Ellen Ancui is a bi-sexual, neuro-diverse writer for TV, film, podcasts and theater, originally from NY and now lives in Pasadena, CA. Regardless of genre, Ellen writes “traumadies” highlighting strong female protagonists who feel like imposters, desperately trying to fit in. Ellen’s mom was Sicilian, Catholic school teacher who converted for her Austrian, Orthodox-Jewish trumpet-playing dad, yet she continued to feed the kids ham sandwiches in the backyard. This prepared Ellen for a life of storytelling and food. In NYC, Ellen was a private chef for Oscar-winning writer Horton Foote (Tender Mercies, To Kill a Mockingbird) and others. Mr. Foote taught Ellen something about writing that she holds dearly to today – it’s all about the characters. Ellen transplanted to Los Angeles after the success of two, one-woman shows, ZEL REBELS! (Public Fringe) and JUMPING OFF THE FRIDGE (HBO Workspace). She was a staff writer on the TV sitcom, MALCOLM & EDDIE (Sony Television) and her ensemble play, GLORY PIE had a sold-out run at the Coronet Theater with a rave review from Variety. Ellen adopted her daughter from China and ended up working in legal to support her new family. Five years ago she quit running downtown law firms in order to write full time. Since then, she has written for BROWN & FRIENDS (Netflix), BONNIE SCREWS UP (podcast-Aural Stories), had her play, SIZZLER, published by Next Stage Press, and won numerous awards including a twice-finalist for the Austin Film Festival, finalist in the Big Apple Film Festival, an official selection for the Portland Comedy Festival and numerous other accolades. She is thrilled to have finally shot her award winning screenplay, SAVERIO, and proud to uplift female and non-binary artists with this project.