Arthur M. Jolly was recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with a Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting for his feature comedy The Free Republic of Bobistan, about an oil rig worker who sparks an international incident when, to save a Cuban refugee, he declares the rig to be an independent country.
The Hero, a 360° Virtual Reality feature about a traffic cop flung into the middle of a futuristic war, won the Kay Snow Award in Screenwriting, and Eightball, a dramatic short film noir, was a finalist in the Pavaline Short Screenplay competition.
Produced works include A Gulag Mouse - in post-production, based on his stage play about women surviving in the bunkhouse of a prison camp; and Under the Same Sky - a feature drama for Raz Entertainment (story by Tony Kamrany, screenplay by Arthur M. Jolly and Arthur McClen) about a young Aghani-American rescuing his 8 year old niece from a forced marriage; and the short film Childish Things based on his play of the same name.
In 2013, Jolly was an alternate selection for the Fox Writers Intensive. A feature version of his play A Very Modern Marriage has been optioned.
As a playwright, Jolly has penned over 60 produced plays, with productions across the US and in Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, and South America. He has won the Joining Sword and Pen competition a record three times, was a finalist for the inaugural Woodward/Newman Drama Award, and a two time semi-finalist for the O'Neill Conference. In 2016 and 2017, he was featured artist at the 24th Last Frontier Theatre Conference.
His published plays include A Gulag Mouse, Trash, Long Joan Silver, The Christmas Princess, The Four Senses of Love, Childish Things, How Blue is My Crocodile, Snakes in a Lunchbox, What the Well Dressed Girl is Wearing, Bath Time is Fun Time, and two collections of short plays Guilty Moments and Thin Lines.
Jolly is a member of the WGA, The Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights, and The Dramatists Guild and is repped by Brant Rose Agency.