
Born and raised in Chicago, Jason Kesse is a Black, LGBTQ+ writer, producer, and proud child of Ghanaian immigrants. Fascinated with filmmaking from a young age, he enjoys creating immersive worlds and telling dark, suspenseful stories about outsiders in impossible situations learning to embrace their authentic selves outside of what is expected of them. Since earning his BA with honors in both Film & Television and Theatre from Fordham University, he has worked as a script reader for the Austin Film Festival and Roundabout Theatre Company. His pilot and feature scripts have placed in competitions such as Script Pipeline, the WeScreenplay Feature Lab, Emerging Screenwriters, and the JumpStart Writing Competition. Currently based in Portland, he serves as a development assistant at LAIKA Studios, where he helps oversee the slate of upcoming animated projects for the studio.
Instagram: @jasonkesse
The 14th Annual First Look Project searches for higher-concept material across MULTIPLE categories for film and TV, introducing select writers to reps and producers.
Well. What’s old is new again … It’s been over 15 years since Evan Daugherty (2008 Screenwriting winner) sold Snow White and the Huntsman to Universal—in what is still one of the biggest spec sales ($3.5m) from an unproduced writer in Hollywood history. So why not another fantasy script in 2026? Paramount Primal picked up […]
Scott Wagner, winner of the First Look Project (Drama) with his screenplay Intern of the Year signed with manager Aubrey Morgan at Adventure Media in 2026. Pipeline execs called Intern of the Year, loosely based on Scott's own experiences working in a hospital, as "one of the "most riveting dramas we've ever reviewed." The Pipeline […]
Screenwriting Competition winner Untitled Home Invasion Romance (formerly Getaway) was produced in the summer of 2024 released in 2026 and is now on streaming. Jason Biggs (American Pie, Orange is the New Black) makes his directorial debut with the crime/comedy. Stars Anna Conkle (Pen15), Arturo Castro (Broad City), Meaghan Rath (Hawaii Five-o), and Justin H. […]
