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A space for South Asian screenwriters to write powerful and fearless stories adapted from reportage, literature and art.
We develop film & series projects centered
around the theme of Women & Identity.
We Develop Stories
that Impact, Ignite and Transform.
Women & Identity
The Vision
Narratives exploring themes around gender and social identity in India.
We are looking for stories, characters and worlds at the crossroads of feminism and anthropology; mental health and identity; gender and race; sexuality and class.
We encourage you to find stories in
places strange and known, in silences and conversations retold, in nooks and crannies.
Empower writers' to produce content originating from
true stories that provoke conversations and impact
society positively.
We want to develop stories that raise
questions change the discourse around
on-screen gender portrayals and cause
a shift in the status quo.
The Process
The rooms are closely guarded spaces that offer
creators - time, direction and mentorship.
Creator rooms projects are positioned for success ‘
by aligning financial & creative partnerships between
subject-screenwriter-producer at story curation stage.
Over 3-6 months, writers/writing teams receive tailored development support from industry
advisors, research partners and story consultants.
Each writing team is empowered to accomplish the
development roadmap customised for them.
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A sneak-peek into our development sessions held in Bombay."
Outcome
To write and produce intelligent,
sensitive and stirring narratives.
Creator[rooms] aims to provide much-needed infrastructure to South Asian writers to develop stories with global resonance. The curation of projects and their development models will impact the perception of gender realities on the page.
Selected writers/writing teams in the feature[room] will receive continuous support and advance from a 1st draft stage to a pitch-ready screenplay.
The series[room] will see writing teams advance from a treatment stage to
a polished pilot episode and professional series bible.
Mentors
Daan Gielis
Daan Gielis’s versatile career spans 20 years,
working a.o. for the International Film Festival Rotterdam, production company Topkapi, distributor A-Film, and sales agent Fortissimo Films. She was Head of Talent at development hub Binger Filmlab. In 2012 Daan began scriptwriting with short films like Gamechanger (2016), and the feature film La Holandesa (2017) which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. The miniseries Storm Lara was created and written by Daan and was released in 2021 and a second season is on its way. Currently, she is developing a variety of feature films and series, amongst which an international series for Disney+.
Anaya Mohanty
A skilled leader with a masters in Mass Communication and Media Studies from Jamia Millia Islamia, Mohanty has almost two decades of experience in the creative field. Prior to joining Endemol Shine India, she worked with Colour Yellow Productions Pvt. Ltd in Marketing for Digital Media and Operations, was a Creative Producer at Eros Now, and producer at CNBC-TV18. She has also worked as a Creative Consultant, Writer, and Senior Producer on multiple projects.
Sushma Khadepaun
Sushma Khadepaun is an Indian-American filmmaker based in New York City. She was listed as one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film by Filmmaker Magazine in 2021. Her short film Anita premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2020 and has screened at several international festivals including Palm Springs, Stockholm, Dublin, PÖFF, etc. winning several awards. Her feature project, Salt, is a recipient of the SFFilm Westridge Grant and participated in Gotham Week 2021. Sushma’s work has been featured on NPR, BOMB Magazine, the Indian Express, Platform Mag, Focus Features Digital and Canal Plus among others. Along with her professional practice, Sushma is an educator. She has taught screenwriting at Columbia University, VCU Arts, and the Sundance Collab. She is an alumna of the MFA Program in Screenwriting and Directing at Columbia University.
Bornila Chatterjee
Bornila Chatterjee’s debut feature,
Let’s Be Out, The Sun Is Shining, won the Audience Award at the 2012 New York Indian Film Festival.
Her second feature The Hungry premiered in Toronto in 2017. Her recent credits include Shantaram on Apple TV+ (story editor) and Bombay Begums on Netflix (writer/director). She earned her BFA in film and television from NYU’s Tisch School
of the Arts.
Teams
What is in it for us?
As the development team we are asking for a Credit + Return
on investment based on our contribution to the project - in
consultation with the producer.
Weave
Writers’ Weave - Gender & Identity is an initiative to start dialogue around crucial conversations in the film and entertainment industry. Through carefully curated sessions with invited guests we hope to attract insights about the processes of writing and current industry practices. All Writers' Weave sessions are being shared as a free resource for anyone wanting to know more about creative professionals, their work process and experiences. The idea is to learn from the one's who have made it.
Partners
Festak Yo is a celebration of community and conversation for creative professionals, hosted at Storiculture, Goa. The event is created to watch curated films, partake in discussions and meet likely collaborators.
Creating a space where we contemplate, reflect and share insights on film, media & culture. We don't aim to answer questions but raise more; we don't aim to
provide insights but create a shared knowledge pool.
This is an inclusive space to connect all the
threads and multitude dots.
