16th Annual FINAL DRAFT AWARDS Will Honor Aaron Sorkin, Sofia Coppola, Steve McQueen, Radha Blank & Ramy Youssef

Final Draft, a Cast & Crew Company, now in its 30th year as the industry standard for screenwriting software, today announced the honorees for the 16th Annual Final Draft Awards. The awards, which recognize outstanding and elevated achievement in storytelling, will be held in a virtual ceremony on March 2, 2021.

Academy Award® winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin ("The Trial of the Chicago 7") will be presented with the Final Draft® Zeitgeist Award, honoring a writer whose work speaks powerfully to the culture and what's going on in the world right now. The film is currently airing on Netflix. Two Storyteller Awards will be presented: Academy Award® winner Steve McQueen, whose latest project "Small Axe" debuts on Prime Video on Nov. 20, will receive the Storyteller Award (TV) and Academy Award® winner Sofia Coppola will receive the Storyteller Award (Film) for "On The Rocks," her latest feature currently streaming on AppleTV+. Additionally, the Final Draft Awards will honor two writers with New Voice Awards recognizing rising and vital talents in the industry. The New Voice Award (TV) will go to Ramy Youssef for his award-winning Hulu series "Ramy" and the New Voice Award (Film) will be presented to Radha Blank who won the Directing award at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year for "The Forty-Year-Old Version," currently streaming on Netflix.

Newly appointed Final Draft president, Shelly Mellot will preside over the ceremony. She is the first female president of the company in its 30-year history. "2020 has been a year of cataclysmic change and has amplified the need and appreciation for voices like our honorees who are telling stories that illuminate our culture, history and humanity," she stated. "These are provocative storytellers from diverse backgrounds and perspectives sharing their vision of the world and bringing us together at a time when we need it most. We could not be more proud to honor them and their inspiring work."

The winners of the 2020 Big Break® Screenwriting Contest, an annual screenwriting competition that launches careers and awards over $100,000 in cash and prizes, will also be celebrated at the event.

Previous Final Draft Award winners include Quentin Tarantino, Nancy Meyers, Lawrence Kasdan, Paul Schrader, Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski, Callie Khouri, Steven Zaillian, Robert Towne, Oliver Stone, and Sydney Pollack, among others. The New Voice Award was introduced in 2017 and past recipients include Steven Canals, Lulu Wang, Liz Hannah, Issa Rae, Boots Riley and Tanya Saracho.

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