2020 PMC CineStory Scholarship Winner Announced

CineStory is excited to announce that the writing team of Paul Karp and Sara Dolin has been awarded the 2020 Population Media Center (PMC) CineStory Scholarship for their script, EXTRA-ORDINARY JESS. PMC will be covering the cost for Paul and Sara to attend the CineStory TV retreat held in Idyllwild, California later this month.

“The story of EXTRA-ORDINARY JESS captured us with its lighthearted approach that shows you don’t need to be born with superpowers to be special,” says Lisa Caruso, Head of U.S. Content at PMC. “At PMC, our stories tackle difficult issues in ways that can drive massive change. We’ve seen in the news lately that regular teen girls are doing extraordinary things in the world, and since the empowerment of girls is a central theme for us, this script really illuminated how every person, no matter how young, can make a difference.”

Paul Karp graduated magna cum laude from New York University, and subsequently worked on shows including MERCY STREET, BETRAYAL, LUCKY 7 and DETROIT 1-8-7. His first onscreen writing credits were for two produced episodes of ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME. Additionally, Paul co-produced and wrote six plays for a series of one-act play festivals called SANITY IS FOR SUCKERS, with proceeds benefiting the Young Storytellers Foundation.

Sara Dolin began her writing career as a teen rock journalist for an online webzine, Sound-Riot. After graduating from Boston University, Sara worked in several writers’ rooms before getting her first break on MTV/Facebook’s LOOSELY EXACTLY NICOLE, where she wrote both a companion web series and her first produced television episode.

Paul and Sara have been collaborators for many years and like to craft underdog characters who are faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles, but through perseverance, succeed. “We are so honored to be recognized by PMC. Their mission to advance social change really resonates with us as it’s something we always aim to incorporate in our writing. This script, in particular, shows kids that they don’t need superpowers to be superheroes in their communities.”

“We’re excited for Paul and Sara,” says Lisa Caruso. “We launched PMC’s U.S. content studio in 2018 to develop, finance, and produce original content following our hit TV series, EAST LOS HIGH, that aired for 5 seasons on Hulu and received 6 Emmy nominations. We’re thrilled to see that the industry is really responding to stories for social good.” Last year, PMC sponsored Cinestory writer E. Napoletano for her original one-hour pilot, MOTHER NATURE, which the production company then optioned for development.

All of us at CineStory are excited to have Sara and Paul join us at the TV retreat.