The Hamptons

Celebrating its 20th Anniversary, the HamptonsFilm Screenwriters Lab (April 3-5, 2020) champions the artistic visions of up-and-coming filmmakers from around the world. An intimate gathering taking place each spring in Sag Harbor, NY, the Lab fosters emerging talent by pairing selected fellows with established writers and creative producers for a weekend of one-on-one mentorship. Over the course of the weekend, these film industry veterans advise the participating fellows on their feature length projects in a series of individual and group development sessions. Additional events include an annual Master Class hosted by a celebrated screenwriter and a networking cocktail reception with board members, patrons, alumni, and members of the local artistic community.

Submissions are now open for feature length scripts of all types and about all subject matter:

Earlybird Deadline: November 26, 2019
Regular Deadline: December 10, 2019
Late Deadline: December 27, 2019
Extended Deadline: January 3, 2020

Since its inception, over fifty screenplays have taken part in the Lab. Recent projects include Annabelle Attanasio’s Mickey and the Bear (SXSW 2019, ACID Cannes 2019), Michael Tyburski and Ben Nabors’ The Sound of Silence (Sundance 2019, SIFF 2019), Cathy Yan’s Dead Pigs (Sundance 2018, BFI London Film Festival 2018), Christina Choe’s Nancy (Sundance 2018, Film Independent Spirit Award Nominee for Best First Screenplay), and Ísold Uggadóttir’s And Breathe Normally (Sundance 2018, AFI Fest 2018).

Other selected highlights include:
Destin Daniel Cretton’s Short Term 12, starring Academy Award®-winning actors Brie Larson and Rami Malek, which won the Grand Jury and Audience Award at SXSW in 2013; Justin Schwartz’s The Discoverers, starring Griffin Dunne, which made its world premiere at HIFF 2012; Sara Colangelo’s Little Accidents, which premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, starring Elizabeth Banks and Chloe Sevigny; and Claudia Myers’s Fort Bliss, starring Michelle Monaghan and Ron Livingston, which was released in 2014. With projects from participating fellows produced year after year, the Screenwriters Lab continues to be an inspiring and safe space for artists to find and hone their creative vision.

Recent Screenwriters Lab Mentors and Master Class participants include:

Debra Granik (Winter’s Bone, Leave No Trace); Tamara Jenkins (Private Life, The Savages); Jim Taylor (Sideways, Election); Mark Heyman (Black Swan, The Skeleton Twins); James V. Hart (Contact, Hook); Michael H. Weber (The Disaster Artist, (500) Days of Summer); Oren Moverman (The Messenger, Love and Mercy); Michael Cunningham (The Hours, Evening); James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, Truth); Robin Swicord (When They See Us; The Curious Case of Benjamin Button); Alex Dinelaris (Birdman); Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy); Caroline Kaplan (producer: Boyhood, Sorry to Bother You), Rob Siegel (The Wrestler, The Founder); Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Captain Marvel, Half Nelson); Sabrina Dhawan (Monsoon Wedding, Cosmopolitan); David Siegel (What Maisie Knew); Alec Sokolow (Toy Story); Hawk Ostby (Children of Men, Iron Man); J. Robin Baitz (People I Know, The Substance of Fire); Ted Griffin (Ocean’s Eleven); Whit Stillman (Metropolitan, Love and Friendship); Ira Sachs (Frankie, Love is Strange); Andy Bienen (Boys Don’t Cry); Jeff Sharp (producer: Boys Don’t Cry, Evening); Lawrence Konner (The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire); Maria Maggenti (The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love); Gregory Widen (Highlander,Backdraft); Mark Christopher (54); Maggie Greenwald (Songcatcher, Ballad of Little Jo); Laurie Collyer (Sherrybaby); Lawrence Lasker (Sneakers,War Games); and Dylan Kidd (Roger Dodger, P.S.).

Lab Funded with Support from Melissa Mathison Fund for Female Screenwriters.
hamptonsfilmfest.org/screenwriterslab