Ursula Ellis

Ursula Ellis is an LA-based writer/director and alumna of the Northwestern University undergrad and Columbia University MFA film programmes. An Army brat with Appalachian roots, she was born in Germany and grew up primarily in Alabama and Oklahoma. She is drawn to character-driven stories exploring intersectionality, agency, and memory — with a focus on regional settings and genre elements. Her short films have screened at festivals like Fantasia, Denver, Woodstock, Indie Memphis, Mill Valley, Sarasota, & Cucalorus and premiered online via Seed&Spark, NoBudge, Shudder, Directors Notes, and Film Shortage. Her award-winning MFA thesis, CRICK IN THE HOLLER, received an Alfred P. Sloan Production Grant. Her feature & episodic scripts have placed in screenwriting fellowships & competitions including the Nicholls, CineStory, Scriptapalooza, Sundance Institute Labs, Tribeca/Sloan Filmmaker Fund (finalist), and received support from the CATWALK Institute and New York Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment. Her pilot script, WAR IS KIND, won the Lisa Rubin Award for Best Drama Teleplay & Faculty Selects at the 2019 Columbia University Film Festival of thesis and recent alumni work. She is represented by Daniela Gonzalez & Antonio D’Intino at Circle of Confusion.