavel Jech Presents on short film screenplay writing at the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop

Guest lecturer Pavel Jech, former Dean of FAMU, the Film and Television School of the Academy of the Performing Arts in Prague and currently at Chapman University, gave excellent insights into the craft of writing a short film screenplay at January’s MFA workshop.


Questions about the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting?

Leave a comment here or email me, Executive Director, Dr. Rosanne Welch and I’ll be happy to answer your questions.


Visit Stephens.edu/mfa for more information.Follow @StephensMFA on Instagram

Follow and Like the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting#MentorMonday 8 - Dawn Comer Jefferson - Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

From The “When Women Wrote Hollywood” Archives 14: My Secret Mother: Lorna Moon by Richard de Mille

Months of research went into the creation of the essays in “When Women Wrote Hollywood.” Here are some of the resources used to enlighten today’s film lovers to the female pioneers who helped create it.

From The “When Women Wrote Hollywood” Archives 14: My Secret Mother: Lorna Moon by Richard de Mille

From The

† Available at Los Angeles Public Library

The adopted son of Cecil B. de Mille traces the life of his biological mother, a screenwriter during the silent film era, and the privileged but uneasy youth he enjoyed in Hollywood while being kept in the dark about his origins.


Buy “When Women Wrote Hollywood” Today!

Paperback Edition | Kindle Edition | Google Play Edition

* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
** Many of these books may be available from your local library. Check it out!
† Available from the LA Public Library

Claudia Puig Speaks On Film Critique at the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop (3 photos)

Claudia Puig Speaks On Film Critique at the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop (3 photos)

Claudia Puig Speaks On Film Critique at the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop (3 photos)

Claudia Puig Speaks On Film Critique at the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop (3 photos)

Claudia Puig Speaks On Film Critique at the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop (3 photos)

Claudia Puig, President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, came to January’s workshop to discuss the art of film critique as well as the current state of Diversity in Media. She also curates two film festivals and spoke about how to work the festival circuit to gain attention for your writing career.


Questions about the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting?

Leave a comment here or email me, Executive Director, Dr. Rosanne Welch and I’ll be happy to answer your questions.


Visit Stephens.edu/mfa for more information.Follow @StephensMFA on Instagram

Follow and Like the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting#MentorMonday 8 - Dawn Comer Jefferson - Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

Screenwriter Jane Anderson Presents at the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop (5 photos)

Screenwriter Jane Anderson Presents at the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop (5 photos)

Screenwriter Jane Anderson Presents at the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop (6 photos)

Screenwriter Jane Anderson Presents at the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop (6 photos)

Screenwriter Jane Anderson Presents at the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop (6 photos)

Screenwriter Jane Anderson Presents at the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop (6 photos)

Screenwriter Jane Anderson Presents at the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Winter Workshop (6 photos)

One of the highlights of January’s Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting workshop came in the form of a story structure seminar with screenwriting Jane Anderson (The Wife, Olive Kitteridge, The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio) held on the Henson soundstage. Her energy and honesty in discussing her work and her life in the business was greatly appreciated.


Questions about the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting?

Leave a comment here or email me, Executive Director, Dr. Rosanne Welch and I’ll be happy to answer your questions.


Visit Stephens.edu/mfa for more information.Follow @StephensMFA on Instagram

Follow and Like the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting#MentorMonday 8 - Dawn Comer Jefferson - Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

#MeetTheGraduatesMonday: Wynne Racine – Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

Every Monday we will be profiling a member of the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting 2020 graduating class. This exciting, fresh crop of writers are the future of the industry and are going on to do BIG things, so get to know them now! 

Get ready to meet another member of the 2020 Stephens Cohort: Wynne Racine! #MeetTheGradsMonday

#MeetTheGraduatesMonday: Wynne Racine

Wynne Racine is a journalist who has spent much of her career writing for newspapers and television. For more than a decade she also produced a weekly, half-hour news program. Along the way, she owned a radio station formatted for kids (KKYD), wrote chapters for high school text books and was a regular contributor to a Russian magazine. Wynne entered the Stephens MFA program because she wanted to write a screenplay based on the life of her grandfather. With the help of Stephen’s mentors, that screenplay is now complete and, as of this writing, being considered by a major motion picture studio.


Visit Stephens.edu/mfa for more information.

Follow @StephensMFA on Instagram

Follow and Like the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting

#MentorMonday 8 - Dawn Comer Jefferson - Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting