Key Takeaways:
- AT&T’s Untold Stories Greenlight Committee, including actors Yvette Nicole Brown, Daveed Diggs, Cynthia Erivo, Tanya Saracho, So Young Shelly Yo (Director, 2022 Untold Stories winner) and Kellyn Smith Kenny (Chief Marketing & Growth Officer, AT&T), announced Lilian T. Mehrel’s Honeyjoon as the 2024 winner of the Untold Stories
- Mehrel is awarded $1 million, year-round mentorship to produce her first full-length feature film and will premiere her film at the 2025 Tribeca Festival
- About Honeyjoon – In this darkly comedic travel film, Kurdish-Persian mother Lela and her diaspora daughter June take a trip to the romantic Azores off the Portuguese coast, after a recent loss. Out of place amidst honeymooners in paradise, they attempt to reclaim their lust for living. But life – and each other – keeps getting in their way.
What’s the news?
Today, AT&T* and Tribeca selected Honeyjoon as the winner of the 2024 AT&T Presents: Untold Stories – description of program. Filmmaker, Lilian T. Mehrel, competed amongst four other finalists to win $1 million and receive year-round mentorship to produce their feature film that will premiere at next year’s Tribeca Festival.
This year’s live pitch event took place at the 2024 Tribeca Festival giving emerging filmmakers including Carmen Corral, Gabriela Garcia Medina, Lilian T. Mehrel, Adrian Cardenas, Kanani Koster, Desdemona Chiang and Julia Morizawa, the opportunity to present their stories to an esteemed greenlight committee comprised of renowned industry talents and professionals, including actors Yvette Nicole Brown, Daveed Diggs, Cynthia Erivo, Tanya Saracho, So Young Shelly Yo (Director, 2022 AT&T Untold Stories winner) and Kellyn Smith Kenny (Chief Marketing and Growth Officer, AT&T). The panel was moderated by journalist and host Brooke Baldwin.
While Lilian T. Mehrel took home the top $1 million winning, the other four finalists were each awarded a $15,000 grant to further develop their film.
What are people saying?
“Thank you to AT&T, Tribeca, the Greenlight Committee and all of you here for this opportunity,” said 2024 AT&T Presents: Untold Stories winner Lilian T. Mehrel. “Thank you for celebrating and championing authentic voices. To be seen for my distinct blend of humor, heart, and cinema, and to get to do what I love on this level, is a dream come true. We're so excited for Tribeca’s brilliant mentorship over the next year... and we can’t wait to make this movie, HONEYJOON!”
“This decision was incredibly difficult, we have love for all of these films. They are rich, textured, beautiful worlds that we have never seen before and we want to acknowledge the time and effort that has gone into crafting these stories and characters,” said 2024 Greenlight Committee Kellyn Kenny, Cynthia Ervivo, Tanya Saracho, Yvette Nicole Brown, Daveed Diggs and So Young Shelly Yo. “While we believe all of these untold stories should be told, we have tremendous confidence that Lilian T. Mehrel’s Honeyjoon will make an incredibly, beautiful film. Congratulations Lilian, our 7th winner of AT&T’s Untold Stories.”
Why it matters
A long-term collaboration between AT&T and the Tribeca Festival, Untold Stories is an inspiring mentorship program that connects rising, historically underrepresented filmmakers to greater possibilities by empowering them with the necessary resources and support they need to bring their unique stories to life.
Throughout the year, the Untold Stories winner receives unmatched support and guidance on the filmmaking process, demonstrating the holistic commitment from AT&T and Tribeca. Tribeca works closely with the winner, offering creative feedback, giving script notes, and providing production, casing and crew consultations. They also coordinate screenings of rough cuts to ensure the film is festival-ready. Beyond the expert support provided before the world premiere at Tribeca Festival, the winner is also counseled on their film's festival strategy, distribution plan and more.
The program's reach extends beyond the winning filmmaker. Since 2017, the Untold Stories program has received an impressive 2,000 submissions, with an outstanding 436 submissions pouring in this year alone, marking a record-breaking milestone for the program for the most submissions. Films from the Untold Stories program have appeared on all major streaming platforms and more than 95 festivals around the world.
Additional information about the 2024 winner, Honeyjoon:
Written and directed by Lilian T. Mehrel and produced by Andreia Nunes
About Honeyjoon: Kurdish-Persian mother Lela and her diaspora daughter June take a trip to the romantic Azores off the Portuguese coast, after a recent loss. Out of place amidst honeymooners in paradise, they attempt to reclaim their lust for living. But life – and each other – keeps getting in their way.
About Lilian T. Mehrel: Lilian is an award-winning writer & director with a visionary sense of feeling and humor. With her debut feature in development, she was selected for the TorinoFilmLab 2024 ComedyLab, Warner Media & Tribeca Immigration Co/Lab, and Google & Tribeca Immersive Lab/Award. Featured in Variety, ScreenDaily, and The New York Times, her work has garnered awards including ABC/Disney and Alfred P. Sloan. Lilian’s films have premiered at Tribeca and Clermont-Ferrand and her humor writing has been published in McSweeney’s. She earned her MFA from NYU Tisch Grad Film, and her BA from Dartmouth with a Senior Fellowship. A mixed-ethnicity daughter of immigrants, Lilian also authored/illustrated a family memoir and is a PD Soros Fellow. Lilian connects to wide audiences with her hopeful swirl of cinematic poetry and comedy.
More information on the AT&T Presents: Untold Stories program, including the opportunity to enter next year’s program can be viewed at tribecafilm.com.
