Montco Native Wins Academy Award For 'Spotlight': 2016 in Review

This story originally appeared on Patch in February of 2016.

AMBLER, PA -- An Ambler man and Harvard Law School graduate has won an Oscar for his work on the feature film Spotlight, which has been nominated for several other Academy Awards.

Josh Singer co-wrote the film with director and co-writer Tom McCarthy. The pair won the Best Screenplay Written For The Screen during the 88th Academy Awards in Los Angeles Sunday night.

The film has also received a nomination for Best Picture.

During his brief thank-you speech, Singer thanked his father for “teaching him how to dream.”

Spotlight tells the story of a team of investigative reporters with the Boston Globe who uncovered the Catholic Church’s infamous cover-up of priests molesting children in the early 2000s.

Singer said going to law school and watching the success the show West Wing had in conveying complex policy ideas in an engaging screenplay format inspired him as he worked on the film.

“I was interested in continue talking about theideas we were talking about in law school, and right at the end of graduate school, the West Wing came on the air, and I was sort of really taken by it, because there is Aaron Sorkin, having a dialogue with the American public about the issues,” Singer told CBS 3. “It’s a great thing, it’s a really incredibly recognized,” he said. “It’s so important, this kind of long form investigative work.”

Singer is a 1990 graduate of Upper Dublin High School. His family still lives in the area.

Image via Youtube screenshot.