THE PURPLE LIST 2026

Inspired by the Hollywood Black List, NYU Grad Film presents The Purple List: the top production ready feature screenplays written by students or recent alums of the Grad Film Program.

As determined by our faculty and voted on by an outside panel of industry professionals.

Purple List coordinator 2026: NICHOLE McMINN

  • Vincent Lee Accettola

    KOBAYASHI by Vincent Lee Accettola

    SPORTS BIOPIC / COMEDY

    The incredible true story of Takeru Kobayashi, or how a skinny 22-year-old from Japan managed to shatter world records at the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest and catapult the fringe spectacle of competitive eating into a wildly lucrative American sports phenomenon.

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  • Aisha Ford

    LITTLE RHONDA by Aisha Ford

    COMING OF AGE / FAMILY DRAMA

    Teenage Rain's relationship with her estranged mother and caretaker father becomes complicated when she decides to make a short documentary for her high school film class about her mother's recovery.

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  • Mira Peng

    LYCHEE GIRL by Mira Peng

    COMING OF AGE / SCI-FI

    In 1990s rural southern China, Yue is a dreamy trans girl raised as a boy. After her mother flees her abusive father and leaves her behind for the summer, Yue encounters surreal visions of a spaceship that draw her toward who she might become.

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  • Taylor Sanghyun Lee

    ROUNDS by Taylor Sanghyun Lee

    DRAMA

    Years after a violent shooting shattered their Presbyterian church community, an impending deportation forces two Korean-American families to confront the limits of their forgiveness.

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  • Juan Pablo Daranas Molina

    THE OTHER FAMILY by Juan Pablo Daranas Molina

    THRILLER / DRAMA

    In crisis-stricken Cuba, a desperate father spots a little girl wearing shoes stolen from his son. Determined to get them back, he spirals into an obsessive pursuit that tests the limits of his morality.

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