EWA Network's Hangout with Writers Lab Europe, exclusive for EWA Network members
Join the co-founders of The Writers Lab for a casual, candid conversation about how to workshop an idea, alone and in community, and using script development labs. Elizabeth Kaiden and Nitza Wilon will answer your questions about preparing a screenplay to submit (and top reasons scripts are NOT selected); about types of content and genres; about craft and markets for screenplays; and about how to approach script development generally. The session is ideally suitable for writers of any kind and creative producers interested in story development.
Meet the speakers:
Elizabeth Kaiden – co-founder of The Writers Lab for women over 40 and a founding partner of Women in the Script Trade (WIST), both in partnership with Nitza Wilon. WIST does development work with exceptional women screenwriters individually, and ran script development labs for the Athena Film Festival in New York and Los Angeles. Elizabeth previously served as Head of Development for Tangerine Entertainment, an independent production company that produces films directed by women, and has mentored at Stowe Story Labs and for Screen Australia. A graduate of Princeton University and the Yale School of Drama, she has worked in theater administration, education and production and as a theater and film critic. Elizabeth lives in New York with her family.
Nitza Wilon – co-founded The Writers Lab for women screenwriters +40 with Elizabeth Kaiden. The Writers Lab began as a 4-day retreat intensive for 12 feature writers, and in its 8th year presents development and career support via three 6-month programs in the US, the UK & Ireland, and Europe. The Alumni, topping 100 women, have gone on to produce their films; join writers rooms; attach representation and production teams; teach at universities; and win countless awards for their stories. In 2015 Meryl Streep stood up for TWL, and since then she has been joined by Nicole Kidman, Oprah Winfrey, and Cate Blanchett. Nitza and Elizabeth also head Women in the Script Trade (WIST), which provides individual development support to women writers, and produces events for screenwriters in NY, Texas, and LA for the Athena Film Festival. Nitza’s prior work as an actor, journalist, and magazine and book editor have all primed her for her work advocating for women and amplifying their stories. She earned her BA from the Annenberg School of Communications at Univ of Penn, and lives in New York City with her family.
What's the Writers Lab?
The Writers Lab was co-founded by Elizabeth Kaiden, Nitza Wilon, and Kyle Ann Stokes, with New York Women in Film & Television. It currently produces three writers workshop that serve women writers over 40. We honor the fact that gender is personal and specific and seek to create an inclusive and supportive community. TWL offers writers the opportunity to work intensively on their features and pilots with the support of established film professionals. Mentors and Writers engage in a rigorous process of intensive script development through one-on-one meetings, panel discussions, peer workshops, and mock writers rooms. Interactions are designed to inspire the artists; to prompt creative exploration; and, through revision, to cultivate first-rate cinematic stories.
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