Ligiah Villalobos has the write stuff… And, she’s earning acclaim for it.
The Mexican screenwriter has been named as one of the finalists for this year’s Humanitas Prize, an annual series of awards that honor film and television writing.
Villalobos is nominated in the 90 Minute Category for penning the script for Hallmark Hall of Fame’s 2012 television movie Firelight, which stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Q’orianka Kilcher and DeWanda Wise.
In the film, Gooding Jr. portrays Dwayne Johnson, nicknamed DJ, a counselor at a youth correctional facility where “the incarcerated girls and young women come from trouble, often violent, backgrounds.”
The $95,000 in prize money honors writing that explores the human experience in an entertaining and delightful way
“Humanitas does a simple thing. It gives credit where credit is due,” said Humanitas president Ali LeRoi. “To take time, and be of the mind, to write something that should be written, and provoke feelings that should be felt, is in itself an honorable thing. But it helps to know that someone was moved enough to say so, and thus inspire others that this quiet nobility, being the writer of something good, is worth it, if for no other reason, than someone knows it can be done, and someone else would like to see if they can do it too.”
Villalobos’ credits include penning Under the Same Moon and serving as the head writer on Go, Diego, Go!
Since its inception in 1974, the Humanitas Prize has handed out more than $3 million in winnings to 310 writers. Past recipients include Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Denis Leary and Peter Tolan (Rescue Me), Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious), Steve Levitan (Modern Family, Frasier) and Ryan Murphy (Glee).
Find the complete list of nominees by visiting the Humanitas website.
