Chewing Gum writer and star Michaela Coel has been named as the recipient of the 2017 Wellcome Screenwriting Fellowship, in partnership with the BFI and Film4. Michaela will receive an award of £30,000 in addition to access to the Wellcome Trust’s world renowned scientists, labs and research.
Michaela was picked from over 100 nominees from the film and television industry, however Michaela was awarded the fellowship in recognition of her “remarkable screenwriting talent and distinctive approach to exploring the human condition”.
Michaela said: “This Fellowship couldn’t have come at a better time. Whilst retaining my individual identity as a writer, my next project will take me on a journey of discovery about brain chemistry, cognitive error, and memory, by the end of which I will undoubtedly have learned to create stories in ways that are currently foreign to me.
“Here at Wellcome I’ll be able to talk to experts about the diagnosis of personality disorders, cognitive patterns, how they’re formed and myriad other things. I’m very grateful to have been chosen for this year, and can’t wait to get going.”
In a video message during the award ceremony, the writer also announced that she is working on a project that will focus on “race, politics and astrophysics”.
