Sergio Pablos’ latest project is being heralded…

Eighty-six film and television writers have been named finalists for the 2020 HUMANITAS Prize, as announced by HUMANITAS Executive Director Cathleen Young and President Ali LeRoi, with the Spanish animator and screenwriter’s Spanish animated film Klaus making the list.

Klaus, which Pablos wrote and directed, is nominated in the Family Feature Film category.Distributed by Netflix as its first original animated feature, the film was co-written by Zach Lewis and Jim Mahoney. It stars Jason Schwartzman, J. K. Simmons, Rashida Jones and Joan Cusack and serves as a fictional origin story to the myth of Santa Claus.The plot revolves around a postman stationed in a town to the North who befriends a reclusive toy-maker (Klaus).

Steven Canalshas earned his own Humanitas nod…

The queer Afro-Latinx screenwriter and co-creator of FX’s Pose was named a finalist in the Drama Teleplay category for co-writing the Pose episode “In My Heels,” alongside Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuck.

Mario Correa is also being recognized this year…

The Chilean screenwriter and playwright was named a finalist in the Drama Feature Film category for co-writing the screenplay for Dark Waters with Matthew Michael Carnahan; based on the New York Times Magazine article “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare” by Nathaniel Rich.

The HUMANITAS Prize, now in its 45th year, honors film and television writers whose work inspires compassion, hope, and understanding in the human family.

The finalists are nominated for their work in 10 categories including Comedy Teleplay, Drama Teleplay, Children’s Teleplay, Independent Feature Film, Drama Feature Film, Comedy or Musical Feature Film, Family Feature Film, and Documentary. In addition, this year HUMANITAS has introduced two new categories, Limited Series, TV Movie or Special and Short Film, to reflect the increased significance of those forms in the digital media landscape.

All prize winners will be announced at the 45th Annual HUMANITAS Prize event on Friday, January 24, 2020, at The Beverly Hilton Hotelin Beverly Hills, California.

“As we celebrate four and a half decades of empowering, supporting, and honoring storytellers, HUMANITAS continues to evolve and grow to reflect the world around us,” said LeRoi. “This year we have added two new categories to recognize work in forms that have seen dramatic increases in both popularity and artistic merit in the age of streaming and online viewing.”

Added Young: “As our world faces enormous challenges to the goal of peace and love in the human family, which is at the core of HUMANITAS’s mission, it is extremely inspiring to be able to honor the work of so many talented individuals. Intelligent, insightful and compassionate storytelling remains one of the most powerful weapons against hate and intolerance, and our finalists’ work epitomizes those qualities.”

The 45th Annual HUMANITAS Prize finalists are:

Drama Teleplay Category
THIS IS US “Our Little Island Girl” Written by Eboni Freeman
POSE “In My Heels” Written By Ryan Murphy & Brad Falchuck & Steven Canals
THE TWILIGHT ZONE “Replay” Written by Selwyn Seyfu Hinds
THE HANDMAID’S TALE “Useful” Written by Yahlin Chang; based on the novel by Margaret Atwood

Comedy Teleplay Category
SHRILL “Annie” Teleplay by Aidy Bryant & Alexandra Rushfield & Lindy West; based on the book Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman by Lindy West
BLACK-ISH “Black Like Us” Written By Peter Saji
ATYPICAL “Road Rage Paige” Written By Robia Rashid
VEEP “South Carolina” Written By Alex Gregory & Peter Huyck

Limited Series, TV Movie or Special Category
WHEN THEY SEE US “Part 4” Teleplay by Ava DuVernay & Michael Starrbury; story by Ava DuVernay
TRUE DETECTIVE “Now Am Found” Written by Nic Pizzolatto
CHERNOBYL “Vichnaya Pamyat” Written by Craig Mazin
LIVE IN FRONT OF A STUDIO AUDIENCE: NORMAL LEAR’S ALL IN THE FAMILY AND THE JEFFERSONS “All in the Family #406: ‘Henry’s Farewell'” Written by Don Nicholl; “The Jeffersons #101: ‘A Friend in Need'” Teleplay by Don Nicholl, Michael Ross & Bernard West, Barry Harman & Harve Brosten; story by Barry Harman & Harve Brosten

Children’s Teleplay Category
THE LOUD HOUSE “Racing Hearts” Written by Kevin Sullivan
A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS “The Penultimate Peril, Part 1” Teleplay by Joe Tracz; based on the book by Lemony Snicket
ELENA OF AVALOR “Changing of the Guard” Written by Kate Kondell
NIKO AND THE SWORD OF LIGHT, SEASON 2: NIKO AND THE AMULET OF POWER “The Automatron” Written by Shaene Siders

Drama Feature Film Category
A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD Written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster; inspired by the article “Can You Say… Hero?” by Tom Junod
A HIDDEN LIFE Written and directed by Terrence Malick; source material: letters between Franz and Fani Jagerstatter taken from Franz Jagerstatter: Letters and Writings from Prison edited by Erna Putz
DARK WATERS Screenplay by Mario Correa and Matthew Michael Carnahan; based on the New York Times Magazine article “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare” by Nathaniel Rich
BOMBSHELL Written by Charles Randolph

Comedy or Musical Feature Film Category
YESTERDAY Story by Richard Curtis, Jack Barth; Written by Richard Curtis
THE FAREWELL Written by Lulu Wang
JOJO RABBIT Screenplay by Taika Waititi; Based on the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens
THE LAUNDROMAT Written by Scott Z. Burns; based on the book Secrecy World by Jake Bernstein

Family Feature Film Category
THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON Written by Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz
FROZEN 2 Story by Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck, Marc E. Smith, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez; Screenplay by Jennifer Lee
TOY STORY 4 Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Josh Cooley, Valerie LaPointe, Rashida Jones & Will McCormack, Martin Hynes and Stephany Folsom; Written by Andrew Stanton and Stephany Folsom
KLAUS Story by Sergio Pablos; screenplay by Sergio Pablos, Jim Mahoney, Zach Lewis

Independent Feature Film Category
END OF SENTENCE by Michael Armbruster
HOTEL MUMBAI by John Collee & Anthony Maras
BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON Written and directed by Paul Downs Colaizzo
THE BANKER Story by David Lewis Smith & Stan Younger and Brad Caleb Kane; screenplay by Niceole Levy & George Nolfi and David Lewis Smith & Stan Younger

Short Film Category
VARIABLES Written by Sabina Vajraca
PURL Written by Kristen Lester
THE CHARGE FOR THE SUN Story by Terence Nance; screenplay by Eugene Ramos
KITBULL Written by Rosana Sullivan

Documentary Category
TORN APART: SEPARATED AT THE BORDER Directed by Ellen Goosenberg Kent
ERNIE & JOE: CRISIS COPS Directed by Jenifer McShane,
SEA OF SHADOWS Directed by Richard Ladkani;
THIS IS FOOTBALL “Redemption” Directed by James Erskine, Written by John Carlin

The David and Lynn Angell College Comedy Fellowship
Eliana Pipes (Boston University) FAUXRICUA      
Nick Madson (Boston University) DOWN AND OUT
Sheridan Watson (USC) LADY LAZARUS  

The Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Fellowship
James Bentley (UCLA) THE PIRATES OF FELLOWSHIP, MAINE 
King Lu (Columbia) FROM JUNE TO JULY
Jennifer Frazin (USC) CHOSEN PEOPLE    

New Voices Winners
Robert Axelrod, TUCKED
Christina Brosman, SACRIFICIAL
Jeanine Daniels, CONVOLUTED
John Doble, THE AMEN SISTERHOOD
Obiageli Odimegwu, THE SHOW
Roniel Tessler, BLUE MOON

For more information, visit the HUMANITAS Prize at www.humanitasprize.org.