Lab update 2

Source: Richard Phibbs / PamelaRußmann / Tim P. Whitby/ BFI / Sara Brown / Mark Chapman / Netflix

Clockwise from top left: Gillian Anderson, Marie Kreutzer, Joy Gharoro-Akpotojor, Mona Qureshi, Prano Bailey Bond, Sally El Hosaini

EXCLUSIVE: Gillian Anderson, Corsage director Marie Kreutzer and Netflix’s Mona Qureshi are among the speakers and mentors for the 2025 edition of The Writers Lab UK and Europe.

The lab, for women and non-binary screenwriters over 40, launches in September a media law firm Lee & Thompson in London for eight screenwriters from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Austria.

This year The Swimmers director Sally El Hosaini and Joi Productions founder and producer Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor will work as one-on-one mentors with the selected writers.

The 2025 edition will also feature a new virtual panel/speaker series alongside the lab that will focus on women creators making waves in the industry. Speakers include Anderson, Kreutzer, Qureshi, director of scripted series, Netflix UK content and Censor director Prano Bailey Bond.

The Writers Lab will help participants develop projects, meet with producers and includes possible job placements in writers’ rooms.

It launched in 2015 with a US edition, expanding to the UK in 2021, and Europe in 2022, and is produced by Untamed Stories’ Julia Berg and The Writers Lab co-founders Elizabeth Kaiden and Nitza Wilon. It is supported by Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Natalie Portman.

This edition sees environmentally-focused development fund Climate Spring join as a partner. The organisation will offer climate narrative support for all participants, and work with one writer to develop a climate-focused script.

Previously announced partners include Screen Ireland, Women in Film TV Ireland (WFT Ie), Lee & Thompson, Screen Scotland, Ffilm Cymru Wales, Gaumont, Sony Pictures Television, All3Media International, The Austrian Film Institute, ORF - Austrian Broadcasting Corporation and Drehbuchforum Wien (Screenwriters Forum Vienna).

El Hosaini said: “The best stories don’t always come from the loudest voices, but from those with something to say. I’m proud to mentor women and non-binary writers over 40 - helping them shape their original visions into screenplays the world needs to see.”

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