The OTV FELLOWS program identifies and supports promising talent within the OTV community to support the development of a new project. Designed for emerging writers and directors, the Fellows program trains talented artists in the fundamentals of project and career development, preparing them to launch careers in the industry.

Thank you to Pop Culture Collaborative for funding this groundbreaking program!

Thank to Northwestern University for covering the announcement of our first class!

MEET THE FELLOWS

KARAN SUNIL (Code-Switched) is a writer and director. His award-winning web-series, Code-Switched, was listed as one of Chicago Reader's 'Web Series to Watch in 2018' and won 'Best Web Series' at the Los Angeles Film Awards. He recently worked as a Writers' PA on The Red Line (CBS) and Doom Patrol (HBO Max) and is a former Senior Producer at the iO Comedy Network in Chicago. He has also featured his work at venues like the Museum of Contemporary Art and the School of the Arts Institute of Chicago. Karan is a graduate of DePaul University with a Bachelor of Arts in Digital Cinema & Television Writing.

DEJA HARRELL (Seeds) is an award-winning writer and actress from Chicago, IL. Most notably, she penned, executive produced and starred in Seeds, a comedic web series which follows the misadventures of four young black women. The series premiered in early 2018 on Chicago-based web platform OTV. Seeds was selected to screen at various festivals including Series Fest where Deja was awarded Best Emerging Female Creator as well as New York Television Festival where she won Best Actress in a Dramedy. Her work has been featured and reviewed on many platforms including Bustle and Shadow and Act. She was also nominated for Best Writing in the 2018 Streamy Awards. Currently, she's living in Los Angeles and writing for Family Reunion (Netflix).

Reshmi Hazra Rustebakke (1).jpg — RESHMI HAZRA RUSTEBAKKE

RESHMI HAZRA RUSTEBAKKE (Brujos, FOBia) is a multi-faceted filmmaker and theater maker. She has her BFA from New York University, Playwrights Horizons Theatre School. During her time in New York, she received the Robert Moss Directing Fellow at Playwrights Horizons Theatre, as well as the Artist of Color Fellowship at New York Theatre Workshop. She works creatively developing new work, but also directing, producing, and production managing many kinds of shoots and plays. She has worked at The Vineyard, Playwrights Horizons Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, TimeLine Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Free Street, and many more. She is the co-director of critically acclaimed BRUJOS, and director for FOBia, The Haven, Ethel and Agnes, Geeta’s Guide to Moving on, and several more projects in development. She develops work as a storyteller, curator, director, and producer.

VINCENT MARTELL

VINCENT MARTELL (Damaged Goods) is a queer Chicago bred filmmaker whose work centers around nuanced POC + queer narratives. He is the founder of one the fastest growing production companies in the U.S, VAM STUDIO. His company is home to prominent underground film and specializes in conceptualizing and
producing avant-garde and obscure cinema. Vincent's production crew at VAM
is uniquely comprised of a dedicated team of filmmakers of color, women, and queer-identifying professionals. A Chicago International Movies & Music
Festival ICON Awardee, he is relentless in diversyfing stories on screen and
perspectives behind the lens, while unapologetically disrupting the film industry.
Vincent’s work has been profiled in Rolling Stone, Out Magazine, Pitchfork, Advocate, NPR and The Fader.

OTV Fellows 2019!

MEET THE FELLOWS