Last Thursday legendary screenwriter and best-selling author Sidney Sheldon presented the inaugural Sidney Sheldon Scholarship Award for Screenwriting to Marcelo Mitnik, a graduate student at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television at the headquarters of the Writers Guild of America/west under the auspices of the Writers Guild Foundation.
Robert Rosen, dean of the School, and Daniel Petrie, Jr., vice president of the Writers Guild and the Writers Guild Foundation, joined Sheldon in making the presentation.
"Marcelo Mitnik is a very talented writer and it is a pleasure for me to be helping the next generation of creative artists," said Sheldon.
Growing up in Argentina, Mitnik realized at an early age that making movies in America would be a dream come true. As a child, he and his family idolized Sheldon and his many works.
“I’m truly honored that my screenplay “The Dam” was selected by a writer whose work I respect and admire so much,” said Mitnik.
Facing many obstacles, Mitnik moved to the U.S. in 1999, struggling financially but keeping the hope of breaking into the entertainment industry and finding a way to write and direct his own films. In 2001, he was accepted in to the prestigious UCLA graduate screenwriting program.
Intended to encourage young writers, the recently established Sidney Sheldon Scholarship Award for Screenwriting and Playwriting will alternate each year honoring a screenwriter or playwright.
" We are very proud to be associated with Sidney Sheldon, his success in the worlds of theater, film and television parallels our unique program integrating those three artistic disciplines," said Robert Rosen, dean of the School. “We are deeply grateful for his generous gift establishing this award.”
As a screenwriter, Sheldon won an Oscar for The Bachelor & The Bobby-Soxer. He also wrote the screenplays for Easter Parade and Annie Get Your Gun. He won a Tony for the musical Redhead and created the television series The Patty Duke Show, I Dream of Jeannie and Hart to Hart. Sheldon has sold over 300 million books and is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as "the most translated author in the world."
Consistently ranked among the leading institutions in the nation, the School of Theater, Film and Television is unique in the world in that it brings together the arts of theater, film and television in one academic institution. UCLA's reputation as an outstanding training ground for the theater, film and television professions, and for critical scholarship is based on its long tradition of fostering creative growth, encouraging experimentation and ensuring artistic freedom. Many of the most respected names in the entertainment and communication arts, and the world of scholarship, are UCLA alumni..