The North Fork TV Festival and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation announced today that Zuff Idries' script "Superuser Do" has been named the winner of the second-annual Science + Tech Script Competition. The North Fork TV Festival will turn his script into a pilot to premiere at the festival later this year.
"We are inspired and humbled to have the opportunity to help Zuff Idries' turn his fantastic screenplay into a wonderful pilot," said festival Founder Noah Doyle. "'Superuser Do' would be a compelling story any year, but it feels especially perfect for 2020, the pain we're all feeling, and the growth we all need and want."
"We are delighted to announce with the North Fork TV Festival that Zuff Idries' 'Superuser Do' has been chosen as this year's winner of our Science + tech pilot competition. This talented young screenwriter has crafted a powerful story about an aspiring Black software engineer and the diverse community of peers that supports him as he struggles to overcome structural inequalities and other obstacles in his chosen field," said Doron Weber, Vice President and Program Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
"Superuser Do" is an anthology series that follows diverse technologists throughout their personal and professional trials. Along the way, it demystifies software engineering and the tech giants that have so much influence on our lives.
"Bringing an amazing story like this to life this is exactly why we founded the North Fork Television Festival," said Festival co-founder Jonathan Shafter. "The Festival's core mission from the very beginning has been to provide an independent platform for voices and topics, which are historically under-represented in the conventional studio system."
Zuff Idries is a first-generation Sudanese immigrant, born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. He recently earned his B.A. in Film & Media Studies from Dartmouth College, where he received the Kaplan Award for Filmmaker of the Year, as well as an Alexander Laing Memorial Writing Award in his final year. He has worked as a Projectionist at the Hopkins Center for the Arts and as a Production Apprentice at the Telluride Film Festival.
"I'm honored to have my script selected for a Sloan Foundation grant and I'm beyond excited to be working with the folks at the North Fork TV Fest to bring it to life," said Zuff Idries. "It's my hope that this project might honestly represent those who, like myself, are underrepresented in the tech industry. Better yet, I hope it inspires a new generation of historically disenfranchised people to pursue such careers with confidence."
The Science + Tech Pilot Script Competition aims to encourage screenwriters to create realistic and compelling stories about Science and technology and to challenge existing stereotypes about scientists and engineers in the popular imagination. A panel of independent judges, including accomplished television professionals as well as noted scientists and technologists, selected the winner.
Festival passes and individual tickets will soon be available for purchase online at www.northfork.tv/tickets
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