The Writers Lab (TWL) is delighted to announce the launch of The Writers Lab UK & Ireland (TWL UK & I) with the first script development programme of its kind for women over 40, in partnership with Untamed Stories and supported by Dirty Films, the independent film and television production company headed by Cate Blanchett, Andrew Upton and Coco Francini with development producer Georgie Pym, and in association with Birds’ Eye View. Submissions will open from 1-20 April 2021. Learn more and apply at the link above.
TWL UK & I will be produced with UK Partner Untamed Stories, the creative production hub helmed by development producers Julia Berg and Ruth Spencer; in association with Birds' Eye View, the not-for-profit which champions the female perspective in film and headed by Mia Bays. The Lab is supported by Dirty Films, as well as Screen Scotland, Screen Skills Ireland, Northern Ireland Screen and Ffilm Cymru Wales & BFI NETWORK with funding from the National Lottery. The US programme, produced by co-founders Elizabeth Kaiden and Nitza Wilon and New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT), is supported by Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, and Oprah Winfrey.
The Writers Lab, the only programme devoted exclusively to script development for woman-identifying writers over 40, brings the co-founders of its pioneering Lab to writers in the UK and Ireland with a new virtual programme held 10-13 June 2021, with Post-Lab virtual mentoring sessions in the months following. Submissions of both Features and Pilots (both 1-hour and ½-hour) will be accepted for consideration. Up to 12 writers will be selected to participate in an opportunity for unique and emerging voices reflecting the diversity of the populations across Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Writers selected for the Lab will work one-on-one and in group sessions with acclaimed screen industry leaders to develop their scripts and their craft, and to build tools and strategies to achieve success. Past TWL US Mentors have included: Anne Carey (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), Frida Torresblanco (Pan's Labyrinth) and Robin Swicord (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button).
