‘Iris’ and ‘West Wing’ Win Humanitas Prizes

The screenplays for the movie “Iris,” the HBO presentation of “The Laramie Project” and an episode of NBC’s “The West Wing” in which President Bartlet questions his faith in God were among the winners of 2002 Humanitas Prizes, the annual movie and TV writing awards established by the late Father Ellwood “Bud” Kieser. The awards were presented Tuesday at a luncheon in Universal City.

It was also announced that a Humanitas fellowship for aspiring television writers has been established in honor of “Frasier” co-creator David Angell and his wife, Lynn, who were aboard American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane to hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.

The Humanitas Prize was begun in 1974 by Kieser as a way both to honor and encourage movie and television writing that honestly explores the human condition. A new prize, the Kieser Award, was presented this year to journalist Bill Moyers.

“Iris,” about the relationship between British novelist Iris Murdoch and her husband, John Bayley, was written by Richard Eyre and Charles Wood and was cited for its dignified portrait of “two people deeply in love who are surrendering their bodies to the ravages of age.”

“Real Women Have Curves,” written by George LaVoo and Josefina Lopez, was also recognized in the Sundance Feature Film category.

Among episodic dramas, “Two Cathedrals,” the “West Wing” episode written by series creator Aaron Sorkin, tied with an episode of “The Practice” about a lawyer representing an insurance company who violates attorney-client privilege by telling the parents of a 10-year-old boy that the child has an aneurysm that must be operated on immediately. The episode was written by series creator David E. Kelley and Lukas Reiter.

Other television winners included the ABC miniseries “Anne Frank,” written by Kirk Ellis; “The Laramie Project,” written by Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project; and the “My Old Lady” episode of NBC’s “Scrubs,” written by Matt Tarses.

In children’s categories, Anna Sandor’s screenplay for the live-action Showtime production “My Louisiana Sky” was honored along with the Cartoon Network’s animated “Balto II: Wolf Quest,” written by Dev Ross.