In Dreams today announced that the two winning recipients of the 2021 In Dreams Fellowship are Justin Olstein and Sally Webster.
The finalists’ scripts were evaluated by a panel of Hollywood judges, including Greg Silverman’s Stampede, Verve Talent and Literary Agency, SK Global Entertainment and Good Fear Content.
Justin Olstein and Sally Webster will now embark on the prestigious Story Therapy Teleseminar through official In Dreams sponsor, Jen Grisanti, before participating in a curated series of meetings with key Hollywood industry professionals. All three finalists were awarded Final Draft screenwriting software by the official sponsor, Final Draft.
In Dreams Co-Founder Melissa Azizi says, “The first year of the fellowship was a success with many meetings set between the fellows, emails exchanged and connections formed. The icing on the cake was that Jess’ script was optioned while Ramon went on to join Impact Australia. We look forward to what unfolds this year for our new fellows, Sally and Justin. Their voices are special and no doubt Hollywood will love them.”
In Dreams Co-Founder Carmen Knox says, “At an especially important time to be supporting underrepresented talent, we’re excited to be introducing Sally and Justin’s voices to our network abroad. We’re thankful to our judges for supporting our efforts.”
The first of its kind, IN DREAMS was created in 2019 by Carmen Knox and Melissa Azizi — two Australian creatives with a wealth of scripted development and production experience between the U.S, UK, Europe and Australia.
The fellowship creates opportunities for Australian screen storytellers to connect directly with decision makers in Hollywood, while at the same time expanding diversity in Hollywood by introducing a wave of fresh, new Australian storytelling perspectives. This is the second year the fellowship has run.
Jen Grisanti Consultancy, Inc. is an official sponsor of IN DREAMS fellowship. Jen Grisanti is an acclaimed story/career consultant, a former 12-year studio executive and the Writing Instructor for NBC’s Writers on the Verge program.
Carmen Knox, formerly a U.S. studio executive at Los Angeles-based Insurrection Media, is now based in Melbourne as a screen consultant. Melissa Azizi spent a decade working closely with acclaimed producer Gail Mutrux, before establishing her own company Sparkwood Films. Azizi currently lives between Sydney and Los Angeles.
ABOUT THE FELLOWS
Justin Olstein
Justin’s feature film screenplay SHOSHANNA won the AWG Monte Miller Award for Best Unproduced Screenplay, and was also shortlisted for the Sundance Screenwriters’ Lab. His short drama ADAM’S TALLIT received an AACTA Award nomination for best short film. His feature documentary CURTAIN CALL premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival to critical acclaim and was broadcast on SBS. His Screen Australia funded short FUN CITY premiered at the 66th Locarno Film Festival, where it was also nominated for best short. His short film THE VISITOR premiered in Rhode Island, won best director at the Sao Paulo Film Festival, and was exhibited at the Jewish Museum of Australia. He was also selected for Berlinale Talents as part of the Berlinale Film Festival, and a ‘Charlie’s Desk’ residency with Australians in Film. Justin completed attachments on the feature film STRANGERLAND, and the ABC mini series STORIES I WANT TO TELL YOU IN PERSON. He is currently developing an episodic series titled LEVI’S GOLEM, and is a graduate of the VCA Film and Television School.
Sally Webster
Sally has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. She is currently based in Canada working as a freelancer in unscripted television, on productions for broadcasters such as CNN, Discovery and The History Channel, while also developing her own projects. She previously worked as a segment and then series producer in Network Ten’s children’s television unit. Sally received her Bachelor of Creative Industries degree from Queensland University of Technology and completed a semester abroad in Los Angeles where she interned at 20th Century Fox.
ABOUT THE FOUNDERS
Melissa Azizi
For a decade, Melissa Azizi worked closely with critically acclaimed US Producer, Gail Mutrux to help produce Academy-Award winning THE DANISH GIRL, the Golden Globe winning SHOW ME A HERO mini-series (for HBO), iBOY (UK’s first Netflix Original) and most recently, NEWS OF THE WORLD, starring Tom Hanks She has a knack for finding great IP, having sourced the Mick Herron SLOW HORSES crime book-series which is being produced for Apple TV+, as well as LIFE IN A FISHBOWL by Len Vlahos which is being developed for Amazon.
Before this, Melissa produced short films in Australia through Screen NSW’s Young Filmmakers Fund, Metro Screen and the Australian Cultural Fund, and which have screened in over 100 film festivals worldwide.
Melissa earned a Bachelor of Arts Hons I (Performance Studies and Art History & Theory) at The University of Sydney followed by a Masters in Media Arts and Production at The University of Technology, Sydney. At both universities, she was presented awards for her directing work. She also graduated from UCLA’s Professional Producing Program.
Carmen Knox
Carmen Knox has a decade of international experience as a producer and former scripted development executive. Currently a Melbourne-based screen consultant, Carmen specialises in scripted series development.
Carmen was based in Los Angeles until 2019, where she helped launch and build independent digital television studio Insurrection Media. As employee No. 2, Carmen drove the growth and success of the studio’s scripted video programming by managing all aspects of development while serving eventually as Chief of Staff. Through the company’s strategic partnership with HarperCollins Publishers, Carmen sourced, assisted development and helped package book adaptation TINY PRETTY THINGS, an hour-long drama series that achieved a 10-episode order from Netflix. She also identified the book IP and managed development for the studio’s first commission: murder mystery soap THE DEAD GIRLS DETECTIVE AGENCY for Snapchat (via NBC/Indigo as a flagship series) which garnered 14.1 million unique views in its first month premiere. Carmen first made her foray into the realm of U.S. production as a freelance producer in New York, assisting global talent such as renowned Indian-Canadian-British director and photographer Indrani Pal Chaudhuri on short film projects.
