Nicole Scherzinger, Succession star Sarah Snook, Game of Thrones and Sherlock actor Mark Gatiss, a revival of the musical Sunset Boulevard and the play Stranger Things: The First Shadow were among the winners at the 2024 Olivier Awards, which celebrate achievements in London theater. The ceremony at Royal Albert Hall in the British capital was hosted by Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham.
The revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s Sunset Boulevard, which has starred Scherzinger as Norma Desmond and is set to come to Broadway this year, won the best musical revival award, the best actress honor for the former Pussycat Dolls singer and five other honors after also leading the nominations with 11.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a prequel to the Netflix hit series, which has hinted at its Broadway ambitions, won the best new entertainment or comedy play award, as well as the Olivier for best set design.
Dear England,...
The revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s Sunset Boulevard, which has starred Scherzinger as Norma Desmond and is set to come to Broadway this year, won the best musical revival award, the best actress honor for the former Pussycat Dolls singer and five other honors after also leading the nominations with 11.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a prequel to the Netflix hit series, which has hinted at its Broadway ambitions, won the best new entertainment or comedy play award, as well as the Olivier for best set design.
Dear England,...
- 4/14/2024
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Succession star Sarah Snook and singer-actress Nicole Scherzinger were among the big winners at the 2024 Olivier Awards, which were revealed this evening at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Scroll down for the full list of winners.
Snook picked up the Best Actress gong for her multi-character performance in the Sydney Theatre Company’s version of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. The play also picked up Best Costume Design for Marg Horwell. Scherzinger landed Best Actress in a Musical for her turn as Norma Desmond in the recent revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway-bound Sunset Boulevard.
Elsewhere, the Best Director award went to Jamie Lloyd for the Savoy Theatre production of Sunset Boulevard while Vanya starring Andrew Scott landed Best Revival. Mark Gatiss won Best Actor for The Motive and the Cue. Will Close nabbed Best Supporting Actor for his role in the National Theatre’s...
Snook picked up the Best Actress gong for her multi-character performance in the Sydney Theatre Company’s version of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. The play also picked up Best Costume Design for Marg Horwell. Scherzinger landed Best Actress in a Musical for her turn as Norma Desmond in the recent revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway-bound Sunset Boulevard.
Elsewhere, the Best Director award went to Jamie Lloyd for the Savoy Theatre production of Sunset Boulevard while Vanya starring Andrew Scott landed Best Revival. Mark Gatiss won Best Actor for The Motive and the Cue. Will Close nabbed Best Supporting Actor for his role in the National Theatre’s...
- 4/14/2024
- by Baz Bamigboye and Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Sarah Snook, Sarah Jessica Parker, Andrew Scott and David Tennant were among the nominees for the 2024 Olivier Awards, which celebrate achievements in London theater.
Parker was nominated for best actress for her role in Plaza Suite, opposite her husband, Matthew Broderick, while Snook was nominated in the same category for her one-woman take on The Picture of Dorian Gray. Tennant was nominated for best actor for his role in Macbeth, in the same category as Andrew Scott, in a one-man version of Vanya.
Sunset Boulevard, which starred Nicole Scherzinger, who is also nominated, and is set to come to Broadway next year, received 11 nominations, while Dear England, a play by James Graham about an English football manager, received nine nominations. Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a prequel to the television series, which has also hinted at its Broadway ambitions, is up for best new entertainment or comedy play.
The Olivier...
Parker was nominated for best actress for her role in Plaza Suite, opposite her husband, Matthew Broderick, while Snook was nominated in the same category for her one-woman take on The Picture of Dorian Gray. Tennant was nominated for best actor for his role in Macbeth, in the same category as Andrew Scott, in a one-man version of Vanya.
Sunset Boulevard, which starred Nicole Scherzinger, who is also nominated, and is set to come to Broadway next year, received 11 nominations, while Dear England, a play by James Graham about an English football manager, received nine nominations. Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a prequel to the television series, which has also hinted at its Broadway ambitions, is up for best new entertainment or comedy play.
The Olivier...
- 3/12/2024
- by Caitlin Huston
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Stars including Sarah Jessica Parker, Sarah Snook, Andrew Scott and David Tennant will compete for Olivier Awards at the UK’s most prestigious theater ceremony next month.
The Sex and the City stars is up for Best Actress for her performance in Plaza Suite – her first Olivier – while Succession’s Snook has picked up a nod for her critically-acclaimed performance as 26 characters in The Picture of Dorian Gray.
In the Best Actor category, Scott’s performance in Vanya will come up against Tennant’s role in Macbeth, while the starry nominee list also includes Joseph Fiennes for Dear England, which is being made into a BBC series, Mark Gatiss for The Motive And The Cue and James Norton in A Little Life.
Other notable nominations include for singer Nicole Scherzinger in Sunset Boulevard, where she has picked up a nod for Best Actress in a Musical. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s...
The Sex and the City stars is up for Best Actress for her performance in Plaza Suite – her first Olivier – while Succession’s Snook has picked up a nod for her critically-acclaimed performance as 26 characters in The Picture of Dorian Gray.
In the Best Actor category, Scott’s performance in Vanya will come up against Tennant’s role in Macbeth, while the starry nominee list also includes Joseph Fiennes for Dear England, which is being made into a BBC series, Mark Gatiss for The Motive And The Cue and James Norton in A Little Life.
Other notable nominations include for singer Nicole Scherzinger in Sunset Boulevard, where she has picked up a nod for Best Actress in a Musical. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s...
- 3/12/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Fantasy fans rejoice! Astrid Lindgren‘s beloved classic novel The Brothers Lionheart is getting an event-limited TV series adaptation! Academy Award winner Thomas Vinterberg will direct and co-write the adaptation with Tony and Olivier Award winner Simon Stephens (Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime). Both will serve as Executive Producers alongside Michael Ellenberg, Lars Blomgren, Lindsey Springer of Media Res, and The Astrid Lindgren Company.
Per today’s official press release for The Brothers Lionheart courtesy of Media Res:
A beloved family classic in Scandinavia and around the world, The Brothers Lionheart has been translated into 50 languages and takes place in the fantasy tradition of magic, myth, poetry, and adventure where the work of C. S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Hayao Miyazaki reside. It is a breathtaking coming-of-age tale nestled inside an epic fantasy adventure story. The novel tells the story of two brothers – Karl and Jonathan Lion...
Per today’s official press release for The Brothers Lionheart courtesy of Media Res:
A beloved family classic in Scandinavia and around the world, The Brothers Lionheart has been translated into 50 languages and takes place in the fantasy tradition of magic, myth, poetry, and adventure where the work of C. S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Hayao Miyazaki reside. It is a breathtaking coming-of-age tale nestled inside an epic fantasy adventure story. The novel tells the story of two brothers – Karl and Jonathan Lion...
- 3/7/2024
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
Thomas Vinterberg, the Oscar-winning director of Another Round, is turning to television for his next project, signing on to adapt the fantasy novel The Brothers Lionheart as a limited event series for The Morning Show producers Media Res.
Vinterberg will adapt the beloved children’s book, from Pippi Longstocking author Astrid Lindgren together with Tony and Olivier Award-winning British playwright Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime). Both will executive produce the series together with Michael Ellenberg, Lars Blomgren and Lindsey Springer of Media Res, alongside The Astrid Lindgren Company.
While not as well known outside internationally as Pippi Longstocking, Lindgren’s coming-of-age tale of two brothers, Karl and Jonathan Lion, in the mythical land of Nangiyala, and their battle against the evil tyrant Tengil, is a family classic in Scandinavia and has been translated into some 50 languages worldwide.
“The Brothers Lionheart is possibly the most...
Vinterberg will adapt the beloved children’s book, from Pippi Longstocking author Astrid Lindgren together with Tony and Olivier Award-winning British playwright Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime). Both will executive produce the series together with Michael Ellenberg, Lars Blomgren and Lindsey Springer of Media Res, alongside The Astrid Lindgren Company.
While not as well known outside internationally as Pippi Longstocking, Lindgren’s coming-of-age tale of two brothers, Karl and Jonathan Lion, in the mythical land of Nangiyala, and their battle against the evil tyrant Tengil, is a family classic in Scandinavia and has been translated into some 50 languages worldwide.
“The Brothers Lionheart is possibly the most...
- 3/7/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Media Res and Thomas Vinterberg have unveiled plans to adapt The Brothers Lionheart, the Swedish fantasy novel from Pippi Longstocking creator Astrid Lindgren, into a limited series.
Vinterberg, the director of acclaimed European hits including Oscar winner Another Round and The Hunt, will direct and co-write the adaptation with Simon Stephens, who adapted Mark Haddon’s novel Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time for the stage.
The project marks the first production from Media Res International led by Blomgren. Media Res recently received investment from Redbird Imi and plans to expand its US and international scripted business.
Scandinavian...
Vinterberg, the director of acclaimed European hits including Oscar winner Another Round and The Hunt, will direct and co-write the adaptation with Simon Stephens, who adapted Mark Haddon’s novel Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time for the stage.
The project marks the first production from Media Res International led by Blomgren. Media Res recently received investment from Redbird Imi and plans to expand its US and international scripted business.
Scandinavian...
- 3/7/2024
- ScreenDaily
Independent studio Media Res (The Morning Show) has enlisted Oscar-winning filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round) to spearhead a TV adaptation of the Astrid Lindgren’s beloved children’s fantasy novel The Brothers Lionheart into an event limited series.
The Danish filmmaker will direct the potential family series, which he will co-write with Tony and Olivier Award playwight Simon Stephens (Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime). Both will serve as executive producers, alongside Michael Ellenberg, Lars Blomgren and Lindsey Springer of Media Res, as well as The Astrid Lindgren Company. Development on the project begins this month.
The Brothers Lionheart, from the renowned Swedish author of children’s classics such as Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga and Karlsson-on-the-Roof, is a coming of age tale, nestled inside an epic fantasy adventure story.
The novel tells the story of two brothers – Karl and Jonathan Lion – as they leave the natural world...
The Danish filmmaker will direct the potential family series, which he will co-write with Tony and Olivier Award playwight Simon Stephens (Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime). Both will serve as executive producers, alongside Michael Ellenberg, Lars Blomgren and Lindsey Springer of Media Res, as well as The Astrid Lindgren Company. Development on the project begins this month.
The Brothers Lionheart, from the renowned Swedish author of children’s classics such as Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga and Karlsson-on-the-Roof, is a coming of age tale, nestled inside an epic fantasy adventure story.
The novel tells the story of two brothers – Karl and Jonathan Lion – as they leave the natural world...
- 3/7/2024
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Back in 2013, Dublin-born actor Andrew Scott decided it was time to come out. He was about to do publicity for the movie “Pride.” “It got to a stage where I felt like it was an omission,” he told me recently at Los Angeles’ London Hotel. “Not speaking about it was bothering me a little. I just made the movie ‘Pride.’ And I didn’t really want to talk about that film without saying who I am. I had no shame about it anymore. So it was a brilliant thing to do. I would say to any young actor, that it was wonderful for me personally, but it was very good for my work, too. It didn’t affect my work negatively in any shape, or form. In fact, the opposite.”
He has been saying “no” throughout his career. “For me, it’s about a signature,” he said. “If the writing...
He has been saying “no” throughout his career. “For me, it’s about a signature,” he said. “If the writing...
- 12/15/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Pulp stopped in their hometown of Sheffield for a pair of shows on their reunion tour over the weekend. To make the second night even more special, they closed out the set by debuting an unreleased song called “Hymn of the North.”
“I can promise you that no one has ever heard this song except for us on this stage,” vocalist Jarvis Cocker said to the crowd while introducing the performance. “Actually that is a lie. It’s a song — a kind of version of it was featured in a play by a guy called Simon Stephens. And it’s called ‘Hymn of the North.’ So we are in the North, so we thought you should hear it first, Ok.”
Cocker continued by sharing that the band had “some lively discussions” about whether they should play the song live. “There’s a lot that could go wrong with it — I’m playing the piano,...
“I can promise you that no one has ever heard this song except for us on this stage,” vocalist Jarvis Cocker said to the crowd while introducing the performance. “Actually that is a lie. It’s a song — a kind of version of it was featured in a play by a guy called Simon Stephens. And it’s called ‘Hymn of the North.’ So we are in the North, so we thought you should hear it first, Ok.”
Cocker continued by sharing that the band had “some lively discussions” about whether they should play the song live. “There’s a lot that could go wrong with it — I’m playing the piano,...
- 7/17/2023
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Music
Andrew Scott, the hot priest in Fleabag and Bond villain in Spectre, will dominate the West End in the fall by playing all the roles in Vanya, a new adaptation of Chekhov’s masterpiece Uncle Vanya.
Playwright Simon Stephens, who won major awards for his stage interpretation of Mark Haddon’s best-selling book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which played in London and New York, was tasked with shaping Vanya by producers Benjamin Lowy and Emily Vaughan-Barratt of production house Wessex Grove.
Scott will perform the four leading characters: Vanya; his late sister’s husband, Serebryakov, and his new wife, Yelena; and Sonya, who is Serebryakov’s daughter from his first marriage. There are five other roles –three supporting and two smaller featured parts.
Scott told Deadline that he’s “utterly thrilled” to be returning to the theater for the first time since he did Noel Coward...
Playwright Simon Stephens, who won major awards for his stage interpretation of Mark Haddon’s best-selling book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which played in London and New York, was tasked with shaping Vanya by producers Benjamin Lowy and Emily Vaughan-Barratt of production house Wessex Grove.
Scott will perform the four leading characters: Vanya; his late sister’s husband, Serebryakov, and his new wife, Yelena; and Sonya, who is Serebryakov’s daughter from his first marriage. There are five other roles –three supporting and two smaller featured parts.
Scott told Deadline that he’s “utterly thrilled” to be returning to the theater for the first time since he did Noel Coward...
- 6/8/2023
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Apple Original Films continues to expand on its diverse film slate as it has landed the rights to Causeway, a new film starring and produced by Academy Award-winner Jennifer Lawrence, and directed by Lila Neugebauer. A24 produced and developed the project. The film will make its global debut in-theaters and on Apple TV+ later this year.
The pic is an intimate portrait of a soldier struggling to adjust to her life after returning home to New Orleans. Brian Tyree Henry is set to co-star alongside Lawrence. Filmed in New Orleans, the A24 film is written by Ottessa Moshfegh & Luke Goebel and Elizabeth Sanders. Lawrence produces alongside Justine Ciarrocchi for Excellent Cadaver. In addition to directing, Neugebauer serves as executive producer. “Causeway” is produced by Iac Films, Ipr.Vc, Excellent Cadaver, and A24.
The film marks the latest project for Apple Original Films and Lawrence, who is attached to star in and...
The pic is an intimate portrait of a soldier struggling to adjust to her life after returning home to New Orleans. Brian Tyree Henry is set to co-star alongside Lawrence. Filmed in New Orleans, the A24 film is written by Ottessa Moshfegh & Luke Goebel and Elizabeth Sanders. Lawrence produces alongside Justine Ciarrocchi for Excellent Cadaver. In addition to directing, Neugebauer serves as executive producer. “Causeway” is produced by Iac Films, Ipr.Vc, Excellent Cadaver, and A24.
The film marks the latest project for Apple Original Films and Lawrence, who is attached to star in and...
- 7/20/2022
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Award-winning producer and co-founder of independent production company Nine Stories, Riva Marker, has joined Nicole King and Stacy O’Neil’s Linden Entertainment as their CEO of Productions.
In her new role, Marker will oversee and expand the company’s upcoming production slate across both film and television. She will operate out of the company’s New York office and will start her position effective immediately.
Producer Marker founded Nine Stories, the independent production company, with Jake Gyllenhaal in 2015. Her recent producing credits include Antoine Fuqua’s The Guilty which premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival and was acquired by Netflix; as well as Joe Bell directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green starring Mark Wahlberg; Relic, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and Paul Dano’s directorial debut Wildlife nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards, starring Carey Mulligan and Gyllenhaal. Prior to Nine Stories, Marker produced Cary Fukunaga’s...
In her new role, Marker will oversee and expand the company’s upcoming production slate across both film and television. She will operate out of the company’s New York office and will start her position effective immediately.
Producer Marker founded Nine Stories, the independent production company, with Jake Gyllenhaal in 2015. Her recent producing credits include Antoine Fuqua’s The Guilty which premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival and was acquired by Netflix; as well as Joe Bell directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green starring Mark Wahlberg; Relic, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and Paul Dano’s directorial debut Wildlife nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards, starring Carey Mulligan and Gyllenhaal. Prior to Nine Stories, Marker produced Cary Fukunaga’s...
- 5/11/2022
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Last year has changed the way people have consumed entertainment across the globe. In the current environment, streaming content from the comfort of your home has found a new meaning. Evolving to cater to this sentiment and the increasing need for digital content, the National Centre for the Performing Arts (Ncpa) and BookMyShow have made their co-production 'Sea Wall' available for the audience to stream online.
This critically acclaimed play by Simon Stephens is directed by award-winning director & Ncpa Head of Theatre, Bruce Guthrie, and performed by versatile actor Jim Sarbh. The monologue will be streaming on BookMyShow Online.
Sea Wall marks the return of theatrical performances, as the play starts with Jim Sarbh switching off the Ghost light (a single light on a long stand that illuminates a theatre space with it is otherwise unoccupied or 'dark') before commencing with the monologue. Interestingly, the entire play was shot using...
This critically acclaimed play by Simon Stephens is directed by award-winning director & Ncpa Head of Theatre, Bruce Guthrie, and performed by versatile actor Jim Sarbh. The monologue will be streaming on BookMyShow Online.
Sea Wall marks the return of theatrical performances, as the play starts with Jim Sarbh switching off the Ghost light (a single light on a long stand that illuminates a theatre space with it is otherwise unoccupied or 'dark') before commencing with the monologue. Interestingly, the entire play was shot using...
- 2/22/2021
- by Glamsham Editorial
- GlamSham
The Inheritance, Sea Wall/A Life, Slave Play and Girl From The North Country are among the Broadway nominees of this year’s Drama League Awards, along with a significant shows of Off Broadway productions.
Honoring productions that opened during the Covid-shortened 2019-2020 season, the nominations were announced by Beetlejuice’s Alex Brightman and Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer via livestream last night. Voting is currently open for Drama League members through May 22, with winners to be announced via livestream in June.
More from DeadlineWatch: Terrence McNally Video Tribute Set For Drama League Awards Online EventBroadway's 'Moulin Rouge!' Star Aaron Tveit Tests Positive For Covid-19, Symptoms "Very Mild"Broadway's 'Moulin Rouge! The Musical' Cancels Today's Performances "Out Of Abundance Of Caution"; No Positive Tests For Coronavirus - Update
Among the individual performers nominated for the League’s Distinguished Performance Award were Raúl Esparza, David Alan Grier, Jonathan Groff, Jake Gyllenhaal,...
Honoring productions that opened during the Covid-shortened 2019-2020 season, the nominations were announced by Beetlejuice’s Alex Brightman and Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer via livestream last night. Voting is currently open for Drama League members through May 22, with winners to be announced via livestream in June.
More from DeadlineWatch: Terrence McNally Video Tribute Set For Drama League Awards Online EventBroadway's 'Moulin Rouge!' Star Aaron Tveit Tests Positive For Covid-19, Symptoms "Very Mild"Broadway's 'Moulin Rouge! The Musical' Cancels Today's Performances "Out Of Abundance Of Caution"; No Positive Tests For Coronavirus - Update
Among the individual performers nominated for the League’s Distinguished Performance Award were Raúl Esparza, David Alan Grier, Jonathan Groff, Jake Gyllenhaal,...
- 5/1/2020
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Sea Wall/A Life, the Broadway production of two solo one-acts starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge became the first show of the 2019-2020 Broadway season to recoup its initial investment, producers said today.
The $2.8 million production, which closed this past Sunday, had a limited engagement of only nine weeks – 74 performances – at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre, and went out on a high note: The final week of performances grossed $854,678, the highest in the show’s run.
Produced by Gyllenhaal’s Nine Stories, Ambassador Theatre Group, Seaview Productions, and Benjamin Lowy Productions, Sea Wall/A Life completed a sold-out Off Broadway run at the Public Theater last winter before making the jump to Broadway over the summer. Previews at the Hudson began July 26, with an official opening of Aug. 8, making for a total of 14 previews and 60 regular performances.
Written by Simon Stephens and Nick Payne, with both directed by Carrie Cracknell, the pair of one acts received universal critical acclaim, with the Hudson 96% full, on average, throughout the run.
According to Ambassador Theatre Group, which owns the Hudson, 73% of ticket
buyers were first time Hudson attendees, suggesting an unusually large percentage of young or first-time theater-goers. The producers said that, according to TodayTix figures, about 65% of purchases for the production on that particular platform were made by buyers under 44 years old.
“Simon, Nick, Carrie, Jake, and Tom created a daring and unforgettable piece of art that critics and audiences responded to, with many returning multiple times,” said Riva Marker, producer, president and co-founder (with Gyllenhaal) of Nine Stories. “The great success of Sea Wall/A Life proved that storytelling in its most elemental form – a single actor, alone on stage – can connect with people and create a must-see theatrical experience. Opening on Broadway during the season’s toughest months of summer for a limited run and returning our investment in nine weeks is nothing short of a coup. We are incredibly grateful to the audiences, many first-time theatergoers to Hudson Theatre.”
During previews, Gyllenhaal and Sturridge began hosting weekly talkbacks with audiences on the plays’ topics of “love, faith, family, and loss,” a no-doubt popular attraction given the stars’ popularity. In the production’s final weeks, audience members were invited to share their personal stories, which were then posted on the production’s social media.
Gyllenhaal and Sturridge also recorded Sea Wall/A Life as an Audible Original production, Deadline reported last month, for an upcoming release.
The creative team for Sea Wall/A Life included Laura Jellinek (scenic design), Kaye Voyce (costume design), Christopher Peterson (costume design), Guy Hoare (lighting design), Daniel Kluger (sound design), Luke Halls (projection design), and Stuart Earl (original music).
Sea Wall/A Life was produced on Broadway by Nine Stories, Ambassador Theatre
Group, Seaview Productions, Benjamin Lowy Productions, Lfg Theatrical,
Audible, Gavin Kalin Productions, Glass Half Full Productions, Jacob Langfelder, Brian Moreland, Roth-Manella Productions, Salman Vienn Al-Rashid Friends, Slsm Theatricals, Teresa Tsai in association with Dunetz Restieri Productions, Morwin Schmookler, Jane & Mark Wilf and The Public Theater.
The $2.8 million production, which closed this past Sunday, had a limited engagement of only nine weeks – 74 performances – at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre, and went out on a high note: The final week of performances grossed $854,678, the highest in the show’s run.
Produced by Gyllenhaal’s Nine Stories, Ambassador Theatre Group, Seaview Productions, and Benjamin Lowy Productions, Sea Wall/A Life completed a sold-out Off Broadway run at the Public Theater last winter before making the jump to Broadway over the summer. Previews at the Hudson began July 26, with an official opening of Aug. 8, making for a total of 14 previews and 60 regular performances.
Written by Simon Stephens and Nick Payne, with both directed by Carrie Cracknell, the pair of one acts received universal critical acclaim, with the Hudson 96% full, on average, throughout the run.
According to Ambassador Theatre Group, which owns the Hudson, 73% of ticket
buyers were first time Hudson attendees, suggesting an unusually large percentage of young or first-time theater-goers. The producers said that, according to TodayTix figures, about 65% of purchases for the production on that particular platform were made by buyers under 44 years old.
“Simon, Nick, Carrie, Jake, and Tom created a daring and unforgettable piece of art that critics and audiences responded to, with many returning multiple times,” said Riva Marker, producer, president and co-founder (with Gyllenhaal) of Nine Stories. “The great success of Sea Wall/A Life proved that storytelling in its most elemental form – a single actor, alone on stage – can connect with people and create a must-see theatrical experience. Opening on Broadway during the season’s toughest months of summer for a limited run and returning our investment in nine weeks is nothing short of a coup. We are incredibly grateful to the audiences, many first-time theatergoers to Hudson Theatre.”
During previews, Gyllenhaal and Sturridge began hosting weekly talkbacks with audiences on the plays’ topics of “love, faith, family, and loss,” a no-doubt popular attraction given the stars’ popularity. In the production’s final weeks, audience members were invited to share their personal stories, which were then posted on the production’s social media.
Gyllenhaal and Sturridge also recorded Sea Wall/A Life as an Audible Original production, Deadline reported last month, for an upcoming release.
The creative team for Sea Wall/A Life included Laura Jellinek (scenic design), Kaye Voyce (costume design), Christopher Peterson (costume design), Guy Hoare (lighting design), Daniel Kluger (sound design), Luke Halls (projection design), and Stuart Earl (original music).
Sea Wall/A Life was produced on Broadway by Nine Stories, Ambassador Theatre
Group, Seaview Productions, Benjamin Lowy Productions, Lfg Theatrical,
Audible, Gavin Kalin Productions, Glass Half Full Productions, Jacob Langfelder, Brian Moreland, Roth-Manella Productions, Salman Vienn Al-Rashid Friends, Slsm Theatricals, Teresa Tsai in association with Dunetz Restieri Productions, Morwin Schmookler, Jane & Mark Wilf and The Public Theater.
- 10/1/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
This past Sunday (September 29), the Broadway production of “Sea Wall/A Life” concluded its run at the Hudson Theatre. The new play, which consists of two separate, thematically connected monologues, starred Tom Sturridge in “Sea Wall,” written by Tony-winner Simon Stephens (“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”), and Jake Gyllenhaal in “A Life,” penned by Nick Payne, whose 2015 play “Constellations” brought the actor to Broadway for the first time.
Directed by Carrie Cracknell in her Broadway debut, this limited engagement of “Sea Wall/A Life” followed an earlier, successful run with the same cast at the Public Theater. The two monologues both grapple with family, love, and loss: in “Sea Wall,” Alex (Sturridge) describes the tragedy that befalls him while in the south of France; in “A Life,” Abe (Gyllenhaal) describes the death of his father and the birth of his daughter.
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Directed by Carrie Cracknell in her Broadway debut, this limited engagement of “Sea Wall/A Life” followed an earlier, successful run with the same cast at the Public Theater. The two monologues both grapple with family, love, and loss: in “Sea Wall,” Alex (Sturridge) describes the tragedy that befalls him while in the south of France; in “A Life,” Abe (Gyllenhaal) describes the death of his father and the birth of his daughter.
Sign Up for Gold Derby...
- 9/30/2019
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Sea Wall/A Life, the lauded Broadway production starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge, will be recorded and released as an Audible Original production, Audible announced today.
Audible, an industry leader of downloadable audiobooks and other recorded spoken-word entertainment, will record the two actors performing the solo one-act plays in a sound studio, a spokesperson for the company said.
Sea Wall, written by Simon Stephens and performed by Sturridge, and A Life, written by Nick Payne and performed by Gyllenhaal, were first presented as a double bill at the Public Theatre Off Broadway last February, winning over critics and audiences. Directed by Carrie Cracknell, Sea Wall/A Life subsequently made its move to Broadway’s Hudson Theatre in July for an official opening on Aug. 8. The limited engagement runs through Sunday, Sept. 29.
In a statement today, Gyllenhaal said, “I speak for both Tom and myself when I say that...
Audible, an industry leader of downloadable audiobooks and other recorded spoken-word entertainment, will record the two actors performing the solo one-act plays in a sound studio, a spokesperson for the company said.
Sea Wall, written by Simon Stephens and performed by Sturridge, and A Life, written by Nick Payne and performed by Gyllenhaal, were first presented as a double bill at the Public Theatre Off Broadway last February, winning over critics and audiences. Directed by Carrie Cracknell, Sea Wall/A Life subsequently made its move to Broadway’s Hudson Theatre in July for an official opening on Aug. 8. The limited engagement runs through Sunday, Sept. 29.
In a statement today, Gyllenhaal said, “I speak for both Tom and myself when I say that...
- 9/19/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
It looks like we may end up seeing Stephen King’s classic horror story The Shining come to Broadway as a stage production. It’s currently being developed by Simon Stephens, who most recently directed the revival of West Side Story.
According to Forbes, the play will premiere in London’s West End before heading to Broadway. King has actually always wanted to see The Shining hit the stage, and, in 2014, after he permitted a pair of playwrights to turn it into a play, he said:
"I don't know what the hold-up is. I'd love for this to happen."
There were eventually two Shining stage productions that got developed. In 2014, a local Omaha theatre staged the story and in 2016, an opera was made, and it debuted in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Both productions were met with positive reviews, but neither of them made it to Broadway. That might actually happen with...
According to Forbes, the play will premiere in London’s West End before heading to Broadway. King has actually always wanted to see The Shining hit the stage, and, in 2014, after he permitted a pair of playwrights to turn it into a play, he said:
"I don't know what the hold-up is. I'd love for this to happen."
There were eventually two Shining stage productions that got developed. In 2014, a local Omaha theatre staged the story and in 2016, an opera was made, and it debuted in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Both productions were met with positive reviews, but neither of them made it to Broadway. That might actually happen with...
- 8/31/2019
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Stephen King‘s The Shining might be destined for Broadway. Director Ivo van Hove will take on a stage adaptation written by Simon Stephens, with reports indicating the production will debut in London’s West End before heading across the pond to Broadway. This actually wouldn’t be the first time King’s haunted hotel novel was adapted to the stage, […]
The post ‘The Shining’ Stage Play Might Haunt Broadway appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘The Shining’ Stage Play Might Haunt Broadway appeared first on /Film.
- 8/23/2019
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
Sea Wall A Life, starring Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal and Tony Award nominee Tom Sturridge, opened officially last night, August 8, at the Hudson Theatre 141 West 44th Street. Written by Tony Award winner Simon Stephens and Olivier Award nominee Nick Payne and directed by Carrie Cracknell, the acclaimed production comes to Broadway following its sold-out engagement at The Public Theaterthis past spring where it had audiences roaring to their feet.
- 8/9/2019
- by TV - Opening Night Special
- BroadwayWorld.com
The wrenching (and slyly funny) Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge double-bill of one-act plays, Sea Wall/A Life, has lost none of its intimate power in the move from Off Broadway to Broadway’s Hudson Theater, where it opens tonight.
Aside from a late-in-the-show visual flourish involving the projection of a many-windowed building facade, the production has few noticeable alterations. That projection, though, is a nice touch, suggesting that the very personal pain experienced by each of these characters could be happening behind each and every pane of glass.
When I reviewed the production in February during its Public Theatre engagement, I was struck by the emotional impact of the performances, the writing and Carrie Cracknell’s direction. All of that stands, but seeing it again, this time in the larger Broadway venue, I noticed the many moments of...
Aside from a late-in-the-show visual flourish involving the projection of a many-windowed building facade, the production has few noticeable alterations. That projection, though, is a nice touch, suggesting that the very personal pain experienced by each of these characters could be happening behind each and every pane of glass.
When I reviewed the production in February during its Public Theatre engagement, I was struck by the emotional impact of the performances, the writing and Carrie Cracknell’s direction. All of that stands, but seeing it again, this time in the larger Broadway venue, I noticed the many moments of...
- 8/9/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
As previously announced, Sea Wall A Life, which recently played to sold-out audiences at The Public Theater, will open on Broadway this summer. Written by Simon Stephens and Nick Payne respectively, directed by Carrie Cracknell, and starring Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal, who received a Drama League Award nomination for his performance in the show at The Public Theater, and Tony Award nominee Tom Sturridge who received a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for his performance in the show at The Public Theater, Sea Wall A Life will begin performances on Friday, July 26 at Hudson Theatre 141 West 44th Street, with the opening night set for Thursday, August 8.
- 6/6/2019
- by TV - Press Previews
- BroadwayWorld.com
As previously announced, Sea Wall A Life, which recently played to sold-out audiences at The Public Theater, will open on Broadway this summer. Written by Simon Stephens and Nick Payne respectively, directed by Carrie Cracknell, and starring Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal, who received a Drama League Award nomination for his performance in the show at The Public Theater, and Tony Award nominee Tom Sturridge who received a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for his performance in the show at The Public Theater, Sea Wall A Life will begin performances on Friday, July 26 at Hudson Theatre 141 West 44th Street, with the opening night set for Thursday, August 8.
- 6/5/2019
- by Walter McBride
- BroadwayWorld.com
Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge will reprise their sold-out Off Broadway double-bill of solo one-act plays Sea Wall/A Life on Broadway this summer, producers announced today.
Originally presented in February at the Public Theater to strong reviews, Sea Wall/A Life will begin performances on Friday, July 26 at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre, with an opening night set for Thursday, August 8. The strictly limited engagement will play through Sunday, September 29.
“This gorgeous, soul-stirring evening of theater deserves to be seen by as many people as possible,” said Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. “I’m so proud that Tom Sturridge and Jake Gyllenhaal’s brilliant performances will live on at the Hudson.”
Written by Simon Stephens and Nick Payne, with both directed by Carrie Cracknell, the double bill will be produced on Broadway by Nine Stories, Ambassador Theatre Group, Seaview Productions, Benjamin Lowy Productions,...
Originally presented in February at the Public Theater to strong reviews, Sea Wall/A Life will begin performances on Friday, July 26 at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre, with an opening night set for Thursday, August 8. The strictly limited engagement will play through Sunday, September 29.
“This gorgeous, soul-stirring evening of theater deserves to be seen by as many people as possible,” said Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. “I’m so proud that Tom Sturridge and Jake Gyllenhaal’s brilliant performances will live on at the Hudson.”
Written by Simon Stephens and Nick Payne, with both directed by Carrie Cracknell, the double bill will be produced on Broadway by Nine Stories, Ambassador Theatre Group, Seaview Productions, Benjamin Lowy Productions,...
- 4/18/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
On nights when Tom Sturridge and Jake Gyllenhaal perform the two monologues that make up the Public Theatre’s critically acclaimed Off Broadway double bill Sea Wall/A Life, the British half of the duo silently takes his place on stage as the audience finds its seats. Before the actor says a word, the presence of his character Alex is felt, and a weighty presence it is. Alex will later tell the audience – the play, written by Simon Stephens, is performed by Sturridge as if in intimate conversation with this room of strangers – that people often make a startling observation about him:
There’s a hole running through the centre of my stomach. You must have all felt a bit awkward because you can probably see it. Even in this light. Mostly people chose not to talk about it. Some people tell me that they’re sorry but that yes,...
There’s a hole running through the centre of my stomach. You must have all felt a bit awkward because you can probably see it. Even in this light. Mostly people chose not to talk about it. Some people tell me that they’re sorry but that yes,...
- 3/5/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
In the Public Theater’s double bill Sea Wall/A Life, Tom Sturridge and Jake Gyllenhaal deliver scorching performances that can stand alongside anything on the New York stage so far this season. The pair – also currently co-starring in Netflix’s Velvet Buzzsaw – might owe their fame to movies, but here again they stake their claim on the stage.
None of which will come as a surprise to anyone who saw Gyllenhaal in his previous collaboration with playwright Nick Payne, nor those who saw Sturridge in 2017’s unsettling 1984. But these performances at the Public are vital enough to seem like a big wave we didn’t see coming.
Directed by Carrie Cracknell with an unfailing feel for detail – a shuffle of papers here, a switch of a light there – the production is divided into halves: Sturridge in Sea Wall first, followed by Gyllenhaal in A Life, monologues connected only by theme and mood.
None of which will come as a surprise to anyone who saw Gyllenhaal in his previous collaboration with playwright Nick Payne, nor those who saw Sturridge in 2017’s unsettling 1984. But these performances at the Public are vital enough to seem like a big wave we didn’t see coming.
Directed by Carrie Cracknell with an unfailing feel for detail – a shuffle of papers here, a switch of a light there – the production is divided into halves: Sturridge in Sea Wall first, followed by Gyllenhaal in A Life, monologues connected only by theme and mood.
- 2/15/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
The Public Theater will begin previews for the New York premiere of Sea Wall A LIFEwith a Joseph Papp Free Preview performanceon Friday, February 1. Written by Simon Stephens and Nick Payne respectively, and directed by Carrie Cracknell, Sea Wall A Life will run through Sunday, March 31 in The Public's Newman Theater with an official press opening on Thursday, February 14. Sea Wall A Life features Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridgein their Public Theater debuts.
- 1/25/2019
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
A new musical featuring the songs of Bob Dylan and productions starring Glenn Close, Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge will be among the 2018-19 offerings of Off Broadway’s Public Theater.
The West End hit Girl From the North Country, written and directed by Conor McPherson and featuring music from Dylan’s songbook, will make its North American premiere in September, with an American cast. (The photo above was taken at the Old Vic Theatre in London last July).
Also in September, Jane Anderson’s Mother of the Maid makes its New York premiere starring Glenn Close as the mother of Joan of Arc.
Gyllenhaal and Sturridge also are set to appear in a double bill of solo shows beginning in January. Sturridge will perform Simon Stephens’ Sea Wall, a monologue “about love and the human need to know the unknowable,” while Gyllenhaal stars in Nick Payne’s A Life,...
The West End hit Girl From the North Country, written and directed by Conor McPherson and featuring music from Dylan’s songbook, will make its North American premiere in September, with an American cast. (The photo above was taken at the Old Vic Theatre in London last July).
Also in September, Jane Anderson’s Mother of the Maid makes its New York premiere starring Glenn Close as the mother of Joan of Arc.
Gyllenhaal and Sturridge also are set to appear in a double bill of solo shows beginning in January. Sturridge will perform Simon Stephens’ Sea Wall, a monologue “about love and the human need to know the unknowable,” while Gyllenhaal stars in Nick Payne’s A Life,...
- 6/5/2018
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham announced the line-up today for The Public's 2018-19 Season at their landmark home on 425 Lafayette Street. The iconic New York destination, which includes five theaters and Joe's Pub, as well as The Library restaurant, has been home to over 50 years of revolutionary theater, and continues this season with new work by Emerging Writers Group alum and 2017-18 Tow Foundation Playwright-in-Residence Patricia Ione Lloyd, Public Studio alumni Hansol Jung and Jordan E. Cooper, Master Writer Chair Suzan-Lori Parks, Conor McPherson, Simon Stephens, Nick Payne, Jane Anderson, Tim Blake Nelson, and Luis Alfaro, as well as the continuation of year-round and community engagement programming Mobile Unit, Public Works, Under the Radar Festival, Public Studio, Public Forum, Public Shakespeare Initiative, Emerging Writers Group, and the beloved Free Shakespeare in the Park.
- 6/5/2018
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Heisenberg The Uncertainty Principle by Simon Stephens has its opening night on Monday 9 October. Directed by the Olivier and Tony award-winning Marianne Elliott, it runs at the Wyndham's Theatre in London until 6 January 2018. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the stars onstage below...
- 10/5/2017
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
We welcome new contributor Patty and the return of Aurin with Lindsay for a rousing discussion of three plays on stage in New York City right now The Rape of the Sabine Women, By Grace B. Matthias by Michael Yates Crowley from Playwrights Realm. On The Shore of the Wide World by Simon Stephens at Atlantic Theater. In a Little Room by Pete McElligott at The Wild Project.
- 9/20/2017
- by Maxamoo
- BroadwayWorld.com
Atlantic Theater Company presents The New York premiere of Tony and Olivier Award winner Simon Stephens' Harper Regan, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Olivier Award winning play On the Shore of the Wide World, directed by Neil Pepe Marie and Rosetta, Hands on a Hardbody.
- 9/13/2017
- by Jennifer Broski
- BroadwayWorld.com
Simon Stephens, the British playwright who has scored two Broadway hits in recent years with the brilliant Tony winner “A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” and last season’s intriguing two-hander “Heisenberg,” has a surprising misfire with his latest New York production. “On the Shore of the Wide World,” which opened Tuesday at Off Broadway’s Atlantic Theater Company, is a new iteration of a multigenerational family drama that was first produced in the U.K. in 2005. But while Stephens has reworked the show repeatedly — removing chapter headings, trimming the original three-hour-20-minute running time to about two and a.
- 9/13/2017
- by Thom Geier
- The Wrap
- 9/13/2017
- by Sara Holdren
- Vulture
Atlantic Theater Company presents the New York premiere of Tony and Olivier Award winner Simon Stephens' Harper Regan, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Olivier Award winning play On the Shore of the Wide World, directed by Neil Pepe Marie and Rosetta, Hands on a Hardbody.
- 9/12/2017
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Hello and welcome back to our weekly roundup of what’s going on in theatre, film, and TV. THEATREBroadway hit “Hamilton” is gathering a cast ahead of it’s opening in London this autumn. The producers announced that Jamael Westman will play Alexander Hamilton and Michael Jibson will play King George. They join the previously announced West End cast who will re-open the Victoria Palace Theatre following its renovation. Jamael Westman graduated from Rada in 2016 and appeared in “Torn” at the Royal Court. This is his West End debut. Michael Jibson was in “Roots”, Donmar Warehouse, “Road Show,” “Take Flight”, and James Graham’s “Our House” in the West End, for which he was nominated for an Olivier award. Public booking opened in January and tickets for the first booking period are now sold out. The producers are to copy the Broadway model of a ticket lottery to accommodate punters...
- 6/19/2017
- backstage.com
Manhattan Theatre Club's acclaimed world premiere of Heisenberg, the new play by Tony Award and two-time Olivier Award winner Simon Stephens, directed by Drama Desk Award winner Mark Brokaw, starring Denis Arndt and Tony and Emmy Award winner Mary-Louise Parker, begins the final week of its sold-out, critically heralded run tonight at Mtc's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre 261 West 47th Street. The limited engagement will play its final performance at the Friedman on Sunday, December 11.
- 12/6/2016
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Werner Heisenberg, the father of the quantum physics’ Uncertainty Principle, lends his name to Simon Stephens‘ play Heisenberg which opened today at the 660-seat Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Broadway making the move from a 150-seat off-Broadway venue. While the title suggests a heavy slog, the stripped-down production offers relatively simple truths about relationships. The […]
The post ‘Heisenberg’ Theater Review: Mary-Louise Parker Shines Taut Relationship Study appeared first on uInterview.
The post ‘Heisenberg’ Theater Review: Mary-Louise Parker Shines Taut Relationship Study appeared first on uInterview.
- 10/21/2016
- by Erik Meers
- Uinterview
The Broadway engagement of Manhattan Theatre Club's acclaimed world premiere of Heisenberg, the new play by Tony Award and two-time Olivier Award winner Simon Stephens, directed by Drama Desk Award winner Mark Brokaw, starring original cast members Denis Arndt and Tony and Emmy Award winner Mary-Louise Parker opened on Thursdaynight at Mtc's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre 261 West 47th Street, where it will play through Sunday, December 11. BroadwayWorld was on hand for opening night and we're taking you inside the festivities below...
- 10/15/2016
- by TV - Opening Night Special
- BroadwayWorld.com
“Heisenberg,” a new play by Tony winner Simon Stephens (“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime”), opened on Broadway on Oct. 13 to generally positive reviews following an acclaimed Off-Broadway staging last summer. The two-hander stars Tony winner Mary Louise-Parker (“Proof”) and veteran actor Denis Arndt (making his Broadway debut). It follows the chain of events triggered after Georgie […]...
- 10/14/2016
- by David Buchanan
- Gold Derby
How much punier can plays get on Broadway? The director Mark Brokaw has found a way. It’s no longer enough that audiences are asked to sit through an evening that’s only 80 minutes sans intermission. With Simon Stephens’ one-act “Heisenberg,” which opened Thursday, Brokaw has reduced the performing space at Mtc’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre to a narrow catwalk, with ten rows of stadium seating placed on the stage. Theatergoers face each other as Mary-Louise Parker and Denis Arndt act and push around Mark Wendland’s minimal set, which consists of two tables and two chairs. Parker plays a 43-year-old woman who.
- 10/14/2016
- by Robert Hofler
- The Wrap
A friendly reminderManhattan Theatre Club's acclaimed world premiere of Heisenberg, the new play by Tony Award and two-time Olivier Award winner Simon Stephens, directed by Drama Desk Award winner Mark Brokaw, starring original cast members Denis Arndt and Tony and Emmy Award winner Mary-Louise Parker, opens on Broadway tomorrow, today, October 13 at Mtc's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre 261 West 47th Street.
- 10/12/2016
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
The Broadway engagement of Manhattan Theatre Club's acclaimed world premiere of Heisenberg, the new play by Tony Award and two-time Olivier Award winner Simon Stephens, directed by Drama Desk Award winner Mark Brokaw, starring original cast members Denis Arndt and Tony and Emmy Award winner Mary-Louise Parker will extend by one week at Mtc's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre 261 West 47th Street.
- 10/4/2016
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Manhattan Theatre Club's acclaimed world premiere production of Heisenberg, the new play by Tony Award and two-time Olivier Award winner Simon Stephens, directed by Drama Desk Award winner Mark Brokaw, is now playing on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre starring Denis Arndt and Mary-Louise Parker. Heisenberg began previews Tuesday, September 20 and opens Thursday, October 13. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the duo in action below...
- 9/28/2016
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
The National Theatre production of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time is the Tony Award-winning new play by Simon Stephens, adapted from Mark Haddon's best-selling novel.
- 6/15/2016
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
For over 30 years Sundance Institute has been an iconic organization providing opportunities and resources to independent filmmakers and those that want to support them. Their two flagship programs are the renowned Screenwriters Lab and the Directors Lab, which allow up-and-coming artists to interact and receive mentorship from successful and acclaimed members of the film industry. To say that being part of one these programs is a once in a lifetime opportunity is an understatement. The proof is in the undeniable quality of the projects that are shaped during the labs and that eventually become part of the cinematic conversation.
While fostering talent is what Sundance Institute does best, they are one of the institutions that most diligently reinforces their commitment to provide opportunities for new voices that represent an eclectic array of backgrounds and experiences. In order to cast their net of support even wider, the institute offers numerous exciting programs beyond those that are already well-known in the filmmaking community. As part of Sundance Institute's Diversity Initiative, the Screenwriters Intensive is an invaluable resource that focuses on stories outside of the homogenous fare.
The program is a 1 1/2 day workshop for writers whose work has been encountered by the institute as part of their outreach for the Labs and which they find especially promising. The writers of 10 projects take part in a program whose elements include a hands-on writing workshop led by creative advisor Joan Tewkesbury (“Nashville”), a screening of a recent Sundance film followed by a candid conversation with the filmmaker, a reception with Sundance staff and the extended Sundance community, and one-on-one meetings with two creative advisors to get feedback on their script. With the Intensive, the Sundance Institute aims to present participants with creative tools that they can take back to their own work, provide a space for dialogue and information sharing about the creative process of making a film (and all of the joys and challenges therein), and foster community among storytellers and an ongoing connection with Sundance.
The screening this year was Andrew Ahn's "Spa Night," which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival back in January and has now been picked up for U.S distribution by Strand Releasing. Centered on the conflicted son of a Korean immigrant couple in Los Angeles, Ahn's subtle yet poignant narrative deals with issues of identity both sexual and cultural. For the second day of the workshop, the fellows had one-on-one meetings with celebrated figures in independent cinema: Miranda July, Jennifer Salt, Deena Goldstone, Patricia Cardoso, Pete Sollett, Dana Stevens, Tanya Hamilton, Ligiah Villalobos, Scott Neustadter, and Kyle Patrick Alvarez
The Screenwriters Intensive fellows come from uniquely different backgrounds, and their projects bring original stories that are sure to showcase new and inventive perspectives on the world. Get to know them and their stories as they are on their way to giving us a great batch of new independent films.
The application for the 2017 January Screenwriters Lab is currently open with a deadline of May 3. Applicants for the Screenwriters Lab are also considered for the Screenwriters Intensive, Sundance Institute Asian American Fellowship, and the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program Latino Fellowship, as eligibility allows. To learn more about the Sundance Institute's programs visit Here.
Khalik Allah
Project: "Kareem"
Khalik Allah is a self taught filmmaker and photographer. His work has been described as visceral, hauntingly beautiful, penetrative and profoundly personal. Photography and filmmaking are two overlapping circles that form a venn diagram in Allah’s mind; the area where they overlap is the space he inhabits as an artist. Allah’s cinematic vignettes document hardscrabble life at the corner of 125th Street and Lexington Avenue in Harlem (New York City), most recently in his award-winning documentary Field Niggas, which screened at festivals worldwide.
Describe your project briefly and at what stage in the creative process it is. Include details about your artistic vision for this project in particular.
My project is in an incredibly early stage. I'm basically taking the last four years of my life as a photographer on 125th and Lex and adapting it into a fiction narrative.
Briefly tell us about the most important or rewarding lesson you took from the first day of the Screenwriters Intensive Lab. How will this impact the future development of your project?
The most important thing was the mutual inspiration we gave each other. The lab advisors helped us dig deeper into ourselves. Their faith in us was tremendous. I took away a new lease on my future.
Tell me about your experience during day two and your interaction with the advisors. How important was it for you to get feedback from a professional in the field that has gone through some of the same creative challenges as you?
I met with Miranda July on day two of the lab. Wow she was incredible. She read my entire script and gave me many productive notes. I was impressed that she gave me so much time. Plenty of useful information I can implement.
Now that you've gone through this learning experience, what are some of the next steps you will be taking as you continue to develop your project?
I must keep writing.
Zia Anger
Project: "Despues De"
Zia Anger is a filmmaker and music video director. Her most recent short, "My Last Film," premiered at the 53rd New York Film Festival. In 2015, her short "I Remember Nothing" had its world premiere at New Directors/New Films and its international premiere at Festival del film Locarno. Other screenings include: AFI Fest, Denver Film Festival, Maryland Film Festival, Ann Arbor Film Festival, Basilica Soundscape, Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, and Vienna Independent Shorts. She has made music videos for various independent artists, including Angel Olsen, Julianna Barwick, and Jenny Hval, the latter of whom she also tours with, projecting live video and participating as a performer. Her music videos have been featured in various online publications including: Pitchfork, the Guardian, and NPR. In 2015, Anger was included in Filmmaker Magazine's "25 New Faces of Independent Film" issue. She was a 2015 fellow in film/video from the New York Foundation for the Arts. In 2008, she was the recipient of the Panavision New Filmmaker Grant for her short film "Lover Boy." She holds a BA/Bs from Ithaca College and a Mfa from The School of the Arts Institute of Chicago.
Describe your project briefly and at what stage in the creative process it is. Include details about your artistic vision for this project in particular.
"Despues De" is about a missing white woman, a mother and daughter who try to find her, and the days leading up to her disappearance on a sorority vacation. It dissects the very particular mythological figures created by our tabloid crazed culture, white women's obsessions with themselves and each other, and the people and places who are alienated in their wake. I would say the project is creatively at the point where it's similar to someone in their late twenties, when you think "wow I know a lot, but fuck there is so much more and I'm open to that," as opposed to "I just turned 21 and I literally know it all." Artistically it calls for a certain amount of precision where high and low brow filmmaking techniques kind of collapse on to each other and end up smooching.
Briefly tell us about the most important or rewarding lesson you took from the first day of the Screenwriters Intensive Lab. How will this impact the future development of your project?
Joan seems to have figured out a really simple way to help even the most stubborn of (non) writers reenter their work at a time when it might seem impossible. What's cool is that once you do it it's really easy to do again. I'm thinking that having this point of access will be crucial to the continued creative development of the piece, beyond writing and moving in to those difficult creative moments onset, in the editing room, all those places you normally forget everything you've already figured out.
Tell me about your experience during day two and your interaction with the advisors. How important was it for you to get feedback from a professional in the field that has gone through some of the same creative challenges as you?
Immediately it's exciting to sit the the same room with someone who speaks the same alien language as you but who has had the experience deal with people who don't. I think it was Bergman or someone who talked about how inadequate a script can be, considering it's just this middle step. I find myself so disillusioned with this middle step and constantly questioning what exactly it's supposed to function as. It's a good exercise to talk through what is important and what should be more developed and also where you can cut the fat.
Now that you've gone through this learning experience, what are some of the next steps you will be taking as you continue to develop your project?
Probably keep learning.
Chris Benson
Project: "Death of Innocence"
Christopher Benson, a journalist and lawyer, is an associate professor of Journalism and African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has worked as a city hall reporter in Chicago for Wbmx-fm, as Washington Editor for Ebony magazine, and as a speechwriter for Washington, D.C. politicians, including former Congressman Harold Washington and Eeoc Chair Clarence Thomas. He also has written for Chicago, Savoy, Jet, and The Crisis magazines, and has contributed to the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, and the Chicago Sun-Times. Most recently, he has written commentary on justice, race and media for the Chicago Reporter and the Huffington Post. His Chicago Reporter series on the wrongful murder conviction of Anthony Dansberry contributed to Dansberry’s release from prison (after serving 23 years) and earned Benson a Peter Lisagor Award for exemplary journalism. Benson also was a co-writer and associate producer of the Wttw Channel 11 documentary "Paper Trail: 100 Years of the Chicago Defender," and was named on two of the documentary’s three regional Emmy Awards, as well as another Lisagor Award. Benson is co-author with Mamie Till-Mobley of "Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime That Changed America," the account of the 1955 lynching of Mrs. Till-Mobley’s son, Emmett Till, and the winner of the 2003 Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Special Recognition. The feature adaptation of the book will be executive produced by Chaz Ebert and Shatterglass Films
Describe your project briefly and at what stage in the creative process it is. Include details about your artistic vision for this project in particular.
Our project is titled "Death of Innocence" and it is the screen adaptation of a book I co-authored with the late Mamie Till-Mobley about the life and tragic death of her son, Emmett Till. Through this project that focuses on the brutal 1955 lynching of a 14 year-old kid, we want to help people make connections between the violent enforcement of racial segregation and the shooting deaths of young African American males by people who still are getting away with it in our contemporary moment. We also want to show how one person—in this case, Mamie Till-Mobley—can make a difference in the struggle for social and legal justice in America. This clearly is a challenge we still face and we need to learn lessons from some of the unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement. That is what we are trying to show with this picture.
Briefly tell us about the most important or rewarding lesson you took from the first day of the Screenwriters Intensive Lab. How will this impact the future development of your project?
One of the many things I have taken away from the first day of the Sundance Screenwriters Lab is that I have to take ownership of the characters who populate this story—even this story based on true events and real people. As a professional journalist, I have spent years trying to keep a distance from the issues I write about and the people who humanize those stories, who breathe life into them. Despite cynical public opinion, journalists do go after the truth. In screenwriting, we are going after the essential truth. What is the meaning of everything that appears on the screen? So, even in stories based on real events, we are not simply cataloguing a series of facts in a sequence of scenes. We are supposed to find the story that rises from all those facts. The essential truth. The true meaning. That will affect my screenwriting for some time beyond the successful completion of this project.
Tell me about your experience during day two and your interaction with the advisors. How important was it for you to get feedback from a professional in the field that has gone through some of the same creative challenges as you?
I have to say that the coordinators of the Sundance Lab experience clearly put a lot of care and thought into developing a perfect match of advisors and fellows. The second day discussions with my advisors was phenomenal. As with the Sundance organizers, they had read the script very carefully and approached my sessions with a devotion to maintaining the integrity of the story, and helping fulfill the purpose we had set out to accomplish. It was amazing to listen to the comments that reflected a deep appreciation of the characters, the story and even the potential impact of this piece. I was especially struck by the connection my advisors felt with the main character, Mamie Till-Mobley, and the advice I was given to develop her and her motivation to a level that will result in quite a powerful rendering. I can't wait to get started on the notes.
Now that you've gone through this learning experience, what are some of the next steps you will be taking as you continue to develop your project?
My plan is to work with the notes I was given to consider ways to perfect the script. My advisors have indicated an interest in staying in touch on this, so that ongoing conversation will be great. The first step I am taking after the Sundance Lab is to engage in discussions with the other producers on our project to ensure that we all on the same page. Next will be to coordinate with the collaborators on the script to talk about the ideas that have emerged from the lab experience. Finally, I will begin to interpret it all on the page, and I am eager to see where the story takes me.
Shakti Bhagchandani
Project: "Purdah"
Shakti Bhagchandani is a screenwriter/director born and raised in the United Arab Emirates. She grew up in Dubai, in a melting pot of religion and culture, and cultivated her writing abilities with the help of her mother. She travelled to London to pursue a BA in English Literature at King's College London and while there she was awarded the prestigious Jelf Medal for her contributions to art and charity. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, she interned at the Vineyard Theatre in New York, the Gate Theatre and National Theatre Studio in London, and the Antenna Theatre in San Francisco. She directed a number of student and semi professional plays, including "Fanny & Faggot" by Jack Thorne and "Pornography" by Simon Stephens. After graduation she moved to New York to pursue an Mfa in Screenwriting & Directing at Columbia University. She is currently in her thesis years, specializing in Screenwriting under advisor Trey Ellis. While at Columbia, she has worked on a number of shorts, and as a writer her last short "Khargosh" screened at Palm Springs International ShortFest and won the Satyajit Ray Award at the London Indian Film Festival. Her first feature screenplay, "Bidoun", was shortlisted for the Sundance Screenwriter's Lab 2015, and her current feature project "Purdah" has been selected for the Sundance Screenwriter's Intensive Lab in La. She recently wrapped production on her short "LostFound" that she wrote and directed, and is currently in preproduction for her next short "Tunisian Jasmine" which is set in the UAE.
Describe your project briefly and at what stage in the creative process it is. Include details about your artistic vision for this project in particular. .
'Purdah' is a coming of age drama that follows a 16-year-old British Pakistani girl as she grapples with her burgeoning womanhood and her precarious sexuality in a world built on segregation and coercion. The project is currently in development.
Briefly tell us about the most important or rewarding lesson you took from the first day of the Screenwriters Intensive Lab. How will this impact the future development of your project?
The first day of the lab included one of the most invigorating writing workshops I've ever been a part of. Joan is a miracle worker! She guided us through a haze of snowploughs, dream sequences and inner monologues, and by the end of it I had somehow come up with about 20 new scene ideas. Characters I had neglected before were suddenly infused with new life and the possibilities for the story feels limitless. Andrew's film and the discussion afterwards was intensely inspiring and the perfect way to round off the day - he helped us believe that the future of our projects is entirely real and attainable.
Tell me about your experience during day two and your interaction with the advisors. How important was it for you to get feedback from a professional in the field that has gone through some of the same creative challenges as you?.
Patricia and Dana are wonderful! It was amazing to sit across from these incredible, passionate women - they were nurturing, encouraging and boundlessly generous with their advice. They talked about their own trajectories and experiences. They motivated me to dig deeper, to fine tune every detail, and to have faith in myself and the project. They came at my script from completely different angles, offering story notes, a ton of production thoughts, and advice on how to move forward with not only the script, but also my career.
Now that you've gone through this learning experience, what are some of the next steps you will be taking as you continue to develop your project?
Revise, revise, revise. And then revise again. The lab helped me see how much potential this story has and how much work it still needs. There is so much left to unearth and I'm excited to get started.
Reinaldo Marcus Green
Project: "Monsters and Men"
New York native Reinaldo Marcus Green is a writer, director, and producer. He is currently a thesis student at Nyu Tisch Graduate Film School and writing his first feature narrative, "Monsters and Men." Most recently, he was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film (2015). His latest short film "Stop," which he wrote, produced, and directed, premiered as an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2015. His previous short film, "Stone Cars," shot on a micro-budget in South Africa, had its international premiere as an official Cinéfondation selection at the Festival de Cannes 2014.
Describe your project briefly and at what stage in the creative process it is. Include details about your artistic vision for this project in particular.
At its core, "Monsters and Men" is a story about perspective.
The film consists of three interlocking stories, each told through the point-of-view of three protagonists -- Manny, a street hustler, Stacey, a female police officer, and Zyric, a high school athlete.
When Manny captures an illegal act of police violence on his cellphone, he unwittingly sets off a series of events that will alter the course of each of their lives...
"Monsters and Men's" three chapters connect narratively and thematically, painting a portrait of modern-day Brooklyn -- a community caught in the crosswinds of crime, police corruption, and social instability.
We’re in the final stage of development, planning to shoot this summer 2016 in Brooklyn, New York. We hope to cast the net wide and far in order to provide opportunities for new undiscovered talent, and new exciting voices. The ideal cast would be a mix of professional and non-professional actors. New York is full of immense diverse talent we can’t wait to work with.
As a filmmaker, my goal is to tell powerful, urgently-needed and authentic stories. I see a unique opportunity to challenge the status quo of independent cinema, to craft entertaining stories with heart and meaning - films which possess social relevance, emotional complexity and thematic resonance.
Ultimately, its my hope to create a highly-compelling narrative feature, entertaining to watch, but one which will add to the social conversation about law enforcement, violence, and justice in America. We want to share that experience with audiences in other places in the world, by giving rise to growing communities who are often marginalized and whose stories are rarely seen in film.
Briefly tell us about the most important or rewarding lesson you took from the first day of the Screenwriters Intensive Lab. How will this impact the future development of your project?
First and foremost, I felt very lucky to be a part of such an amazingly talented group of filmmakers, with a broad range of diverse projects, across all genres. It was fascinating to see where my script fits in the larger spectrum, and what I realized is that each and every story at the lab was an outlier. Each writer had a singular voice, a unique take on genre, character, story, and structure.
The Lesson: “Come in from the side.”
During Day One at the lab, I felt I threw out any preconceived notions I had about my own script. It allowed me to digress and deconstruct without internally combusting. Joan Tewkesbury, a true master at her craft, went right to the core of who we were as human beings, ultimately going right into the core of who and what our scripts were all about, and what they have the potential to become. I think fear is something that holds most people back, the same fear that the world was once flat and we would sail off the edge. Joan refocused my center of gravity and provided me with tools to “access” that inner child, be playful and to keep digging.
Character is at the core of who we are and what makes us human. The digger we deep, the more we reveal about ourselves. I believe in that if I continue the excavation process, with delicate precision, and a gentle curiosity, it will serve me well in all my writing. I can’t be afraid to find out who I am underneath the surface, although sometime we bury things for a reason — because we don’t want to go there — there’s pain hidden in various forms. In writing, there’s a seemingly impenetrable darkness and then there’s light.
Tell me about your experience during day two and your interaction with the advisors. How important was it for you to get feedback from a professional in the field that has gone through some of the same creative challenges as you?
The opportunity to sit down with Peter Sollett and Tanya Hamilton was truly a special treat for me. Not only did are they both masters of their craft and highly-regarded writers and directors within their own right, I had been a big fan of their work before meeting them. Peter’s short film "Five Feet High and Rising," which he later turned into a feature, "Raising Victor Vargas" are two works that I admire deeply, and they have been a source for inspiration since the genius of the project.
Both Peter and Tanya are so sharp and so astute, it makes for brilliant analysis and conversation.
They have a slightly different approach to story, but essentially meet somewhere in the middle; Character. With both advisors, we really stepped back from the script — taking a birds eye view of what the film really means to me and how and what the best way to achieve telling it would be moving forward. We talked a lot about character, world, and theme.
Tanya and Peter both offered many ideas for “problem solving” — helping me hone in on areas in the script that could be refined and strengthened. It’s evident in their own work how much they care about the craft — both offering truly thoughtful insight and perspective into how each scene could advance the story. We discussed ways to deepen characters and how to build a compelling and complex world without compromising my voice, or the story I want to tell.
Now that you've gone through this learning experience, what are some of the next steps you will be taking as you continue to develop your project?
I think the simplest answer is to just keep writing. There’s still a ton of information to digest from the lab but the key is to not get bogged down in semantics, to move beyond the fear and paralysis that we create for ourselves. It’s time to problem solve, lock myself in a room and just write. More coffee please.
Jessie Kahnweiler
Project: "Meet My Rapist"
Jessie Kahnweiler has been featured in The New York Times, CNN, TMZ, People, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Magazine, Mashable, Buzzfeed, Elle, The Daily Beast, Jezebel, Indiewire, La Weekly, The Huffington Post, and The Independent. At the University of Redlands, Kahnweiler quickly began ditching class in order to make documentaries. For her thesis film, Little America, she hitchhiked across the country to explore the world of America’s truck drivers. After getting dumped, she wrote and co-directed the comedic short "Baby Love," co-starring alongside "Anchorman’s" David Koechner. Kahnweiler was selected for the 6 Points Artist Fellowship which inspired her comedic web series entitled "Dude, Where’s my Chutzpah?" Her short "Meet my Rapist," a dark comedy about running into her rapist at the Farmers’ Market, inspired her live show "The Rape Girl." Kahnweiler confronted her own white privilege in her viral hit "Jessie Gets Arrested." Her latest project, for which she serves as writer, director, and stars, is "The Skinny," a dark comedic series based on her 10 year relationship with bulimia. It premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and is produced by Refinery29 and Jill Soloway’s Wifey.tv Kahnweiler lives in La with her plants.
Describe your project briefly and at what stage in the creative process it is.
Include details about your artistic vision for this project in particular. My project is called "Meet My Rapist" and it is loosely based on a short film I made of the same name a few years ago. After the short had it's 15 minutes online I was moving on to other projects but I felt this gnawing at my gut. I tried to ignore it, popped some advil, and went to yoga but that gnawing just wouldn't stop. That annoying painful gnawing was the beginnings of this script. I've been working on the script on and off for about a year. I'm at the stage where I need to take out most of the flippant jokes and get to the real meat of the matter - the heart, the pain. I need to live and cry this story out. Because the project is so personal it is easy for me to get lost in it. Sometimes I forget where I end and my characters begin. So being at the Sundance lab is great timing. I feel totes blessed.
Briefly tell us about the most important or rewarding lesson you took from the first day of the Screenwriters Intensive Lab. How will this impact the future development of your project?
That I can't hide behind my jokes. After writing in a feeling state all day our amazing teaching Joan looked at me and was like "Your movie is a song and you gotta hit the bass notes." I was like Mic Drop. I love the challenge of making something that is a comedy based in the tragedy of human reality. That is my north star for this movie. I'm not sure if I will get there but that's where I'll be heading.
Tell me about your experience during day two and your interaction with the advisors. How important was it for you to get feedback from a professional in the field that has gone through some of the same creative challenges as you?
It was incredible to take a deep dive into the script with women who so deeply understand screenwriting from the inside out. The feedback was never like "do it My way" it was more about ripping open the guts of the script and getting to that deeper level. Okay this happens but Why? Screenwriting can be so daunting like "I need write the perfect thing so I can get an agent so I can get hired etc. " and the process can be so lonely and daunting . But in both my sessions we just talked about human behavior and what makes people tick and it reminded me that filmmaking is magic and I'm really lucky to be here. Also a woman, it was inspiring to meet with other women who are living my dream. Who are feeling for a living. In both my sessions I laughed, cried, and go to ask as many questions I wanted it. It was basically my ideal Tinder date.
Now that you've gone through this learning experience, what are some of the next steps you will be taking as you continue to develop your project?
I'm going to keep working on drafts of the script, keep sharing it with people I trust, keep begging Sundance to let me come over and eat bagels, keep pitching it to anyone who will listen, keep crying, keep feeling, keep making my movie.
Allison Lee
Project: "Jawbone"
Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Los Angeles, Allison Lee studied English Language and Literature at the University of Chicago. She received her Mfa in Film and Television Production from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. Upon graduation, she worked in development and production at DreamWorks and NBCUniversal. Lee has received grants from the Media Action Network and the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences. She was also named a Project Involve fellow, and her short The Grizzly was produced by Film Independent. In 2015, she was one of five screenwriters who received a residency through the inaugural Hedgebrook Screenwriters Lab, where she was mentored by Jenny Bicks and Jane Anderson.
Describe your project briefly and at what stage in the creative process it is. Include details about your artistic vision for this project in particular.
"Jawbone" is about a Korean woman who undergoes drastic plastic surgery as a means to achieve what she and her peers view as success. After she gives birth to a daughter who looks nothing like her, her life begins to unravel and she’s forced to confront her past.
I am currently grappling with rewrites while meeting with potential producers and crew.
I see "Jawbone" as a hybrid of Korean cinema and American independent film. Korean movies relish the tension in tightly wound familial and social relationships. I think my personal connection to this fabric helps me discern and explore where the similarities and differences to American culture begin and end. I also think the best American independent films underscore the universality of specific personal stories, and I aspire to follow in this tradition.
Briefly tell us about the most important or rewarding lesson you took from the first day of the Screenwriters Intensive Lab. How will this impact the future development of your project?
I felt transformed by the sessions with Joan Tewkesbury. She pushed us to bare our souls and delve into our histories to deliver stories that were truthful and specific. My biggest fear about "Jawbone" is that a few extreme events in the plot would read as absurdist melodrama. Relating these events back to some of my own crises helped me re-center the emotional truth of my characters and their journeys.
Tell me about your experience during day two and your interaction with the advisors. How important was it for you to get feedback from a professional in the field that has gone through some of the same creative challenges as you?
It was crucial to work with filmmakers who knew the Sundance aesthetic and had weathered the challenges before us. I knew the script needed improvement but had a hazy vision of what it required. Tanya Hamilton’s notes were both encouraging and precise about galvanizing and concretizing the protagonist’s journey. Patricia Cardoso, with her directorial and producerial expertise, reminded me that my artistic flights of fancy should still be grounded in reality and be economical and pragmatic. The breadth of their approaches made me feel like I was getting the best of all worlds.
Now that you've gone through this learning experience, what are some of the next steps you will be taking as you continue to develop your project?
I am hustling on a rewrite ready to be seen by producers and representatives. Ultimately, I want to direct "Jawbone," and I am also working on a short film version.
Eliza Lee
Project: "A Beautiful Lie"
Educated in Canada and the Czech Republic, Eliza Lee began in Asia as a Dp trainee before returning to her first passion: screenwriting. She takes great pride in world building for her complex women characters. Lee’s feature, Maybe Tomorrow, about rock legend Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, is being produced by Michelle Sy ("Finding Neverland") and Sophia Chang (former artist manager for Wu Tang Clan), with Academy Award nominee Steph Green ("Run & Jump") attached to direct. Lee’s screenplay, "A Beautiful Lie," about crime novelist Patricia Highsmith, was honored at the 2015 Athena Film Festival, and was also selected for the 2015 Outfest Screenwriting Lab. In addition, she was a Cape 2015 Film & Television Fellow and was mentored by various executives from Sony, Paramount, and Fox, among others. Lee has several features and television projects in development. She is the 2016 Sundance Institute Asian American Fellow.
Describe your project briefly and at what stage in the creative process it is. Include details about your artistic vision for this project in particular.
When Strangers on the Train was published in 1950 and with the anticipation for it to be turned into a film by Alfred Hitchcock, Patricia Highsmith was catapulted into the literary spotlight. Here she thought was her opportunity to break free of the crime genre and finally write her Great American novel. Except, it was at the height of McCarthy’s witch hunt, and her Great American novel would become the iconic lesbian tale, The Price of Salt. In the book, Patricia defiantly gave her lesbian main characters a happy ending together, but faced with the real threat of being blacklisted, she is forced to publish it under a pseudonym. This decision would send her down a path of alcoholism, promiscuity and loneliness as she realized she would not have the happy ending she wrote.
With this story, I knew it had to come from the seminal moment in her life. And for me, it is when she braved writing The Price of Salt at a time where being who you are and believing in what you do can land you in jail, exile or financial ruin. She had to deny her nature, and coupled with a growing rage it would breed the infamous “monster” that would come to define her in her later years.
While her male peers have enjoyed forgiving, pedestal descriptors like "troubled", "complex" or the genius "l'enfant terrible", Highsmith was shown no such generosity.
On top of that, I am struck how often pictures of her old age are published displaying her alcohol and anger ravaged face. We made that. Juxtapose those with photos of Highsmith at 21, so full of hope, vitality and ready for all the wonders of love, and it is clear - she was born this way. "A Beautiful Lie" is about a woman’s quest for love when it was a crime.
Briefly tell us about the most important or rewarding lesson you took from the first day of the Screenwriters Intensive Lab. How will this impact the future development of your project?
Specifically, I learned I hide behind fiction or through my characters and not have to admit the narrative comes from a personal place. Through an incredibly safe and nurturing environment on the first day, Joan Tewksbury led us through a series of spontaneous and revelatory writing exercises that at first seemed random, but without time to allow the self-censor to kick in, the writing showcased how many more complex layers we can apply to our characters through our uninhibited sharing of our personal experiences. As a result, because the stories come from us, they are inherently going to be personal. It was like sleight of hand for the imagination.
Tell me about your experience during day two and your interaction with the advisors. How important was it for you to get feedback from a professional in the field that has gone through some of the same creative challenges as you?
The advisors were there to help us tell the story we want to tell. And the one-on-one sessions were focused solely on the writing, and was intended to be a dialogue. It was humbling to learn the tremendous amount of time they took to burrow deep into our scripts. I was thoroughly empowered by what these writers offered me, and excited that I could challenge such seasoned pros with my perspective and approach to telling a story. Ligiah Villalobos dared me to linger longer in emotional scenes and to take my pursuit for emotional truths for my character even further. While Scott Neustadter and I discussed much about memories as structure, he also pushed me to defy a note i have received that my character is “unlikable” and to allow her to have even more anti-hero moments. i concluded my last day at the Intensive with their voices unifying in the same sentiment: they have a good feeling the film will be made.
Now that you've gone through this learning experience, what are some of the next steps you will be taking as you continue to develop your project?
Through the Sundance Intensive, I have a clear idea of what is my next step, and that is to apply another layer of shading to my portrait of Patricia Highsmith. I’m anxious to keep the momentum going, and then take it out to talent. I’m going to realize this film.
Jimmy Mosqueda
Project: "Valedictorian"
Jimmy Mosqueda is a lifelong California resident, the son of two Mexican migrant workers, and a graduate of Stanford University. From an early age he showed a fondness for writing, starting his first journal at the age of five, which developed into a passion for writing short stories, poetry and eventually screenplays. While attending Stanford on a full scholarship, Mosqueda saw how social class and race influenced the experiences of his fellow students, which made him realize just how much the American educational system is intimately tied to those pillars. The intersection of race, class, and education remains an ongoing theme in his works. Today, Mosqueda lives in Los Angeles and writes full-time. His screenplays have placed in numerous contests, including as a finalist in the Austin Film Festival, Script Pipeline and TrackingB competitions, and as a semifinalist in the Nicholl Fellowship. He’s represented by Angelina Chen and Brooklyn Weaver of Energy Entertainment, and is actively developing projects for film and television.
Describe your project briefly and at what stage in the creative process it is. Include details about your artistic vision for this project in particular.
"Valedictorian" is dark teen comedy in the vein of "Election" and "Heathers." It’s about an ambitious teenage girl who do anything to be crowned valedictorian of her high school, including a little bit of murder. So, you know, just like real high school! I started writing this project about three years ago. It was inspired by my own school experiences, where everyone on the Honors track was super competitive and had their sights set on the Ivy League. Readers respond positively to the comedy and the heightened world of the script, which is great, but one thing I felt got buried underneath the multitude of drafts is the emotional core of the main character. So during the Intensive my main goal was to rediscover who she was and, building out from that, the reason why I wanted to tell this story in the first place.
Briefly tell us about the most important or rewarding lesson you took from the first day of the Screenwriters Intensive Lab. How will this impact the future development of your project?
The most important thing I learned from the workshop with Joan Tewkesbury is that creative development is not about brainstorming characters or story points. All of us have unique, personal experiences and emotions that can form the building blocks of a story. You really have to look inward and tap that raw data, or else run the risk of your story ringing hollow. A lot of artists understand this intuitively, I believe, but Joan’s workshop laid it out in such clear and simple terms. For my next draft of "Valedictorian," I’m going to use these techniques as a stress test, but in all honesty I want to go back and revisit every project I ever worked on using this approach now.
Tell me about your experience during day two and your interaction with the advisors. How important was it for you to get feedback from a professional in the field that has gone through some of the same creative challenges as you?
My advisors were the bee’s knees, if I can be so blunt. My first session was with Scott Neustadter, who along with his writing partner has written a lot of films with teen lead characters. He very clearly understood what the script was, and gave very specific, actionable notes on how to improve what’s already there. I love how he was able to cut through and really get at the core issues of script, which were mostly the same issues I had going in. Scott is killing the screenwriting game right now. His insights were invaluable.
My second session was with Kyle Patrick Alvarez. We spent a lot of time talking about the main character, her motivation, her relationships, and how she “earns” the big moments/twists in the script. We also spent some time talking bigger picture about the industry and how to build a career in Hollywood, which was very much appreciated. Additionally, it was great getting the perspective of another Latino in the industry.
Both men were truly gracious with their time. I left both sessions feeling inspired!
Now that you've gone through this learning experience, what are some of the next steps you will be taking as you continue to develop your project?
After stepping off Cloud 9, it’s back to the computer and working on a new draft of "Valedictorian." In addition, I will also be tackling a new draft of the pilot version. It’s the same world and characters, but with a different engine that is geared towards episodic narrative. Many of the notes I got from Scott and Kyle apply to the pilot version as well, so it’s like getting two for the price of one!
Finally, I just want to thank everyone involved with putting together the Intensive: Ilyse McKimmie, Michelle Satter, Anne Lai, Shira Rockowitz and everyone at the Sundance Institute who made this possible. I am forever grateful for the experience.
Lotfy Nathan
Project: Untitled Bouazizi Project
Lotfy Nathan’s first film, the documentary "12 O’Clock Boys," played over 50 film festivals worldwide, including SXSW, Sundance Next Fest, Lincoln Center, Viennale, Hot Docs, London, and Copenhagen in 2013. It was ranked 7 in the BFI list of top 20 documentaries of 2013, and garnered Nathan an HBO Emerging Artist award. "12 O’Clock Boys" was subsequently picked up by Oscilloscope for a North American release in theaters, acquired by Showtime for television, and was optioned for a fiction remake by Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment. Nathan is a 2015 grantee of the Creative Capital Foundation, a resident filmmaker at the Cinereach Foundation, and a previous awardee of the Garrett Scott development grant, the Peter Reed Foundation, the Grainger Marburg travel grant, and an Ifp fellowship.
Describe your project briefly and at what stage in the creative process it is. Include details about your artistic vision for this project in particular.
The film is about Mohamed Bouazizi, the young Tunisian fruit vendor whose act of self-immolation sparked the Arab spring. It’s a love story, apolitical (as the subject of our protagonist was); about a young man’s steady undoing, and his final bittersweet act of defiance. The film will be shot on location, with cast selected locally besides the principles, and filmed with an immersive approach.
Briefly tell us about the most important or rewarding lesson you took from the first day of the Screenwriters Intensive Lab. How will this impact the future development of your project?
We were encouraged to draw from very specific personal experiences, prompted by Joan It was incredible to learn these tools, which enable you to tap into vast resources from your own life that you can then apply to the writing- and so vividly. I think the writing exercises with Joan actually stirred a very unusual dream for me that night.
Tell me about your experience during day two and your interaction with the advisors. How important was it for you to get feedback from a professional in the field that has gone through some of the same creative challenges as you?
The advisors were very motivating. I left with pages of notes on my writing, tangible pieces of smart advice that will help inform the next draft.
Now that you've gone through this learning experience, what are some of the next steps you will be taking as you continue to develop your project?
Before getting back to work on the script I plan to do some other writing on the characters.
While fostering talent is what Sundance Institute does best, they are one of the institutions that most diligently reinforces their commitment to provide opportunities for new voices that represent an eclectic array of backgrounds and experiences. In order to cast their net of support even wider, the institute offers numerous exciting programs beyond those that are already well-known in the filmmaking community. As part of Sundance Institute's Diversity Initiative, the Screenwriters Intensive is an invaluable resource that focuses on stories outside of the homogenous fare.
The program is a 1 1/2 day workshop for writers whose work has been encountered by the institute as part of their outreach for the Labs and which they find especially promising. The writers of 10 projects take part in a program whose elements include a hands-on writing workshop led by creative advisor Joan Tewkesbury (“Nashville”), a screening of a recent Sundance film followed by a candid conversation with the filmmaker, a reception with Sundance staff and the extended Sundance community, and one-on-one meetings with two creative advisors to get feedback on their script. With the Intensive, the Sundance Institute aims to present participants with creative tools that they can take back to their own work, provide a space for dialogue and information sharing about the creative process of making a film (and all of the joys and challenges therein), and foster community among storytellers and an ongoing connection with Sundance.
The screening this year was Andrew Ahn's "Spa Night," which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival back in January and has now been picked up for U.S distribution by Strand Releasing. Centered on the conflicted son of a Korean immigrant couple in Los Angeles, Ahn's subtle yet poignant narrative deals with issues of identity both sexual and cultural. For the second day of the workshop, the fellows had one-on-one meetings with celebrated figures in independent cinema: Miranda July, Jennifer Salt, Deena Goldstone, Patricia Cardoso, Pete Sollett, Dana Stevens, Tanya Hamilton, Ligiah Villalobos, Scott Neustadter, and Kyle Patrick Alvarez
The Screenwriters Intensive fellows come from uniquely different backgrounds, and their projects bring original stories that are sure to showcase new and inventive perspectives on the world. Get to know them and their stories as they are on their way to giving us a great batch of new independent films.
The application for the 2017 January Screenwriters Lab is currently open with a deadline of May 3. Applicants for the Screenwriters Lab are also considered for the Screenwriters Intensive, Sundance Institute Asian American Fellowship, and the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program Latino Fellowship, as eligibility allows. To learn more about the Sundance Institute's programs visit Here.
Khalik Allah
Project: "Kareem"
Khalik Allah is a self taught filmmaker and photographer. His work has been described as visceral, hauntingly beautiful, penetrative and profoundly personal. Photography and filmmaking are two overlapping circles that form a venn diagram in Allah’s mind; the area where they overlap is the space he inhabits as an artist. Allah’s cinematic vignettes document hardscrabble life at the corner of 125th Street and Lexington Avenue in Harlem (New York City), most recently in his award-winning documentary Field Niggas, which screened at festivals worldwide.
Describe your project briefly and at what stage in the creative process it is. Include details about your artistic vision for this project in particular.
My project is in an incredibly early stage. I'm basically taking the last four years of my life as a photographer on 125th and Lex and adapting it into a fiction narrative.
Briefly tell us about the most important or rewarding lesson you took from the first day of the Screenwriters Intensive Lab. How will this impact the future development of your project?
The most important thing was the mutual inspiration we gave each other. The lab advisors helped us dig deeper into ourselves. Their faith in us was tremendous. I took away a new lease on my future.
Tell me about your experience during day two and your interaction with the advisors. How important was it for you to get feedback from a professional in the field that has gone through some of the same creative challenges as you?
I met with Miranda July on day two of the lab. Wow she was incredible. She read my entire script and gave me many productive notes. I was impressed that she gave me so much time. Plenty of useful information I can implement.
Now that you've gone through this learning experience, what are some of the next steps you will be taking as you continue to develop your project?
I must keep writing.
Zia Anger
Project: "Despues De"
Zia Anger is a filmmaker and music video director. Her most recent short, "My Last Film," premiered at the 53rd New York Film Festival. In 2015, her short "I Remember Nothing" had its world premiere at New Directors/New Films and its international premiere at Festival del film Locarno. Other screenings include: AFI Fest, Denver Film Festival, Maryland Film Festival, Ann Arbor Film Festival, Basilica Soundscape, Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, and Vienna Independent Shorts. She has made music videos for various independent artists, including Angel Olsen, Julianna Barwick, and Jenny Hval, the latter of whom she also tours with, projecting live video and participating as a performer. Her music videos have been featured in various online publications including: Pitchfork, the Guardian, and NPR. In 2015, Anger was included in Filmmaker Magazine's "25 New Faces of Independent Film" issue. She was a 2015 fellow in film/video from the New York Foundation for the Arts. In 2008, she was the recipient of the Panavision New Filmmaker Grant for her short film "Lover Boy." She holds a BA/Bs from Ithaca College and a Mfa from The School of the Arts Institute of Chicago.
Describe your project briefly and at what stage in the creative process it is. Include details about your artistic vision for this project in particular.
"Despues De" is about a missing white woman, a mother and daughter who try to find her, and the days leading up to her disappearance on a sorority vacation. It dissects the very particular mythological figures created by our tabloid crazed culture, white women's obsessions with themselves and each other, and the people and places who are alienated in their wake. I would say the project is creatively at the point where it's similar to someone in their late twenties, when you think "wow I know a lot, but fuck there is so much more and I'm open to that," as opposed to "I just turned 21 and I literally know it all." Artistically it calls for a certain amount of precision where high and low brow filmmaking techniques kind of collapse on to each other and end up smooching.
Briefly tell us about the most important or rewarding lesson you took from the first day of the Screenwriters Intensive Lab. How will this impact the future development of your project?
Joan seems to have figured out a really simple way to help even the most stubborn of (non) writers reenter their work at a time when it might seem impossible. What's cool is that once you do it it's really easy to do again. I'm thinking that having this point of access will be crucial to the continued creative development of the piece, beyond writing and moving in to those difficult creative moments onset, in the editing room, all those places you normally forget everything you've already figured out.
Tell me about your experience during day two and your interaction with the advisors. How important was it for you to get feedback from a professional in the field that has gone through some of the same creative challenges as you?
Immediately it's exciting to sit the the same room with someone who speaks the same alien language as you but who has had the experience deal with people who don't. I think it was Bergman or someone who talked about how inadequate a script can be, considering it's just this middle step. I find myself so disillusioned with this middle step and constantly questioning what exactly it's supposed to function as. It's a good exercise to talk through what is important and what should be more developed and also where you can cut the fat.
Now that you've gone through this learning experience, what are some of the next steps you will be taking as you continue to develop your project?
Probably keep learning.
Chris Benson
Project: "Death of Innocence"
Christopher Benson, a journalist and lawyer, is an associate professor of Journalism and African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has worked as a city hall reporter in Chicago for Wbmx-fm, as Washington Editor for Ebony magazine, and as a speechwriter for Washington, D.C. politicians, including former Congressman Harold Washington and Eeoc Chair Clarence Thomas. He also has written for Chicago, Savoy, Jet, and The Crisis magazines, and has contributed to the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, and the Chicago Sun-Times. Most recently, he has written commentary on justice, race and media for the Chicago Reporter and the Huffington Post. His Chicago Reporter series on the wrongful murder conviction of Anthony Dansberry contributed to Dansberry’s release from prison (after serving 23 years) and earned Benson a Peter Lisagor Award for exemplary journalism. Benson also was a co-writer and associate producer of the Wttw Channel 11 documentary "Paper Trail: 100 Years of the Chicago Defender," and was named on two of the documentary’s three regional Emmy Awards, as well as another Lisagor Award. Benson is co-author with Mamie Till-Mobley of "Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime That Changed America," the account of the 1955 lynching of Mrs. Till-Mobley’s son, Emmett Till, and the winner of the 2003 Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Special Recognition. The feature adaptation of the book will be executive produced by Chaz Ebert and Shatterglass Films
Describe your project briefly and at what stage in the creative process it is. Include details about your artistic vision for this project in particular.
Our project is titled "Death of Innocence" and it is the screen adaptation of a book I co-authored with the late Mamie Till-Mobley about the life and tragic death of her son, Emmett Till. Through this project that focuses on the brutal 1955 lynching of a 14 year-old kid, we want to help people make connections between the violent enforcement of racial segregation and the shooting deaths of young African American males by people who still are getting away with it in our contemporary moment. We also want to show how one person—in this case, Mamie Till-Mobley—can make a difference in the struggle for social and legal justice in America. This clearly is a challenge we still face and we need to learn lessons from some of the unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement. That is what we are trying to show with this picture.
Briefly tell us about the most important or rewarding lesson you took from the first day of the Screenwriters Intensive Lab. How will this impact the future development of your project?
One of the many things I have taken away from the first day of the Sundance Screenwriters Lab is that I have to take ownership of the characters who populate this story—even this story based on true events and real people. As a professional journalist, I have spent years trying to keep a distance from the issues I write about and the people who humanize those stories, who breathe life into them. Despite cynical public opinion, journalists do go after the truth. In screenwriting, we are going after the essential truth. What is the meaning of everything that appears on the screen? So, even in stories based on real events, we are not simply cataloguing a series of facts in a sequence of scenes. We are supposed to find the story that rises from all those facts. The essential truth. The true meaning. That will affect my screenwriting for some time beyond the successful completion of this project.
Tell me about your experience during day two and your interaction with the advisors. How important was it for you to get feedback from a professional in the field that has gone through some of the same creative challenges as you?
I have to say that the coordinators of the Sundance Lab experience clearly put a lot of care and thought into developing a perfect match of advisors and fellows. The second day discussions with my advisors was phenomenal. As with the Sundance organizers, they had read the script very carefully and approached my sessions with a devotion to maintaining the integrity of the story, and helping fulfill the purpose we had set out to accomplish. It was amazing to listen to the comments that reflected a deep appreciation of the characters, the story and even the potential impact of this piece. I was especially struck by the connection my advisors felt with the main character, Mamie Till-Mobley, and the advice I was given to develop her and her motivation to a level that will result in quite a powerful rendering. I can't wait to get started on the notes.
Now that you've gone through this learning experience, what are some of the next steps you will be taking as you continue to develop your project?
My plan is to work with the notes I was given to consider ways to perfect the script. My advisors have indicated an interest in staying in touch on this, so that ongoing conversation will be great. The first step I am taking after the Sundance Lab is to engage in discussions with the other producers on our project to ensure that we all on the same page. Next will be to coordinate with the collaborators on the script to talk about the ideas that have emerged from the lab experience. Finally, I will begin to interpret it all on the page, and I am eager to see where the story takes me.
Shakti Bhagchandani
Project: "Purdah"
Shakti Bhagchandani is a screenwriter/director born and raised in the United Arab Emirates. She grew up in Dubai, in a melting pot of religion and culture, and cultivated her writing abilities with the help of her mother. She travelled to London to pursue a BA in English Literature at King's College London and while there she was awarded the prestigious Jelf Medal for her contributions to art and charity. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, she interned at the Vineyard Theatre in New York, the Gate Theatre and National Theatre Studio in London, and the Antenna Theatre in San Francisco. She directed a number of student and semi professional plays, including "Fanny & Faggot" by Jack Thorne and "Pornography" by Simon Stephens. After graduation she moved to New York to pursue an Mfa in Screenwriting & Directing at Columbia University. She is currently in her thesis years, specializing in Screenwriting under advisor Trey Ellis. While at Columbia, she has worked on a number of shorts, and as a writer her last short "Khargosh" screened at Palm Springs International ShortFest and won the Satyajit Ray Award at the London Indian Film Festival. Her first feature screenplay, "Bidoun", was shortlisted for the Sundance Screenwriter's Lab 2015, and her current feature project "Purdah" has been selected for the Sundance Screenwriter's Intensive Lab in La. She recently wrapped production on her short "LostFound" that she wrote and directed, and is currently in preproduction for her next short "Tunisian Jasmine" which is set in the UAE.
Describe your project briefly and at what stage in the creative process it is. Include details about your artistic vision for this project in particular. .
'Purdah' is a coming of age drama that follows a 16-year-old British Pakistani girl as she grapples with her burgeoning womanhood and her precarious sexuality in a world built on segregation and coercion. The project is currently in development.
Briefly tell us about the most important or rewarding lesson you took from the first day of the Screenwriters Intensive Lab. How will this impact the future development of your project?
The first day of the lab included one of the most invigorating writing workshops I've ever been a part of. Joan is a miracle worker! She guided us through a haze of snowploughs, dream sequences and inner monologues, and by the end of it I had somehow come up with about 20 new scene ideas. Characters I had neglected before were suddenly infused with new life and the possibilities for the story feels limitless. Andrew's film and the discussion afterwards was intensely inspiring and the perfect way to round off the day - he helped us believe that the future of our projects is entirely real and attainable.
Tell me about your experience during day two and your interaction with the advisors. How important was it for you to get feedback from a professional in the field that has gone through some of the same creative challenges as you?.
Patricia and Dana are wonderful! It was amazing to sit across from these incredible, passionate women - they were nurturing, encouraging and boundlessly generous with their advice. They talked about their own trajectories and experiences. They motivated me to dig deeper, to fine tune every detail, and to have faith in myself and the project. They came at my script from completely different angles, offering story notes, a ton of production thoughts, and advice on how to move forward with not only the script, but also my career.
Now that you've gone through this learning experience, what are some of the next steps you will be taking as you continue to develop your project?
Revise, revise, revise. And then revise again. The lab helped me see how much potential this story has and how much work it still needs. There is so much left to unearth and I'm excited to get started.
Reinaldo Marcus Green
Project: "Monsters and Men"
New York native Reinaldo Marcus Green is a writer, director, and producer. He is currently a thesis student at Nyu Tisch Graduate Film School and writing his first feature narrative, "Monsters and Men." Most recently, he was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film (2015). His latest short film "Stop," which he wrote, produced, and directed, premiered as an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2015. His previous short film, "Stone Cars," shot on a micro-budget in South Africa, had its international premiere as an official Cinéfondation selection at the Festival de Cannes 2014.
Describe your project briefly and at what stage in the creative process it is. Include details about your artistic vision for this project in particular.
At its core, "Monsters and Men" is a story about perspective.
The film consists of three interlocking stories, each told through the point-of-view of three protagonists -- Manny, a street hustler, Stacey, a female police officer, and Zyric, a high school athlete.
When Manny captures an illegal act of police violence on his cellphone, he unwittingly sets off a series of events that will alter the course of each of their lives...
"Monsters and Men's" three chapters connect narratively and thematically, painting a portrait of modern-day Brooklyn -- a community caught in the crosswinds of crime, police corruption, and social instability.
We’re in the final stage of development, planning to shoot this summer 2016 in Brooklyn, New York. We hope to cast the net wide and far in order to provide opportunities for new undiscovered talent, and new exciting voices. The ideal cast would be a mix of professional and non-professional actors. New York is full of immense diverse talent we can’t wait to work with.
As a filmmaker, my goal is to tell powerful, urgently-needed and authentic stories. I see a unique opportunity to challenge the status quo of independent cinema, to craft entertaining stories with heart and meaning - films which possess social relevance, emotional complexity and thematic resonance.
Ultimately, its my hope to create a highly-compelling narrative feature, entertaining to watch, but one which will add to the social conversation about law enforcement, violence, and justice in America. We want to share that experience with audiences in other places in the world, by giving rise to growing communities who are often marginalized and whose stories are rarely seen in film.
Briefly tell us about the most important or rewarding lesson you took from the first day of the Screenwriters Intensive Lab. How will this impact the future development of your project?
First and foremost, I felt very lucky to be a part of such an amazingly talented group of filmmakers, with a broad range of diverse projects, across all genres. It was fascinating to see where my script fits in the larger spectrum, and what I realized is that each and every story at the lab was an outlier. Each writer had a singular voice, a unique take on genre, character, story, and structure.
The Lesson: “Come in from the side.”
During Day One at the lab, I felt I threw out any preconceived notions I had about my own script. It allowed me to digress and deconstruct without internally combusting. Joan Tewkesbury, a true master at her craft, went right to the core of who we were as human beings, ultimately going right into the core of who and what our scripts were all about, and what they have the potential to become. I think fear is something that holds most people back, the same fear that the world was once flat and we would sail off the edge. Joan refocused my center of gravity and provided me with tools to “access” that inner child, be playful and to keep digging.
Character is at the core of who we are and what makes us human. The digger we deep, the more we reveal about ourselves. I believe in that if I continue the excavation process, with delicate precision, and a gentle curiosity, it will serve me well in all my writing. I can’t be afraid to find out who I am underneath the surface, although sometime we bury things for a reason — because we don’t want to go there — there’s pain hidden in various forms. In writing, there’s a seemingly impenetrable darkness and then there’s light.
Tell me about your experience during day two and your interaction with the advisors. How important was it for you to get feedback from a professional in the field that has gone through some of the same creative challenges as you?
The opportunity to sit down with Peter Sollett and Tanya Hamilton was truly a special treat for me. Not only did are they both masters of their craft and highly-regarded writers and directors within their own right, I had been a big fan of their work before meeting them. Peter’s short film "Five Feet High and Rising," which he later turned into a feature, "Raising Victor Vargas" are two works that I admire deeply, and they have been a source for inspiration since the genius of the project.
Both Peter and Tanya are so sharp and so astute, it makes for brilliant analysis and conversation.
They have a slightly different approach to story, but essentially meet somewhere in the middle; Character. With both advisors, we really stepped back from the script — taking a birds eye view of what the film really means to me and how and what the best way to achieve telling it would be moving forward. We talked a lot about character, world, and theme.
Tanya and Peter both offered many ideas for “problem solving” — helping me hone in on areas in the script that could be refined and strengthened. It’s evident in their own work how much they care about the craft — both offering truly thoughtful insight and perspective into how each scene could advance the story. We discussed ways to deepen characters and how to build a compelling and complex world without compromising my voice, or the story I want to tell.
Now that you've gone through this learning experience, what are some of the next steps you will be taking as you continue to develop your project?
I think the simplest answer is to just keep writing. There’s still a ton of information to digest from the lab but the key is to not get bogged down in semantics, to move beyond the fear and paralysis that we create for ourselves. It’s time to problem solve, lock myself in a room and just write. More coffee please.
Jessie Kahnweiler
Project: "Meet My Rapist"
Jessie Kahnweiler has been featured in The New York Times, CNN, TMZ, People, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Magazine, Mashable, Buzzfeed, Elle, The Daily Beast, Jezebel, Indiewire, La Weekly, The Huffington Post, and The Independent. At the University of Redlands, Kahnweiler quickly began ditching class in order to make documentaries. For her thesis film, Little America, she hitchhiked across the country to explore the world of America’s truck drivers. After getting dumped, she wrote and co-directed the comedic short "Baby Love," co-starring alongside "Anchorman’s" David Koechner. Kahnweiler was selected for the 6 Points Artist Fellowship which inspired her comedic web series entitled "Dude, Where’s my Chutzpah?" Her short "Meet my Rapist," a dark comedy about running into her rapist at the Farmers’ Market, inspired her live show "The Rape Girl." Kahnweiler confronted her own white privilege in her viral hit "Jessie Gets Arrested." Her latest project, for which she serves as writer, director, and stars, is "The Skinny," a dark comedic series based on her 10 year relationship with bulimia. It premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and is produced by Refinery29 and Jill Soloway’s Wifey.tv Kahnweiler lives in La with her plants.
Describe your project briefly and at what stage in the creative process it is.
Include details about your artistic vision for this project in particular. My project is called "Meet My Rapist" and it is loosely based on a short film I made of the same name a few years ago. After the short had it's 15 minutes online I was moving on to other projects but I felt this gnawing at my gut. I tried to ignore it, popped some advil, and went to yoga but that gnawing just wouldn't stop. That annoying painful gnawing was the beginnings of this script. I've been working on the script on and off for about a year. I'm at the stage where I need to take out most of the flippant jokes and get to the real meat of the matter - the heart, the pain. I need to live and cry this story out. Because the project is so personal it is easy for me to get lost in it. Sometimes I forget where I end and my characters begin. So being at the Sundance lab is great timing. I feel totes blessed.
Briefly tell us about the most important or rewarding lesson you took from the first day of the Screenwriters Intensive Lab. How will this impact the future development of your project?
That I can't hide behind my jokes. After writing in a feeling state all day our amazing teaching Joan looked at me and was like "Your movie is a song and you gotta hit the bass notes." I was like Mic Drop. I love the challenge of making something that is a comedy based in the tragedy of human reality. That is my north star for this movie. I'm not sure if I will get there but that's where I'll be heading.
Tell me about your experience during day two and your interaction with the advisors. How important was it for you to get feedback from a professional in the field that has gone through some of the same creative challenges as you?
It was incredible to take a deep dive into the script with women who so deeply understand screenwriting from the inside out. The feedback was never like "do it My way" it was more about ripping open the guts of the script and getting to that deeper level. Okay this happens but Why? Screenwriting can be so daunting like "I need write the perfect thing so I can get an agent so I can get hired etc. " and the process can be so lonely and daunting . But in both my sessions we just talked about human behavior and what makes people tick and it reminded me that filmmaking is magic and I'm really lucky to be here. Also a woman, it was inspiring to meet with other women who are living my dream. Who are feeling for a living. In both my sessions I laughed, cried, and go to ask as many questions I wanted it. It was basically my ideal Tinder date.
Now that you've gone through this learning experience, what are some of the next steps you will be taking as you continue to develop your project?
I'm going to keep working on drafts of the script, keep sharing it with people I trust, keep begging Sundance to let me come over and eat bagels, keep pitching it to anyone who will listen, keep crying, keep feeling, keep making my movie.
Allison Lee
Project: "Jawbone"
Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Los Angeles, Allison Lee studied English Language and Literature at the University of Chicago. She received her Mfa in Film and Television Production from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. Upon graduation, she worked in development and production at DreamWorks and NBCUniversal. Lee has received grants from the Media Action Network and the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences. She was also named a Project Involve fellow, and her short The Grizzly was produced by Film Independent. In 2015, she was one of five screenwriters who received a residency through the inaugural Hedgebrook Screenwriters Lab, where she was mentored by Jenny Bicks and Jane Anderson.
Describe your project briefly and at what stage in the creative process it is. Include details about your artistic vision for this project in particular.
"Jawbone" is about a Korean woman who undergoes drastic plastic surgery as a means to achieve what she and her peers view as success. After she gives birth to a daughter who looks nothing like her, her life begins to unravel and she’s forced to confront her past.
I am currently grappling with rewrites while meeting with potential producers and crew.
I see "Jawbone" as a hybrid of Korean cinema and American independent film. Korean movies relish the tension in tightly wound familial and social relationships. I think my personal connection to this fabric helps me discern and explore where the similarities and differences to American culture begin and end. I also think the best American independent films underscore the universality of specific personal stories, and I aspire to follow in this tradition.
Briefly tell us about the most important or rewarding lesson you took from the first day of the Screenwriters Intensive Lab. How will this impact the future development of your project?
I felt transformed by the sessions with Joan Tewkesbury. She pushed us to bare our souls and delve into our histories to deliver stories that were truthful and specific. My biggest fear about "Jawbone" is that a few extreme events in the plot would read as absurdist melodrama. Relating these events back to some of my own crises helped me re-center the emotional truth of my characters and their journeys.
Tell me about your experience during day two and your interaction with the advisors. How important was it for you to get feedback from a professional in the field that has gone through some of the same creative challenges as you?
It was crucial to work with filmmakers who knew the Sundance aesthetic and had weathered the challenges before us. I knew the script needed improvement but had a hazy vision of what it required. Tanya Hamilton’s notes were both encouraging and precise about galvanizing and concretizing the protagonist’s journey. Patricia Cardoso, with her directorial and producerial expertise, reminded me that my artistic flights of fancy should still be grounded in reality and be economical and pragmatic. The breadth of their approaches made me feel like I was getting the best of all worlds.
Now that you've gone through this learning experience, what are some of the next steps you will be taking as you continue to develop your project?
I am hustling on a rewrite ready to be seen by producers and representatives. Ultimately, I want to direct "Jawbone," and I am also working on a short film version.
Eliza Lee
Project: "A Beautiful Lie"
Educated in Canada and the Czech Republic, Eliza Lee began in Asia as a Dp trainee before returning to her first passion: screenwriting. She takes great pride in world building for her complex women characters. Lee’s feature, Maybe Tomorrow, about rock legend Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, is being produced by Michelle Sy ("Finding Neverland") and Sophia Chang (former artist manager for Wu Tang Clan), with Academy Award nominee Steph Green ("Run & Jump") attached to direct. Lee’s screenplay, "A Beautiful Lie," about crime novelist Patricia Highsmith, was honored at the 2015 Athena Film Festival, and was also selected for the 2015 Outfest Screenwriting Lab. In addition, she was a Cape 2015 Film & Television Fellow and was mentored by various executives from Sony, Paramount, and Fox, among others. Lee has several features and television projects in development. She is the 2016 Sundance Institute Asian American Fellow.
Describe your project briefly and at what stage in the creative process it is. Include details about your artistic vision for this project in particular.
When Strangers on the Train was published in 1950 and with the anticipation for it to be turned into a film by Alfred Hitchcock, Patricia Highsmith was catapulted into the literary spotlight. Here she thought was her opportunity to break free of the crime genre and finally write her Great American novel. Except, it was at the height of McCarthy’s witch hunt, and her Great American novel would become the iconic lesbian tale, The Price of Salt. In the book, Patricia defiantly gave her lesbian main characters a happy ending together, but faced with the real threat of being blacklisted, she is forced to publish it under a pseudonym. This decision would send her down a path of alcoholism, promiscuity and loneliness as she realized she would not have the happy ending she wrote.
With this story, I knew it had to come from the seminal moment in her life. And for me, it is when she braved writing The Price of Salt at a time where being who you are and believing in what you do can land you in jail, exile or financial ruin. She had to deny her nature, and coupled with a growing rage it would breed the infamous “monster” that would come to define her in her later years.
While her male peers have enjoyed forgiving, pedestal descriptors like "troubled", "complex" or the genius "l'enfant terrible", Highsmith was shown no such generosity.
On top of that, I am struck how often pictures of her old age are published displaying her alcohol and anger ravaged face. We made that. Juxtapose those with photos of Highsmith at 21, so full of hope, vitality and ready for all the wonders of love, and it is clear - she was born this way. "A Beautiful Lie" is about a woman’s quest for love when it was a crime.
Briefly tell us about the most important or rewarding lesson you took from the first day of the Screenwriters Intensive Lab. How will this impact the future development of your project?
Specifically, I learned I hide behind fiction or through my characters and not have to admit the narrative comes from a personal place. Through an incredibly safe and nurturing environment on the first day, Joan Tewksbury led us through a series of spontaneous and revelatory writing exercises that at first seemed random, but without time to allow the self-censor to kick in, the writing showcased how many more complex layers we can apply to our characters through our uninhibited sharing of our personal experiences. As a result, because the stories come from us, they are inherently going to be personal. It was like sleight of hand for the imagination.
Tell me about your experience during day two and your interaction with the advisors. How important was it for you to get feedback from a professional in the field that has gone through some of the same creative challenges as you?
The advisors were there to help us tell the story we want to tell. And the one-on-one sessions were focused solely on the writing, and was intended to be a dialogue. It was humbling to learn the tremendous amount of time they took to burrow deep into our scripts. I was thoroughly empowered by what these writers offered me, and excited that I could challenge such seasoned pros with my perspective and approach to telling a story. Ligiah Villalobos dared me to linger longer in emotional scenes and to take my pursuit for emotional truths for my character even further. While Scott Neustadter and I discussed much about memories as structure, he also pushed me to defy a note i have received that my character is “unlikable” and to allow her to have even more anti-hero moments. i concluded my last day at the Intensive with their voices unifying in the same sentiment: they have a good feeling the film will be made.
Now that you've gone through this learning experience, what are some of the next steps you will be taking as you continue to develop your project?
Through the Sundance Intensive, I have a clear idea of what is my next step, and that is to apply another layer of shading to my portrait of Patricia Highsmith. I’m anxious to keep the momentum going, and then take it out to talent. I’m going to realize this film.
Jimmy Mosqueda
Project: "Valedictorian"
Jimmy Mosqueda is a lifelong California resident, the son of two Mexican migrant workers, and a graduate of Stanford University. From an early age he showed a fondness for writing, starting his first journal at the age of five, which developed into a passion for writing short stories, poetry and eventually screenplays. While attending Stanford on a full scholarship, Mosqueda saw how social class and race influenced the experiences of his fellow students, which made him realize just how much the American educational system is intimately tied to those pillars. The intersection of race, class, and education remains an ongoing theme in his works. Today, Mosqueda lives in Los Angeles and writes full-time. His screenplays have placed in numerous contests, including as a finalist in the Austin Film Festival, Script Pipeline and TrackingB competitions, and as a semifinalist in the Nicholl Fellowship. He’s represented by Angelina Chen and Brooklyn Weaver of Energy Entertainment, and is actively developing projects for film and television.
Describe your project briefly and at what stage in the creative process it is. Include details about your artistic vision for this project in particular.
"Valedictorian" is dark teen comedy in the vein of "Election" and "Heathers." It’s about an ambitious teenage girl who do anything to be crowned valedictorian of her high school, including a little bit of murder. So, you know, just like real high school! I started writing this project about three years ago. It was inspired by my own school experiences, where everyone on the Honors track was super competitive and had their sights set on the Ivy League. Readers respond positively to the comedy and the heightened world of the script, which is great, but one thing I felt got buried underneath the multitude of drafts is the emotional core of the main character. So during the Intensive my main goal was to rediscover who she was and, building out from that, the reason why I wanted to tell this story in the first place.
Briefly tell us about the most important or rewarding lesson you took from the first day of the Screenwriters Intensive Lab. How will this impact the future development of your project?
The most important thing I learned from the workshop with Joan Tewkesbury is that creative development is not about brainstorming characters or story points. All of us have unique, personal experiences and emotions that can form the building blocks of a story. You really have to look inward and tap that raw data, or else run the risk of your story ringing hollow. A lot of artists understand this intuitively, I believe, but Joan’s workshop laid it out in such clear and simple terms. For my next draft of "Valedictorian," I’m going to use these techniques as a stress test, but in all honesty I want to go back and revisit every project I ever worked on using this approach now.
Tell me about your experience during day two and your interaction with the advisors. How important was it for you to get feedback from a professional in the field that has gone through some of the same creative challenges as you?
My advisors were the bee’s knees, if I can be so blunt. My first session was with Scott Neustadter, who along with his writing partner has written a lot of films with teen lead characters. He very clearly understood what the script was, and gave very specific, actionable notes on how to improve what’s already there. I love how he was able to cut through and really get at the core issues of script, which were mostly the same issues I had going in. Scott is killing the screenwriting game right now. His insights were invaluable.
My second session was with Kyle Patrick Alvarez. We spent a lot of time talking about the main character, her motivation, her relationships, and how she “earns” the big moments/twists in the script. We also spent some time talking bigger picture about the industry and how to build a career in Hollywood, which was very much appreciated. Additionally, it was great getting the perspective of another Latino in the industry.
Both men were truly gracious with their time. I left both sessions feeling inspired!
Now that you've gone through this learning experience, what are some of the next steps you will be taking as you continue to develop your project?
After stepping off Cloud 9, it’s back to the computer and working on a new draft of "Valedictorian." In addition, I will also be tackling a new draft of the pilot version. It’s the same world and characters, but with a different engine that is geared towards episodic narrative. Many of the notes I got from Scott and Kyle apply to the pilot version as well, so it’s like getting two for the price of one!
Finally, I just want to thank everyone involved with putting together the Intensive: Ilyse McKimmie, Michelle Satter, Anne Lai, Shira Rockowitz and everyone at the Sundance Institute who made this possible. I am forever grateful for the experience.
Lotfy Nathan
Project: Untitled Bouazizi Project
Lotfy Nathan’s first film, the documentary "12 O’Clock Boys," played over 50 film festivals worldwide, including SXSW, Sundance Next Fest, Lincoln Center, Viennale, Hot Docs, London, and Copenhagen in 2013. It was ranked 7 in the BFI list of top 20 documentaries of 2013, and garnered Nathan an HBO Emerging Artist award. "12 O’Clock Boys" was subsequently picked up by Oscilloscope for a North American release in theaters, acquired by Showtime for television, and was optioned for a fiction remake by Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment. Nathan is a 2015 grantee of the Creative Capital Foundation, a resident filmmaker at the Cinereach Foundation, and a previous awardee of the Garrett Scott development grant, the Peter Reed Foundation, the Grainger Marburg travel grant, and an Ifp fellowship.
Describe your project briefly and at what stage in the creative process it is. Include details about your artistic vision for this project in particular.
The film is about Mohamed Bouazizi, the young Tunisian fruit vendor whose act of self-immolation sparked the Arab spring. It’s a love story, apolitical (as the subject of our protagonist was); about a young man’s steady undoing, and his final bittersweet act of defiance. The film will be shot on location, with cast selected locally besides the principles, and filmed with an immersive approach.
Briefly tell us about the most important or rewarding lesson you took from the first day of the Screenwriters Intensive Lab. How will this impact the future development of your project?
We were encouraged to draw from very specific personal experiences, prompted by Joan It was incredible to learn these tools, which enable you to tap into vast resources from your own life that you can then apply to the writing- and so vividly. I think the writing exercises with Joan actually stirred a very unusual dream for me that night.
Tell me about your experience during day two and your interaction with the advisors. How important was it for you to get feedback from a professional in the field that has gone through some of the same creative challenges as you?
The advisors were very motivating. I left with pages of notes on my writing, tangible pieces of smart advice that will help inform the next draft.
Now that you've gone through this learning experience, what are some of the next steps you will be taking as you continue to develop your project?
Before getting back to work on the script I plan to do some other writing on the characters.
- 3/28/2016
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
Highlights of the forthcoming productions at the National Theatre, announced today by Nicholas Hytner, include new plays by Alan Bennett, Stephen Beresford, Lisa DAmour, James Graham and Lucy Prebble. There will be adaptations of Mark Haddons The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Simon Stephens, and of The Count of Monte Cristo by Richard Bean. Enda Walshs Misterman receives its London premiere classic revivals include Polly Findlays production of Sophocles Antigone, Shakespeares Timon of Athens directed by Nicholas Hytner, Bijan Sheibanis staging of Damned for Despair by Tirso de Molina, and Nadia Falls production of Bernard Shaws The Doctors Dilemma.
- 1/25/2012
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
His Jerusalem is a Broadway hit – now director Ian Rickson is back with a star-studded Betrayal. He talks to Andrew Dickson about his debt to Pinter, coaching Pj Harvey – and why he's finally ready for Shakespeare
Never let it be said that Ian Rickson lacks range. This week, the director opens a new production of Harold Pinter's Betrayal, starring Kristin Scott Thomas; it turns out that he has also found time to direct Pj Harvey's current tour. "We talked about staging and lighting, should she talk between songs, things like that," he explains, before adding, not wanting to take too much credit: "Director in inverted commas."
I'm not sure he needs the rider. In the four years since Rickson stepped down as artistic director of the Royal Court, there seems to be little he hasn't turned his hand to. His farewell production there, The Seagull, was the first...
Never let it be said that Ian Rickson lacks range. This week, the director opens a new production of Harold Pinter's Betrayal, starring Kristin Scott Thomas; it turns out that he has also found time to direct Pj Harvey's current tour. "We talked about staging and lighting, should she talk between songs, things like that," he explains, before adding, not wanting to take too much credit: "Director in inverted commas."
I'm not sure he needs the rider. In the four years since Rickson stepped down as artistic director of the Royal Court, there seems to be little he hasn't turned his hand to. His farewell production there, The Seagull, was the first...
- 6/15/2011
- by Andrew Dickson
- The Guardian - Film News
Want to see cutting-edge drama from Edinburgh? Then just pop into your local cinema. Andrew Dickson on why the Traverse theatre is being besieged by cameras
The Traverse theatre in Edinburgh has a cute name for this year's series of morning play readings: Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Technically, it's a misnomer – your ticket includes breakfast, or at least a bacon buttie and a splash of coffee – but in other respects the title, borrowed from Alice in Wonderland, seems fair enough.
Last year, festival audiences had to endure hostage crises (a new work by Enda Walsh) and were forced to act out chunks of the script (David Greig). This year, Simon Stephens dwells on the fallout from a stabbing in T5, while Linda McLean's new play This Is Water is a verbatim account of interrogation. Quite a lot to deal with at 9am, especially if you've a hangover the size of Arthur's Seat.
The Traverse theatre in Edinburgh has a cute name for this year's series of morning play readings: Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Technically, it's a misnomer – your ticket includes breakfast, or at least a bacon buttie and a splash of coffee – but in other respects the title, borrowed from Alice in Wonderland, seems fair enough.
Last year, festival audiences had to endure hostage crises (a new work by Enda Walsh) and were forced to act out chunks of the script (David Greig). This year, Simon Stephens dwells on the fallout from a stabbing in T5, while Linda McLean's new play This Is Water is a verbatim account of interrogation. Quite a lot to deal with at 9am, especially if you've a hangover the size of Arthur's Seat.
- 8/23/2010
- by Andrew Dickson
- The Guardian - Film News
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