Outfest, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit that uplifts global LGBTQIA+ creators in the entertainment industry by providing career support and curating the exhibition and preservation of queer and transgender stories has selected ten queer and transgender writers from diverse backgrounds for their 2022 Outfest Screenwriting Lab. The selected fellows will workshop feature-length and pilot scripts during a week-long lab, taking place virtually from Monday, 5 December to Friday, 9 December. The 2022 Outfest Screenwriting Lab is run in partnership with Netflix’s Fund for Creative Equity.
Created in 1997 as a screenwriting contest, the Outfest Screenwriting Lab has since become the cornerstone of Outfest’s artist development and education programs. Beyond workshopping their scripts, this year’s cohort will attend industry panels and be mentored by distinguished LGBTQIA+ showrunners, writers, producers, studio and network executives, and screenwriters. Some of the industry leaders participating include Álvaro Rodriguez (Seis Manos, American Rust), Brian Boone (CAA), Chloe Keenan (Single Drunk Female), Cole Galvin (Netflix), Jeffrey Richman (Modern Family, Uncoupled), John August (Big Fish), LaToya Morgan (Parenthood, Shameless), Mercedes Valle (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow), Sanaz Yamin (Day Zero Productions), Ryan O’Connell (Special), and Will Graham (Mozart in the Jungle, A League of Their Own), among others.
With support from Netflix, Outfest expanded access to the program by waiving submission fees for all applicants and will be providing career sustainability grants to help financially support each of the fellows. Through this expanded access, the Outfest Screenwriting Lab received a record number of over 900 submissions, more than double the amount received in 2021.
This year’s fellows include: Bri J. Hernandez, Donovan Tolledo, Estevan, James Acker, Joseph Sackett, Katie Heaney, Paloma Riojas, Riya Saxena, Rubén Mendive and Vernon Jordan, III.
“The Outfest Screenwriting Lab is a testament to the power of community. An all LGBTQIA+ experience, the entire Lab is for us, by us. Across 25 years, Outfest has created a community of creative and professional support where queer, trans and nonbinary storytellers and stories can be held with care and understood in full bloom,” said Outfest educational programs manager Kieran Medina.
“Outfest’s Screenwriting Lab is a critical part of the organizations larger vision of cultivating belonging for queer, trans and nonbinary creators by facilitating mentorship to support a sustainable creative journey. It’s care-driven storytelling like this that transforms our communities, creative industry and wider world,” said Outfest artist development director Martine McDonald.
The Lab is also providing industry support to thirteen additional Notable Writers, which include Adelina Anthony, Adina Kruskal, Chasey Ridgley, Drew Burnett Gregory, Ernesto Martínez, Gerard Shaka, Joseph Pellegrino, Kate Imy, Nathan Pearson, Nick Janaye, Robert Cunningham, Sebastián Rea and Stevie Wain.
The Lab was developed this year by Outfest board members Zackery Alexzander Stephens, Kyle Schmitz, Ranard Caldwell and Valerie Stadler, along with former Outfest board member Cora Olson, Outfest educational programs manager Kieran Medina and Outfest director of artist development Martine McDonald.
Outfest artist development director Martine McDonald and several of the 2022 Outfest Screenwriting Lab Fellows are available for interviews upon request.