burlee and abel vang's the tiger's child named winner in academy's nicholl screenwriting fellowship

Last month, we heard that brothers Burlee and Abel Vang had been named finalists for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' prestigious Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, for their screenplay The Tiger's Child. Well, guess what? They won: Academy Names Seven Writers Nicholl Fellowship Winners.

The Tiger's Child is a Hmong story set during the CIA's "Secret War" in Laos. When his father is suddenly killed after being coerced into the Secret Army, twelve-year-old Tou must decide whether or not to follow in the same footsteps in order to provide for Cheng, his five-year-old brother.

The script was selected from a record 6,730 submissions. Here's the list of winners:

Chris Bessounian & Tianna Langham, Los Angeles, Calif., "Guns and Saris"

Dion Cook, Altus, Okla., "Cutter"

John MacInnes, Los Angeles, Calif., "Outside the Wire"

Matthew Murphy, Culver City, Calif., "Unicorn"

Abel Vang & Burlee Vang, Fresno, Calif., "The Tiger's Child"

Each writer (or writing team) will receive a $30,000 prize, the first installment of which will be distributed at a gala dinner in Beverly Hills on November 3. For more informaiton about the fellowship, and to read the Academy's press release, go to the AMPAS website here.