Annmarie Morais (born 1973 in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

) is a Jamaican-Canadian screenwriter best known for writing the film ''

How She Move ''How She Move'' is a 2007 drama film directed by Ian Iqbal Rashid and starring Rutina Wesley, Clé Bennett and Romina D'Ugo. The film showcases the street culture of step dancing. The film is produced by Celluloid Dreams, Sienna Films, Paramoun ...

''. She earned a BFA from

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

in Film and Video in 1995. Morais won funding for two

Vision TV VisionTV is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that broadcasts multi-faith, multicultural, and general entertainment programming aimed at the 45 and over demographic. VisionTV is currently owned by ZoomerMedia, a company ...

Cultural Diversity Drama Competition movies: ''

Hotel Babylon Hotel Babylon may refer to: Television * Hotel Babylon (BBC series), a 2000s BBC drama series * Hotel Babylon (music programme), a 1990s ITV late night music programme Literature * ''Hotel Babylon'' (novel), a novel by Imogen Edwards-Jones * ...

'' and ''

Da Kink in My Hair ''Da Kink in My Hair'' is a play by Trey Anthony, which debuted at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 2001. The play's central character is Novelette, the Caribbean Canadian owner of Letty's, a Toronto hair salon. Novelette is forced to confront her g ...

'', which aired on Vision in 2004 and 2005. ''Hotel Babylon'' is the story of immigrants working in a hotel in Winnipeg, Canada. ''Kink'' was adapted from the

Trey Anthony Trey Anthony (born 1983) is a British-born Canadian playwright, actor, and producer, best known for her award-winning play and television series ''Da Kink in My Hair (TV series), Da Kink in My Hair''. As a producer, she worked for the Women's Tele ...

play about a beauty parlour in a Jamaican-Canadian neighbourhood. Morais was also a writer and story editor on the television series adapted from the play, which aired on

Global Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

in 2007.

Nicholl Prize

Morais was the first Canadian to win the prestigious

Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting The Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting is a fellowship program founded in 1986 to aid screenwriters. It is administered by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. History Gee Nicholl, widow of producer Don Nicholl, worked w ...

. She was also the first person to win the Nicholl with a resubmitted script. ''Bleeding'' was a finalist in 1998, and she resubmitted it without changes in 1999. The prize, administered by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, garnered Morais $25,000.

''How She Move''

While at York, Morais had produced a short documentary ''Steppin'' on step-dancing in Toronto's Jane-Finch neighborhood. In 2004, she received

Telefilm A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

financing to produce a feature film based on the same concept. Originally titled ''Step'', the film ''

'' was accepted into the

2007 Sundance Film Festival The 2007 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 18 until January 28, 2007, in Park City, Utah with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah and Ogden, Utah. It was the 23-rd iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. The opening night film was '' Chica ...

. At Sundance, a bidding war resulted in a $3.4 million offer from Paramount and MTV Films. The film received wide release in the United States and Canada in January 2007.

Current projects

Splitting her time between Los Angeles and Toronto, Morais has created a television show for ABC Family about high-school cheerleaders, called ''The Flip Side.'' She is also writing a thriller set in London, ''The Collectors'' to be directed by fellow Jamaican-Canadian

Clement Virgo Clement Virgo (born June 1, 1966) is a Canadian film and television writer, producer and director who runs the production company, Conquering Lion Pictures, with producer Damon D'Oliveira. Virgo is best known for co-writing and directing an adapt ...

and adapting Jane Finlay-Young's novel ''From Bruised Fell''.

References

Sources

Brantford screenwriter hits it big
Brantford Expositor February 1, 2008

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Morais, Annmarie 21st-century Canadian screenwriters Canadian women screenwriters 1973 births Living people Screenwriters from Toronto Jamaican emigrants to Canada Black Canadian writers Black Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers