Q&A: Diverso
A conversation with the folks leading a cutting edge initiative providing opportunities in the film and television business for underrepresented writers.
Diverso is an impressive organization. Their vision: “Dedicated to changing the face of entertainment by empowering the next generation of underrepresented storytellers.”
The non-profit organization has partnerships with the Writer’s Guild Foundation and the Black List among other entertainment entities.
Frankie Li is Diverso’s executive director. Recently, I did an email Q&A with him to learn more about the outfit.
Let’s start with a simple question. Who are you? What is the Minority Report? What is Diverso?
My name is Frankie, I’m a college student, and two years ago, I founded Diverso. Diverso is a nonprofit, by students for students, that is dedicated to changing the face of entertainment by empowering the next generation of underrepresented storytellers. As a first-generation, low-income student, I immediately felt the gaps in the system that prevented people like me from breaking into the entertainment industry. My parents don’t speak English, we can not afford unpaid internships, applying to fellowship programs mean competing with professionals with years of experience — how in the world was I supposed to break into the industry? Every minority student has this same moment, and it is a defining factor in why students do not attempt to pursue careers in the industry. So I got together with a friend and we were inspired to build something to change that.
In partnership with The Black List, we launched our first initiative, The Minority Report. The MR is an industry-vetted fellowship program of the top scripts written by diverse students. All finalists are selected through a 5-part vetting system that includes a review by our Industry Jury, which have included producers and talent that have been involved in Moonlight, 12 Years a Slave, Carol, The Handmaid’s Tale, and more. It is designed to help student writers break into the entertainment industry. Our first year was a huge success. We chose two fellows, who participated in panels and meetings with 15+ production companies. They ended the year being both signed by managers and one of them was staffed on an ABC show! This year, we received submissions from 74 universities and are so excited to welcome our 7 new fellows.
It’s been a big year. We’re currently partnering with Rideback and the Writer’s Guild Foundation on our second initiative, a 10-week PAID internship program solely for black students. Throughout the course of the program, these students will connect with top professionals, shadow a writer’s room, and workshop a script with a mentor. We have raised money from some really amazing organizations that include WarnerMedia, the Lin-Manuel Miranda Family Fund, OWN, MWM Studios, Hoorae, Rideback, and more. They have all made this possible and we are so grateful.
To get this right, you and your team are full-time students working from your dorm rooms. You managed to get all these big industry producers and companies involved. How did you pull everything off?
Hah! Well, I have to tell you, I’m not quite sure. The short answer is that a lot of kind people put their trust in us because they believed in our mission. I can not stress to you how many good willed people came together to support us, from professors to executives to writers and actors. The long answer to your question is that we had no idea what we were doing, but we tried a lot of things, we got lucky, we learned, and we tried things again. It was REALLY difficult, Scott! The first year especially… I’m sure you experienced this with the blog but it is so difficult to get anything from zero to one. I had no connections in the industry, so I just started sending cold emails out to whoever I thought would answer. Eventually, one person responded, which led to more people responding, which led to a phone call with Franklin Leonard, and then the flywheel was in full effect.
I can not stress how important it was to find the right people. The Diverso Fam is now 9 people, who all go to different universities from across the country. We have always been fully remote, and the most important thing that ever happened is that we became genuine friends and started believing in each other. That trust has really kept us together during the ups-and-downs.
You’re now in your second year of running the Minority Report. Could you talk a little bit more about your goals this year and what you’ve all learned?
Good question! Our main goal for this next year is to get every single one of our fellows their first jobs and to help them find representation. Even though they are all recent grads or current students, everyone of them is at a different stage in their development as an artist. That is the biggest thing that we learned from last year, that every single one of them has different needs. In that way, we have really started focusing on building the programming that makes sense on an individual level and more of a macro level.
In choosing our fellows, their talent was just as important a factor as their fit. Initially, people apply to our programs or team because they are enticed by the fancy panels or meetings with producers, but the real value comes from the community. Being a part of Diverso has everything to do with contributing to the vision and community that we are building. We are trying to become an incubator for the diverse storytellers, executives, and producers of the future. In that regard, internally and externally, we spend a lot of time making sure everyone feels heard, seen, and supported. It’s not perfect, but we try our best.
It seems like that phrase “by students for students” really embodies everything that you do. Could you talk a little more about that?
I’m glad that you recognize that! “By students for students” is at the heart of everything. We understand that progress isn’t created through big pushes or individual notions, but through community efforts and incremental processes. By students for students, ensures that we always have an ear to the tracks, that we always understand the problems that diverse students have, because we experience them first hand. This past summer, we had book clubs centered around learning how to build a long-lasting organization. We want to be a 30…50…100-year old organization, and we spend so much time ensuring that we have the foundation to reach that goal.
It’s an exciting time, you have 7 new Minority Report fellows. Can you talk about them and their scripts?
Here is a link to learn more about the fellows. We have a really great mix of undergrad and grad students with such interesting stories. The duo, Jalmer and Omar completely caught us by surprise with their authentic story and personalities. Thomas has achieved so much success at a young age and is so humble. Jake has such a unique story about black heroism and is never afraid to be vulnerable. Mary is a go-getter that understands deeply, everything that we are trying to do. Plus, she’s hilarious. Anndi wrote this beautiful script that takes place in 1920s New York that is just really special. And last but not least, Yugo, our most experienced fellow, has one of the most unique scripts that I have ever read.
What’s next for Diverso and your new fellows?
Our fellows have no idea what we have in store for them! They will all receive a mentor, attend a series of panels and mixers, before we send them on general meetings with producers and executives. It is our goal to set them up with an executive or producer of their dream company. Even after the year is up, we want to be in their corner for the rest of their careers. They’re now a part of the Diverso fam.
We actually just launched our initiative for black writers today. So if you are a black student attending an undergraduate or graduate program, please apply! To stay updated on our fellowship programs and other panels and events we are planning to hold, please join our newsletter or follow us on social media @diversoorg.
