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Semifinalist, 2026 Roadmap Writers' Shorts Competition
BIO
Marianna Staroselsky is a screenwriter, playwright, filmmaker, and educator working in dark comedy grounded in medical anthropology. Born in the former Soviet Union and raised in the American Midwest, she tells absurdist fables about characters struggling to be themselves in systems they didn't choose, for the confused, wounded child in all of us. She holds an MFA in playwriting from Columbia University and a PhD in Comparative Human Development from the University of Chicago. Her work has been recognized by the Austin Film Festival and the Sundance Impact Lounge. She is represented by literary manager Seth Nagel of Impish Grin Corp.