Authors interested in writing for the screen should be prepared to tackle a unique art form and a different working environment. In discussion with friends from the Institute of American Indian Arts, we’ll hear from television and film writers about the skills and knowledge you should have in order to break into the field.

We’ll hear about navigating the entertainment industry, being a good team member after joining a writers’ room, and what to expect if you are interested in making screenwriting a source of your livelihood.

Thank you to the MFA in Creative Writing program at the Institute of American Indian Arts for collaborating with us on this event.

Panelists

Bryson Chun is a Native Hawaiian screenwriter known for the Disney+ series DOOGIE KAMEALOHA MD and MOANA 2 for Disney animation. He’s worked in development with Mattel and Ubisoft and has produced award-winning short and feature films that have screened on Criterion, the Smithsonian, PBS and beyond. He’s a two-time Black List Indigenous fellow and a CAPE list fellow for his pilot script POI DOGS and the feature film DON’T FREAK, respectively. He’s been a traveling writer and teaching mentor for PEAK, Sundance, CAPE, HIFF, The Native American Media Alliance, and the Institute of American Indian Arts, where he received his MFA in Creative Writing. He is represented by Verve Talent and Literary Agency. Learn more at brysonchun.com.

DezBaa’ (Diné and Basque, Spanish, and Mexican descent) is a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and Writers Guild of America (WGA). She is an actor, screenwriter, director, and indie film producer. DezBaa’ began her career in the New Mexico film industry as a background actor, but soon landed speaking roles—first in Woman Walks Ahead, a 2017 film directed by Susanna White and starring Jessica Chastain. Other supporting roles have been opposite Julianne Moore, Michael Shannon, Christian Bale, and Ciarán Hinds. For three seasons, DezBaa’ starred opposite Zahn McClarnon as Helen Atcitty in AMC’s Dark Winds. She also was a staff writer on Season 2.

A former Division of Natural Resources Navajo Nation employee, DezBaa’ has a bachelor’s degree in geology from Amherst College and two Master of Fine Arts degrees—one in screenwriting, another in creative nonfiction—from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA). DezBaa’ is born for the Nooda’í Dine’e (Ute clan) and raised in Española, New Mexico. She was born in Santa Fe, where she currently lives.

Ryan RedCorn (Osage) was born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma into a family of preachers, politicians and salesmen, which are all the same occupation. He is the ilonpa of Raymond and Elizabeth RedCorn, and the object of jealousy from his three younger brothers Jon, Alex and Studebaker, who between them have four masters degrees and two Phd’s. Ryan, however, took six and half years to get an art degree in visual communications from the University of Kansas. To the surprise of many, Ryan wasn’t as stupid as everyone thought, and has been able to translate his education, his Ilonpa entitlement, and his family lineage into something some people think is valuable. He co-founded the Indigenous comedy troupe, the 1491s, and started a full services ad agency in the middle of nowhere Pawhuska, Oklahoma called Buffalo Nickel Creative. Sometimes people laugh at him. But he’s ok with all of that. He recently woke one morning and realized he has three daughters. He remarked, “I live a crazy life” and promptly enrolled in an MFA in screenwriting program to test his capacity for stress. He graduated in the Spring of 2020, built his own home, and is presently alive, living on the Osage Reservation in the Pawhuska Indian Village, and fresh off completing two seasons as a writer/story editor and actor on FX’s Emmy nominated Reservation Dogs.

Ryan received a 2023-24 Obie Award for co-writing (with the 1491s) Between Two Knees. In 2024 he returned to the Sundance Film Festival for the second time as an actor in Apple’s Fancy Dance, directed by Erica Tremblay, starring, Lily Gladstone. Ryan received a Peabody for his writing work on Reservation Dogs and named a top ten Rising Stars for the ImagiNative Film Festival in 2022. In 2025, he consulted and was cast on Sterlin Harjo’s Sensitive Kind.

Moderator: Deborah Jackson Taffa’s Whiskey Tender, a 2024 National Book Award Finalist, was also a 2025 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction longlisted title. Named one of 2024’s Top 10 books by The Atlantic, Audible, and Time Magazine, her debut was also included on best and notable lists at The New Yorker, Elle, Esquire, NPR, The Washington Post, Oprah Daily, and Publisher’s Weekly. The debut was an Amazon Editor’s Best Choice Book for the year as well. With awards and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, PEN America, MacDowell, Hedgebrook, the Ellen Meloy Foundation, Tin House, A Public Space, the Kranzberg Arts, and the NY Summer Writers Institute, Deborah is currently working on her second story collection.

A citizen of the Quechan (Yuma) Nation and Laguna Pueblo, Deborah earned her MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Prior to her job at IAIA, she taught Creative Nonfiction at Webster University and Washington University in Saint Louis. She also served as an Executive Board Member with the Missouri Humanities Council where she was instrumental in creating a Native American Heritage Program in the state. She can be found on various social media sites as @deborahtaffa.

Special Thanks to Our Supporters and Partner Organizations

With support from the National Endowment for the Arts and our donors, the Authors Guild Foundation is pleased to offer this program free to the public.

Thank you to the MFA in Creative Writing progam at the Institute of American Indian Arts for collaborating with us on this event.

Several writers organizations have partnered with the Authors Guild Foundation to help shape these programs. Our deepest appreciation to these organizations.