Marisa Torelli-Pedevska is a 2022 MFA graduate of the USC Screenwriting Program. Her feature script, Take Me Home, won the USC Jay Roach award for its use of humor and heart, and her hour-long drama, Starlight, won the USC Sloan Screenwriting Award as well as the National Sloan Grand Jury Prize. Her coming-of-age feature, Jesus Goes to Goodland, was a semi-finalist in the Academy Nicholl Fellowship, placing in the top 140 scripts. She is the co-founder of Inevitable Foundation, a nonprofit investing in disabled writers and filmmakers so they can achieve artistic and financial freedom. 

When did you first know that you wanted to be a storyteller? Can you point to any people, films, or other kinds of media that inspired you?

I definitely wasn't the kid who grew up thinking I wanted to tell stories. But looking back, I do remember creating inner worlds for myself as a child. In high school, I thought I'd go into psychology or teaching. It's funny how writing characters isn't that far off from working with people. "How would this character feel if this happened to them? Why are they the way they are?" A lot of the questions you might ask yourself in those fields are the same questions you ask as a writer. There isn't one film that made me want to write, but one that had a huge influence on me as a storyteller and a person was "Short Term 12." I watched it for the first time one summer while I was living and working at a place similar to the residential facility in the film. I had never seen anything like it on screen before. Every storyline was told with so much care. I hope I can tell a story that moves and changes someone the way that film moved and changed me.

What brought you to USC to study screenwriting? Were there any classes, experiences, or professors that impacted you?

I applied to MFA screenwriting programs just after graduating from undergrad and, shortly after, started my first post-grad job in the NBCU Page Program. It wasn't a great fit for me physically since it required me to be on my feet for long hours. So, when I received my USC acceptance letter during the program, I made the difficult decision to leave the program early and pursue writing. When I applied to USC, I submitted writing samples that were about people and places close to my heart. Getting into USC with those samples really encouraged me to keep writing about those very things. It made me feel like I had something important to say based on what I had already experienced. I felt lucky to have had many professors at USC who significantly impacted me. There are so many to mention, but examining films in Irving Belateche’s classes really helped me understand what makes a story emotional and why. Breaking that all down kind of felt like learning magic. Trey Callaway’s pitching class felt that way too, but it focused on learning how to talk about a story. And then, of course, Mary Sweeney’s thesis class was incredibly impactful. She encouraged me to tell the most authentic version of my story, and I ended up with my favorite piece of writing to date.

How did the Inevitable Foundation come to be? Have you always been interested in non-profit work and social change? 

My co-founder, Richie Siegel, and I started the Inevitable Foundation while I was still at USC. We met through his sister, who was a camper in my bunk at a camp for teens and adults with developmental disabilities. As graduation approached, I was thinking about my next steps. At the same time, my body was really changing, and so was my relationship to my disability. It was hard to picture a future in an industry that wasn't built for disabled and chronically ill people. It was difficult to find thriving, high-level disabled writers in Hollywood to look up to. There wasn’t an organization specifically dedicated to supporting this group, so Richie and I thought, "Let's start one."

You are the Inevitable Foundation’s Co-Founder but also the Head of Writing Programs. What does this additional position entail for you? What’s your favorite part about leading these programs?

I love how many areas of the foundation I get to work in. Being a co-founder, I have the opportunity to be involved with everything from the strategy of the organization to calls with funders and executive meetings. I’ve gotten to learn so much about philanthropy, entertainment, and the areas where they intersect. On the writing side, I work with the writers in our programs, and that’s one of my favorite parts of doing this work. I love getting to see them take their projects from one stage all the way to another. We’re very hands-on with the writers in our fellowship program, meeting with them every two weeks to workshop their projects, and always being available to talk through the work. Being familiar with their writing style and their personal background helps me be on the lookout for writing opportunities that could be a good fit for them.

The term “disabled” is not a one-size-fits-all term. How does the Inevitable Foundation aim to tailor to each person’s individual needs and to set them up for success?

Every writer we work with has their own access needs. A common misconception is that disabled people are a monolith. However, just because someone has one disability doesn’t mean they understand what it’s like to live with a different one. We’re constantly learning ourselves. When we start working with someone, we ask them what they need to be successful. Maybe that’s a sign language interpreter. Maybe it’s keeping their video off during Zoom meetings when they’re having a high pain day. Or perhaps it’s just having someone to advocate for them. We want our writers to feel safe here and to have all the tools they need to be at their best. Our organization was launched on Zoom at the height of the pandemic, so our work has been virtual from the outset. I believe this has set the stage for highly accessible programs.

The Inevitable Foundation also partnered with Spotify to support podcasters with disabilities. In what ways are you hoping to expand the Inevitable Foundation’s mission to touch on different creative mediums?

We've been primarily focused on disabled screenwriters, but we aim to expand our mission to support other disabled creatives as well. Disabled directors and filmmakers will certainly become a more prominent focus for us. One long-standing consideration has been: how can we increase the number of disabled executives in the industry? If they hold decision-making power, it's essential to have representatives from the community on the other side of the table. While it's challenging to find thriving disabled writers, it's even more difficult to identify successful, influential disabled executives. This is a group we're eager to support.

Have there been any challenges you’ve encountered with creating and building the Inevitable Foundation? How did you troubleshoot?

Encouraging people to broaden their definition of disability has been a challenge, but it's an area we've been actively addressing. Disability can manifest in numerous ways, and sometimes it's entirely invisible. Highlighting the diversity within this community is integral to our mission. Another challenge is prompting the industry to recognize disability as a facet of diversity and to incorporate it into discussions about inclusion. Our inaugural billboard campaign, "Disability is Diversity," emphasized this very point. We’ve also worked to shift the perception that disabled writers are solely interested in writing stories centered on disability. While writers often draw from their personal identities, no writer should be typecast based on a singular aspect of their identity.

In your eyes, what has been the Inevitable Foundation’s biggest success to date? What goals do you hold for the future of the foundation?

Choosing a singular achievement is challenging because I'm proud of all the work we've done. The billboards are definitely something I’m so proud of. Our billboards were displayed in fifteen cities—on highways, bus stops, building sides, parking garages, and theater marquees. It's incredibly rewarding when individuals mention having seen our billboards, prompting them to contemplate disability or initiate discussions about it. I'm also profoundly proud of the community we've fostered. When we started the Inevitable Foundation, I didn’t really know other disabled writers. Now I look around the (Zoom) room and I think, "look at this community we've helped create." Our ultimate objective for the organization is paradoxically self-destruction. If we execute our mission, there should eventually be no need for our work. 

What’s next for you? Are you currently working on any personal projects?

I'm actively involved with the Inevitable Foundation, working with our amazing, expanding team. On the writing front, I'm currently working on a pilot inspired by my eight-years living and working at the camp I mentioned earlier. I've always wanted to write something inspired by my time there and share it with the world, so I’m really excited about that one. I’m also working on my USC thesis MFA feature script. Shortly after my graduation, one of the women from my USC thesis committee joined as an independent producer. Working together has been a really special experience.

What advice would you offer to current students and recent graduates?

I would tell recent graduates that it’s going to be a windy road and it’s probably not going to play out exactly as you hope it will. But that means it might turn out so much better than you could have imagined. Think of each road bump or rejection as something that’s just rerouting you to the next thing. You never know what that will be. For current students, write the thing you want to see but can’t find anywhere. If you feel moved by an idea, chances are others will be moved too.

 

By Olivia Kuhn