MUMBAI: The inaugural Mumbai Mantra|Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab 2012 has selected eight feature film projects of Indian screenwriters who were chosen through an evaluation process of submissions from around the world including the US and France.
These screenwriting fellows will have the opportunity to work intensely on their feature film scripts with the support of creative advisors (established Screenwriters and Directors) in an environment that encourages innovation and creative risk-taking. Through one-on-one story sessions with the creative advisors, the screenwriting fellows will engage in an artistically demanding process that offers indispensable lessons in craft, a fresh perspective on their work and a platform to fully realise their material.
This year’s Screenwriting Fellows who will attend the five-day workshop at a Club Mahindra Resort are: Charudutt Acharya (Sonali Cable Centre), Shonali Bose and Nilesh Maniyar (Margarita, With a Straw), Vikas Chandra (Toothache), Rajnesh Domalpalli (Avani), Prashant Nair (Umrica), Anusha Rizvi and Mahmood Farooqui (Opium), Ajitpal Singh (Manjhi) and Kartik Singh (Public School).
Creative Advisors of the workshop include Guillermo Arriaga (Amores Perros, 21 Grams), Marcos Bernstein (Central Station, Foreign Land), Michael Goldenberg (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Contact), Asif Kapadia (The Warrior, Senna), Shekhar Kapur (Bandit Queen, Elizabeth), Kasi Lemmons (Talk to Me, Eve’s Bayou), Anjum Rajabali (Rajneeti, Aaraakshan), José Rivera (The Motorcycle Diaries, On the Road), Howard A. Rodman (Savage Grace, Joe Gould’s Secret), Malia Scotch-Marmo (Hook, Once Around) and Audrey Wells (Under the Tuscan Sun, Guinevere).
Said Mumbai Mantra chairman Rohit Khattar, “We are at an exciting storytelling stage in the history of Independent Cinema in India. With the help of our exceptional partners, Sundance Institute, we are keen to recognize, nurture and hone talent in India and across the world. We welcome to the lab these remarkably talented ‘Creative Advisors.’ We congratulate the 8 Screenwriting Fellows selected for the first Mumbai Mantra|Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab and look forward to their next films with great anticipation.”
The 5-day workshop is being held from 11 to 16 March at the Club Mahindra Resort in Lonavala.
