New York University has revealed its 2026 picks for its Black List-inspired Purple List of the best production-ready screenplays from Tisch School of the Arts graduate film students and recent alumni.
The five screenplays, selected via a blind reading process by industry insiders, are Kobayashi by Vincent Lee Accettola, Little Rhonda by Aisha Ford, Lychee Girl by Mira Peng, Rounds by Taylor Sanghyun Lee and The Other Family by Juan Pablo Daranas Molina.
Prominent filmmakers whose work was included on past editions of the Purple List, now in its 15th year, include Chloé Zhao, The President’s Cake filmmaker Hasan Hadi, Judas and the Black Messiah‘s Shaka King, current Purple List president Cathy Yan (The Gallerist, Succession, Dead Pigs, Birds of Prey), Desiree Akhavan (Appropriate Behavior, The Miseducation of Cameron Post) and The Starling Girl‘s Laurel Parmet.
Nineteen of the scripts showcased in past editions of the list, founded by alumni Ashim Bhalla and Shandor Garrison and faculty member John Tintori in 2012, have been turned into finished feature films.
This year’s winners were selected by a panel of producers, writers, directors (including David Alan Basche, David Frankel, Donna Gigliotti, Mollye Asher, Naomi Foner), cinematographers, sound editors and staffers from organizations like Brillstein, Paradigm, Gersh, Verve, Anonymous Content, Grandview, The Sundance Institute, The Gotham, Cinetic Media, Roadside Attractions and Searchlight.
More information about each of this year’s screenplays, provided by the Purple List team, follows.
Kobayashi (sports biopic/comedy), written by Vincent Lee Accettola. The incredible true story of Takeru Kobayashi — or how a skinny 22-year-old from Japan shattered world records at the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest and catapulted the fringe spectacle of competitive eating into a wildly lucrative American sports phenomenon. Vincent Lee Accettola is an Asian American filmmaker and NYU MBA/MFA candidate whose script Kobayashi is his second to be featured on the Purple List, following Blue Comedy in 2024.
Little Rhonda (coming of age/family drama), written by Aisha Ford. 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. Aisha Ford is an award-winning filmmaker whose latest short, Brownies, executive produced by Spike Lee, earned her the best director award at the Academy Award-qualifying Reel Sisters of the Diaspora.
Lychee Girl (coming of age/sci-fi), written by Mira Peng. 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. Mira Peng is a writer and filmmaker from Hunan, China, who wrote and directed The Little Prince(ss) for the Disney Launchpad, which was released on Disney+.
Rounds (drama), written by Taylor Sanghyun Lee. 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. Taylor Sanghyun Lee is an NYC-based filmmaker whose debut feature Rounds was selected for the 2026 Sundance Screenwriters Lab and the 2025 TIFF & CJ K-Story Fund.
The Other Family (thriller/drama), written by Juan Pablo Daranas Molina. 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. Juan Pablo Daranas Molina is a Cuban filmmaker and two-time recipient of the Purple List whose thesis film, executive-produced by Spike Lee, was selected for the inaugural Corto Condorello program overseen by Paolo Sorrentino.
