Jodi Ippolito

Screenwriter

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Member Since:
August 2020

Last online:
> 2 weeks ago

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About Jodi

Jodi is a screenwriter from Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN. He has written two pilots and one feature-length film. Currently, he is working on several television pilot and feature film ideas. His aspiration is to become an accomplished screenwriter. Jodi's goals consist of completing one new screenplay a year, while continuing to learn from others who inspire him. Ideally, he would love to someday sell a spec script and see one of his ideas come to fruition on the big or small screen.

Jodi, is a man of transgender experience, having transitioned his gender from female to male 21 years ago, during a time when doing so was not so commonplace. His experience of living as a woman for 30 years and a man for the 21 offers him a unique vantage point to create stories and develop characters.

Professionally, Joe earned a Doctorate in Psychology in 2009, a Masters In Social Work in 1999 and a Bachelor's in Journalism & Telecommunications in 1994. Currently, he works as a Mental Health Professional for Ramsey's County Department of Human Services and is a Community Faculty member in the Psychology Department at Metropolitan State University.

Jodi's foray into the film and television industry started in 1994, when he interned at a PBS affiliate. A year later he landed a teleprompter job at America's Talking, an cable channel focused on talk based programming. During this period, he completed two semesters of film classes at The New School (formerly known as the New School For Social Research) in New York City.

In 1997, Jodi's focus shifted and he decided to go back for a Masters in Social Work. While he remained passionate about film and television, he also loved working with people in more direct ways.

In 2010, Jodi's interest in film picked back up when he founded Gender Reel, one of the countries only transgender film festivals. At the time, more mainstream film festivals were not screening films made by and about trans people and he wanted to change that. In 2014, Jodi wrote and directed his first documentary, “Growing Old Gracefully: The Transgender Experience," a film exploring the experiences of trans aging people.

Over the years, Jodi has also co-authored book chapters, keynoted conferences, consulted on research projects, ran a film festival, won grants, and advocated for trans rights.

Jodi has accomplished everything he has set out to do in life so far. His interest in screenwriting is the next big adventure on this path and, as evidenced by past accomplishments, he plans to achieve it with integrity and honor.

Gender:
Male

Ethnicity:
Caucasian

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Fang Budget: $1M - $5M | Horror A soon-to-be shape-shifting teenage boy and his transgender best-friend confront their supernatural destines to solve a series of bizarre murders and keep the historic beach town they grew up in safe from the evil lurking within.
Love SCARS Budget: $100K - $1M | Other For transgender teen, Andy Cooper, finding love - much less a date to prom - is a pretty tall order. Things change when Andy rekindles his friendship with Valedictorian, Olivia McDonald. Together, they confront transphobia friends, family dilemmas and life changing SCARS.