Celebrating its 25th Anniversary, the HamptonsFilm Screenwriters Lab (April 4-6, 2025) champions the artistic visions of up-and-coming filmmakers from around the world. An intimate gathering taking place each spring in East Hampton, 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 nightly salons and happy hours with industry guests, board members, alumni of the Lab, and members of the local artistic community.

Since its inception, over 100 screenwriters have taken part in the Lab. Recent projects include Anu Valia’s We Strangers (SXSW 2024), Andrew Semans’ Resurrection (IFC Films, Sundance 2022), Annabelle Attanasio’s Mickey and the Bear (Utopia, SXSW 2019), Michael Tyburski and Ben Nabors’ The Sound of Silence (IFC Films, Sundance 2019), Cathy Yan’s Dead Pigs (Film Movement, Sundance 2018), Christina Choe’s Nancy (Samuel Goldwyn Films, Sundance 2018) and Ísold Uggadóttir’s And Breathe Normally (Netflix, Sundance 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 Celine Song (Past Lives), Michael Covino (The Climb), Bart Freundlich (After the Wedding, The Myth of Fingerprints), Samuel D. Hunter (The Whale); Ekwa Msangi (Farewell Amor); David Hinojosa (Past Lives, Bodies Bodies Bodies); Debra Granik (Winter’s Bone, Leave No Trace); Tamara Jenkins (Private Life, The Savages); Jim Taylor (Sideways, Election); Mark Heyman (Black Swan); 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); James Pondsolt (The Spectacular Now), Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy); Peter Hedges (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape); Darius Marder (Sound of Metal); Caroline Kaplan (producer: Boyhood, Sorry to Bother You), Sara Colangelo (The Kindergarten Teacher), Rob Siegel (The Wrestler, The Founder); Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Captain Marvel, Half Nelson); Mollye Asher (producer: Nomadland); Sabrina Dhawan (Monsoon Wedding, Cosmopolitan); Jesse Andrews (Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl), David Siegel (What Maisie Knew); Alec Sokolow (Toy Story); Hawk Ostby (Children of Men, Iron Man); Alice Wu (Saving Face, The Half of It); J. Robin Baitz (People I Know, The Substance of Fire); Ted Griffin (Ocean’s Eleven); James V. Hart (Contact, Hook); 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.).

2025 SCREENWRITERS LAB FELLOWSHIP

HamptonsFilm will cover travel, accommodations, and meals for its selected fellows for a collaborative weekend of creative development and one-on-one mentorship. Following the conclusion of the Lab, HamptonsFilm offers fellows the option to extend their stay in the Hamptons to continue to work on their projects with up to three additional hotel nights covered.

Sponsor: HamptonsFilm
Value of Goods/Services: 3,000 U.S. Dollar

THE MELISSA MATHISON FUND

Established in 2016, the Melissa Mathison Fund is named for the late Hollywood screenwriter, and is instrumental in ensuring that female voices are showcased for years to come. The Fund is awarded annually to one Screenwriters Lab fellow, and the recipient will have a staged reading of selected scenes from their project produced later in the year. Recipients include Sarah Mokh (Diary of a Muslim Cynic, 2024 Lab); Shehrezad Maher (Theory of Colors, 2023 Lab); Farida Zahran (The Leftover Ladies, 2022 Lab); Lana Wilson (Back Seat, 2021 Lab); Kelly O’Sullivan (Mouse, 2020 Lab); Kirsten Tan (Higher, 2019 Lab); Aemilia Scott (Birthday Suit, 2018 Lab); Annabelle Attanasio (Mickey and the Bear, 2017 Lab); and Cathy Yan (Dead Pigs, 2016 Lab).

Sponsor: Melissa Mathison Fund
Value of Goods/Services: 5,000 U.S. Dollar

The following materials are required for your 2025 Screenwriters Lab submission:

1. A completed draft of a feature-length screenplay (PDF only). Treatments, outlines, short films, and episodic pilots are not eligible for consideration.

2. The non-refundable application fee.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. A cover letter detailing why you are interested in the HamptonsFilm Screenwriters Lab is strongly encouraged. Please include a brief synopsis (one or two sentences), the project’s current status, and any relevant development history, awards received, or labs & workshops attended. We also advise that you submit a brief CV and/or bio. While such experience is not required to be considered for the Lab, we do value learning about your background.

2. The HamptonsFilm Screenwriters Lab welcomes projects of any genre.

3. Writing partners & teams are eligible and encouraged to submit.

4. International screenwriters are welcome to submit, though to be considered, the project must be translated into English.

5. Adaptations are eligible for consideration, though the submitter must retain rights to the material.

6. Screenplays that have previously been submitted are welcome to re-apply. Over the years, the Lab has accepted multiple projects that had been previously submitted that had demonstrated further development.

7. HamptonsFilm will only be able to consider one version of each screenplay per season, and does not accept updated drafts for consideration after a project has been officially submitted. Please take this into account before submitting.

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  • Zoe Maltby

    Just an incredible experience, even virtually - personalized, welcoming, and unbelievably helpful. What a memorable experience!

    April 2021