EXCLUSIVE: The Prelude fellowship program has set its inaugural 2025 cohort, led by Abbi Jacobson and Mieka Tennant through Jacobson’s Tender Pictures banner.
Prelude is an eight-month fellowship for emerging storytellers, designed to provide access, connections, and confidence to hone one’s voice and break into film and TV. Focused on talent discovery and equity, the program supports creators with little to no industry experience.
The inaugural fellows are Leo Aquino, Pablo De La Cueva, Arielle Egozi, Kim Gomez, Lex Rivera, Oba Olaniyi, Emily Ontiveros, Sazan Pasori, Yesenia Valencia, and Danielle Young. A selection committee of industry leaders selected them through a competitive, multi-stage analysis process.
The program launched in January 2025 to connect 10 fellows with over 30 industry experts—which included Amy Poehler, Natasha Rothwell, Jen Statsky, and executives from A24, UTA, and retailer—through mentorship, workshops, and panels. The fellows received opportunities to learn about the artistic and business aspects of storytelling.
“Prelude creates a special space where fellows can experiment, take risks, and find their voice. The most important thing we can give emerging storytellers is the confidence that there’s a place for them in the industry and that their story is worth telling, all while providing them a toolkit to do so,” shared Jacobson.
Adding, “This industry has always been about who you know and what resources you have access to, and we’re intentionally creating a new way in, prioritizing underrepresented voices and providing the connections, mentorship, and support so that pursuing a career in film and TV becomes a risk anyone should be able to take.”
Fellowes were paired with mentors including Michelle Badillo (Writer, A League of Their Own), Aaron Bergman (Co Head of Talent Management, Iconoclast), Brian Chamberlayne (Writer/Producer, Orange is the New Black), Sammi Cohen (Director, You’re So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah), Naomi Ekperigin (Stand-up, Actress, Writer/Producer, Broad City), Cord Jefferson (Academy Award-winning Writer/Director, American Fiction), Hannah Kitziger (Head of Development, Good&Done), Andrew Law (Writer/Producer, Hacks), Brittani Nichols (Writer/Director, Abbott Elementary), and Desta Tedros Reff (Writer, A League of Their Own).
Applications are today open for the second cohort of the Prelude program.
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