Joanna Calo accepts Nantucket Film Festival Award for Excellency in TV -Writing
At the Nantucket Film Festival 2025, Joanna Calo was one of the three writers who were honored during the characteristic celebration of the event, scenario writers, organized by Michael Ian Black.
Calo, a writer about “The Bear” and “Thunderbolts*”, received the Excellence in Television Writing Award, presented by “The Bear” Star Lionel Boyce; “Andor” maker Tony Gilroy was honored by the Visionary Storyteller Award, presented by writer/director Scott Frank; and award-winning documentary director Alex Gibney received the special performance in the honor of documentary Stroytelling. Calo, whose prize was awarded by VarietyGave double Oscar nominated Frank, a shoutout during her speech.
“This is incredibly surreal,” she said after accepting her prize from Boyce. “I told Scott that I saw him when I was at the university, that he inspired me to take a job, and then I became a dad. Now to be in the same room as he … I can’t even look at you. I think you are the smartest writer who has ever lived. So thank you for left me in the same row.”
She continued by thanking the festival and the audience for ‘loving films and us to celebrate’.
“We need you. I used to work at these festivals,” Calo shared. “I mean, I am incredible, incredibly grateful. Some people know that I am writing something about the island now, and I am just really obsessed with the history of this place, and there are so many fascinating women who come from this place, and I am just very grateful to visit more about it and learn more about it.”
Joanna Calo and Lionel Boyce during scenario writers tribute
Andrew Walker/Shutterstock
During his presentation, Boyce revealed that he met her children for the first time during their journey to the festival.
“It’s interesting because we’ve been friends for a while and for some reason she never brought them around me,” he joked. “But when I met her youngest son, it brought a few things into perspective for me. No. Both impressive and a hard memory of how lazy I am.”
In addition to writing and implementing the production on ‘The Bear’, Calo also served as a writer on ‘Bojack Horseman’, ‘Girlboss’, ‘Undo’, ‘Hacks’ and ‘beef’.
Watch the video above.
