Film Independent Selects Seven Writers For 2018 Episodic Lab

Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Film INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS and LA Film Festival, announced today the seven writers selected for its second Episodic Lab. The Film Independent Episodic Lab is supported by Lead Artist Development Funder the Time Warner Foundation and Founding Sponsor Netflix. Additional support is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

The Lab is an intensive five-week program where Fellows gain the tools needed to revise and refine their pilots and navigate a changing industry landscape through personalized feedback from experienced showrunners, creative producers and executives. The 2018 Episodic Lab Creative Advisors and guest speakers include: Liz Flahive & Carly Mensch (GLOW), Elizabeth Guber Stephen of Gables Media, Glen Mazzara (The Walking Dead), Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin (The Killing), Kate Robin (One Mississippi) and Dailyn Rodriguez (Queen of the South). Fellows will be paired one-on-one with industry executive advisors and will have the opportunity to shadow in writers rooms of Netflix series. The Lab concludes with a pitch event introducing the Fellows' work to literary agents and managers as well as studio executives.

"We are thrilled to support such a distinctive group of writers in our second annual Episodic Lab. This year's projects are timely and diverse, spanning the narrative universe, including the psychedelic research of Timothy Leary, a sci-fi Greek tragedy and a misfit crew of Latinx teenagers using magical powers to protect their community at the border," said Jennifer Kushner, Director of Artist Development at Film Independent.

Film Independent will also present the Alfred P. Sloan Episodic Grant, a $10,000 development grant to support a pilot that explores Science and technology themes or that depicts scientists, engineers and mathematicians in engaging and innovative ways, to Mirella Christou for her project Seven Eternities. As part of her Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, Christou will receive a Science advisor to support the development of the series which casts a new light on sixties counterculture and the experiments of clinical psychologist Timothy Leary.

Film Independent Artist Development programs promote unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work through its Filmmaker Labs (Directing, Documentary, Episodic, Producing and Screenwriting), Grants Program which awards over $800,000 annually to filmmakers, the Fast Track finance market, Fiscal Sponsorship and Project Involve, celebrating 25 years of mentoring the next generation of visual storytellers and working toward an inclusive industry.

For more information on Film Independent Artist Development, please contact Jennifer Kushner, Director of Artist Development, at 323 556 9375. Additional information and an application form can be found at filmindependent.org.

The 2018 Episodic Lab participants and their projects are:

Title: Chingonas
Writer: Stephanie Adams-Santos
Writer/Director: Rosie Haber
Logline: When people start to go missing near the Mexican-US border, a modern Frida Kahlo and her misfit crew of Latinx Chingonas (bad-asses) must summon magical powers to protect their world.

Title: Monitor City
Writer: Rammy Park
Logline: A sci-fi Greek tragedy, Monitor City pits reluctant hero Olivia Andressa against a totalitarian system of control and surveillance, as she struggles to accept her role in the City's resistance movement while fighting to bring her fractured family back together.

Title: Outside of Philly
Writer: Henry "Hank" Jones
Logline: In an effort to be more "black," a suburban 10th grader befriends a new student with a troubled past from the city. When the two go to North Philly, they end up in a world of drug and violence-fueled trouble that ultimately cements their complicated friendship.

Title: Redd's Pond
Writer: Charley Casler
Logline: In the wake of a nor'easter that tears open a colonial cemetery, a storied New England community is forced to confront its historic ghosts as well as its contemporary demons when a scandal-plagued son returns home and a new family moves in next door.

Title: Seven Eternities
Writer: Mirella Christou
Logline: Seven Eternities follows Timothy Leary as he seeks to legitimize and evangelize psychedelic drugs, conducting ground-breaking yet controversial studies at Harvard, while being funded by intelligence conduits interested in psychological warfare.

Title: The Devil's Teeth
Writer: Christopher Abeel
Logline: A snuff tape launches a charismatic ex-con on a rogue crusade through the back alleys and dive bars of 90's New Jersey. When his Sheriff's Deputy daughter gets involved, they must set personal grudges aside in order to help him solve the larger mystery of the videotape's footage - her mother's occult ritual murder.

About Film Independent
Film Independent is the nonprofit arts organization that CHAMPIONS creative independence in visual storytelling and supports a community of artists who embody diversity, innovation and uniqueness of vision. Film Independent helps filmmakers make their movies, builds an audience for their projects, and works to diversify the film industry. Film Independent's Board of Directors, filmmakers, staff and constituents is comprised of an inclusive community of individuals across ability, age, ethnicity, gender, race and sexual orientation. Anyone passionate about film can become a Member, whether you are a filmmaker, industry professional or a film lover.

In addition to producing the Spirit Awards, Film Independent produces the LA Film Festival and a year-round screening series for its members that offers unique cinematic experiences for the Los Angeles creative community and the general public.

With over 250 annual screenings and events, Film Independent provides access to a network of like-minded artists who are driving creativity in the film industry. Film Independent's Artist Development program offers free Labs for selected writers, directors, producers and documentary filmmakers and presents year- round networking opportunities. Project Involve is Film Independent's signature program dedicated to fostering the careers of talented filmmakers from communities traditionally underrepresented in the film industry.

For more information or to become a Member, visit filmindependent.org.

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