Producers Guild of America Celebrates 2023 Debra Hill Fellowship Recipient Zofia Sablinska

Jamie Lee Curtis Joins Reception to Honor Legacy of Debra Hill

PHOTOS | Credit: Grant Terzakis

LOS ANGELES (October 6, 2023) - Last night, Jamie Lee Curtis presented the Producers Guild of America’s Debra Hill Fellowship to the 2023 recipient, Zofia Sablinska, at a reception at UTA in Beverly Hills. Sablinska is a recent graduate of American Film Institute (AFI) with an MFA in Producing. The reception was held at UTA, with the Producers Guild of America Chief Executive Officer, Susan Sprung, opening the event. This was followed by remarks from Jamie Lee Curtis honoring the legacy of Debra Hill and the presentation of the fellowship to Sablinska.

“What started as a collaboration with people who knew and loved Debra has blossomed into a diverse and dynamic community of the next generation of producers and production executives,” said Producers Guild of America CEO Susan Sprung. “At a time when being a creative person has never been harder in this industry from the rapidly changing business model, to the pandemic, there are just so many obstacles that young producers have to face. The Producers Guild understands how hard it is to get a foothold and start their career as a producer. With this celebration of Debra and the Fellowship, the Producers Guild continues to commit to shining a very bright light on a pioneering producer and her legacy.”

“There are PhDs that are earned about Halloween and what it meant and what it still means. When I think about that I think about the reason that Halloween is great is because of Debra Hill,” said Jamie Lee Curtis. “The reason it was so great was because of the female storytelling, because of the voices of the women. That’s the legacy of the movie and it is this legacy that led to this Fellowship being established in her name. It’s really beautiful that her voice is the reason that I am here reunited with Lynda Obst. For eight years Hill/Obst Productions were a producing powerhouse, like the first girl group in a world of men who didn’t want them around. She would be thrilled that this is happening and that we have come together to reconnect because she loved people and she was funny and incredibly smart. Debra’s legacy also included issues she was most passionate about including producers’ creative rights, women in entertainment, green and environmental initiatives, as well as her commitment to teaching and mentoring generations of producers. It is a legacy that I am incredibly excited about being passed on to Zofia.”

“Zofia’s work stood out to us for several reasons. She’s a remarkable young filmmaker and the material she chose to produce shows a surprising maturity,” said Stephanie Austin, Chair of the Debra Hill Fellowship Selection Committee. “The films she submitted ranged from an exploration of conflicts in values of a recent immigrant father and son, shot in color; an experimental film about the nature of the modern workplace, with no dialogue; and a progressive adaptation of work by Truman Capote, shot in B&W. We do personal interviews at the end of the judging process and that was the deciding factor in Zofia’s case – she has the personality, drive, ambition and communication skills to carry on the Debra Hill producing tradition.”

The event was hosted by Pam Abdy, Stephanie Austin, Bruce Cohen, Deniese Davis, Gale Anne Hurd, Lynda Obst and Stacey Sher. Notable attendees included Lynda Obst, Todd Black, Mike Farah, Rebecca Roven, Lucienne Papon, and Yolanda Cochran.

Prior to graduating from the American Film Institute Conservatory, Zofia Sablinska graduated from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy with a BSc in Economics and Management for Arts, Culture and Communication. Additionally, she holds a graduate diploma in History of Art from The institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences. She started her experience on film sets over ten years ago in Poland, working her way up from a costume assistant to the production office. She has worked with Oscar-winning and nominated producers, Ewa Puszczynska (Extreme Emotions) and Sean Bobbitt (BreakThru Films). While at AFI she conducted internships in film and television development internationally at Match Factory Productions and in the United States at FirstGen Content and Paper Plane Productions. During her MFA she produced seven narrative shorts, including her thesis film.

Debra Hill, who was best known for her groundbreaking work producing and co-writing the record-breaking film Halloween starring Jamie Lee Curtis, was passionate about encouraging and mentoring the next generation of aspiring producers. She was an advocate for producers’ creative rights, female representation in entertainment, environmental issues, and a beloved mentor to many producers.

The Debra Hill Fellowship, established in 2005 by the Producers Guild of America Foundation after Hill’s passing, is designed to honor the legacy of Debra Hill and inspire emerging producers to achieve their career goals while standing up from important issues. Individuals completing an accredited graduate degree in producing are eligible for the Debra Hill Fellowship. The grant varies in size and is meant to aid in the advancement of the recipient’s producing journey. Past fellowship recipients have included:

• Maggie M. Bailey, Director and Producer, Moving Together (2023 Dance on Camera Festival at Lincoln Center)
• Asia Coleman, Development Executive for Narrative Feature and Episodic Entertainment at Rodger Dodger Studios
• Rob Cristiano, Founder of Inside Voices, The Miseducation of Cameron Post (Co-Producer), Bob and the Trees (Producer)
• Eleonore Dailly, Owner, Autopilot Entertainment, Co-Director and Producer of Sundance Film Festival official selection, Dirt! The Movie (narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis)
• Jessica Daniels, Jessica Daniels Casting and former Vice President of Casting at Walt Disney Television
• Deniese Davis, Founder/CEO of Reform Media Group, Producer, Insecure, A Black Lady Sketch Show, Rap Sh!t
• Ashleigh Foster, Writer/Producer/Head of Development at Honora Productions
• Montserrat Gomez, Vice President of Drama Development at NBCUniversal
• Jacob Jaffke, Pearl (Producer, p.g.a.), X (Producer, p.g.a.), Bodies Bodies Bodies (Executive Producer)
• Monique Keller, Head of Development at Dreamchaser
• Diego Najera, Director of Narrative Films at Participant
• Lucienne Papon, Executive Vice President of Creative Affairs at ITV Studios America
• Rachel Vine, Film/TV/Fiction Writer

The Debra Hill Fellowship Selection Committee members include: Stephanie Austin (Chair), Allison Berry, Barry Bernardi, Bruce Cohen, Candace Block, Candace Bowen, Cathleen Summers, Deniese Davis, Hollace Davids, Jeffrey Chernov, Lucienne Papon, Lynda Obst, Marion Rosenberg, Monique Keller, Pam Abdy, Paul Reubens, Scott Thaler, Shelly Hochron, Stacey Sher. Paul Reubens was instrumental in his involvement with the Producers Guild and the Debra Hill Fellowship as an active and committed leader as a member of the Selection Committee. He was also involved in the fundraising needed to continue the Fellowship.

For additional information on supporting the Fellowship, please contact pgaadmin@producersguild.org.