Sandi Jerome (Cherokee Nation) is fortunate enough to have an animated Sci-Fi script being produced by BlackOrb Studios. She is a graduate of UCLA’s Advanced Screenwriting Program and has been an Austin finalist with four scripts and a Nicholls Quarter finalist twice with two of her scripts, Last Hand and First Man. She writes scripts with elements of Sci-Fi, fantasy and women achieving their dreams. She recently sold her software company after kissing lots of frogs. It was a fairy tale that came true and enabled her to become a full-time screenwriter.
She was a fellow in the NAMA Writer’s Seminar, and as an avid women’s soccer fan, she completed a TV pilot, Release the Droids!, which involves soccer and the sensitive topic of AI. She once coached, played, or managed a dozen soccer teams. She grew up on a farm in Southern California and loves designing edible gardens and doing botany experiments. She wrote a script, Last Woman, that involves the multi-universe and technology gone awry. Sandi is a certified Disney expert and author of The Amazing Animals of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Her middle-grade book, Sleep Warrior, is on Coverfly’s Red List, and she hopes to write this as a feature fantasy film along with her YA novel, Murder at the Magic Kingdom.
Her early fascination with science and the nearby San Onofre Nuclear Generating station inspired her to write an action script, Use of Deadly Force. Her husband was a technical writer in the nuclear industry and ensured its authenticity. Sandi aims to help emerging producers and directors get their projects to the screen. She is a native Californian, born in Santa Ana; her father, best friend, and about thirty cousins are in the Southern California area. She belonged to a Science and Technology group and helped develop a volunteer Web on Wheels program that brought email to residents of assisted living centers. This inspired her body-switching comedy – Time for Lily, which was a First-Round Finalist in Script Magazine Open Door Contest. As a computer programmer, she has been granted two patents for software design. Sandi was the first editor of Digital Dealer and wrote computer software reviews for major publications and numerous published computer guides before concentrating on her creative career.
Sandi is an enrolled and blood member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. She hopes to get the word out about the history of her people – but in a fun and smart way. Sandi likes to create Native American characters that are memorable, engaging, and non-stereotypical. Most of her scripts have a Native American part – for many, the lead is a female, Indigenous person. Trained as a feature screenwriter at UCLA, Sandi recently learned TV writing and now has four pilots ready with 10 future episodes planned. She is excited to return to features and be part of the NAMA Feature Film Lab. She hopes to discover more about her Cherokee heritage through her characters and their journey.