AJ Dinsmore
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Writer, Producer, Artist
About Me
AJ Dinsmore is a Chinese-American writer and producer based in LA. She is currently a writing fellow in Lena Waithe’s renowned Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab. Raised in the middle of Nowhere, W(hite)yoming, AJ’s identity was consistently shaped by what others could see, not what they knew. This inspired AJ to write stories that examine appearance vs. reality, and why we accept the former with little curiosity for the latter. She feels most at home writing character-driven dramedies, often with a sci-fi or mystery twist, that explore and reveal the inherent absurdity and beauty in humanity.
In 2021, AJ was one of five writers selected to participate in the WeScreenplay Shorts Lab. She was a #startwith8 TV writer mentee in 2022. Her scripts have placed in the ScreenCraft Short Film Competition and PAGE International Screenplay Awards, among others.
AJ is the Project Coordinator for the Academy Award-winning film development company, The Lagralane Group. Her producing credits include Lagralane’s short film, “Ownership,” and Lower Depth Theatre’s podcast, Writers Revealed.
Writing Portfolio
To request a script, please email me at amandajdinsmore4@gmail.com.
SCREENPLAYS
Homebody
Full-length screenplay (Mystery/Horror)
When a sheltered victim of a racialized hate crime receives a disturbing distress call from her children, she leaves her house for the first time in three years to save her family from an unknown threat.
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Official Selection, HorrOrigins Film Festival (2024)
TELEPLAYS
The Conspiracist Kids
Half-hour comedy (original pilot)
When Wendy Huynh, an overly-enthusiastic 13-year-old and aspiring conspiracy theorist, hears about an alleged alien abduction in her hometown, she jumps at the chance to find proof of a real conspiracy and earn her spot in an elite conspiracy theorist organization.
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Selected for the Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab (2023)
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Quarterfinalist, The Script Lab - Free Screenplay Contest (2023)
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Quarterfinalist, WeScreenplay Diverse Voices Lab (2023)
Hot City
Dramedy/Mystery (original pilot)
Series Bible available on request
An estranged adopted daughter returns to her rural hometown for the first time in years, but when she is accused of her ex’s murder, she must find the real culprit to clear her name and escape the “unimaginable horrors” of small town life.
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Developed in Emmy Award Winner Lena Waithe's Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab
NARRATIVE SHORTS
My Life as a Teenage Conspiracy Theorist
Comedy
When Wendy, a 13-year-old aspiring conspiracy theorist, hears about a potential alien abduction in her town, she jumps at the chance to find proof of aliens and earn her spot in an elite conspiracy theorist organization.
Adapted into a Pilot, "The Conspiracist Kids."
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Winner, WeScreenplay Shorts Lab (2021)
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Semifinalist, ScreenCraft Short Film Screenplay Competition (2022)
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Semifinalist, PAGE International Screenwriting Awards Competition (2022)
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Semifinalist, Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards (2021)
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Coverfly Top 1% in Genre/Format.
Real
Satirical Drama
A woman hires a professional to re-film her marriage proposal to her girlfriend in an effort to impress her homophobic parents.
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Quarterfinalist, Fresh Voices Screenplay Contest (2019)
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Quarterfinalist, WeScreenplay Shorts Contest (2021)
Me With You, Without You
Magical realism/Horror
When a nonbinary South Asian Stanford student is accepted into a prestigious ballet school, they must convince their immigrant mother to accept their choice while a mysterious figure in the mirror both terrifies and entrances them.
*Story developed in collaboration with a group of writers.
Erased
Drama
When a Chinese-American art student discovers she didn't win a prestigious award because of her race, she must expose the prejudice simmering beneath the university while struggling to preserve her cultural and artistic identity.
It's Not Delivery, It's [REDACTED]
Comedy
When Colby Jackson, an excessively upbeat film student, tries to make a documentary about their family's pizza restaurant, they accidentally stumble on a conspiracy deeper than deep-dish pizza.
*Story developed in collaboration with a group of writers.
