Sisse Graum Jorgensen, Soudade Kaadan.

Source: Les Kaner

Sisse Graum Jorgensen, Soudade Kaadan.

The Writers Lab (TWL), the script development programme for women and non-binary writers over 40, has unveiled the participants for its first European edition.

The non-profit initiative will run virtually from April 7-10, and is designed to discover an intersectional range of diverse new voices in the film sector. The successful participants will be connected with leading screenwriters and producers in the industry. 17 writers from 13 countries have been selected.  

Scroll down for the full list of participants

Mentors and guests include directors Susanne Bier (The Night Manager), Jasmila Žbanić (Quo Vadis, Aida?), Isabel Coixet (Secret Life Of Words), Nadine Labaki (Capernaum), Soudade Kaadan (The Day I Lost ), My ShadowAgnieszka Holland (Europa Europa), producer and writer Jantje Friese (Dark), playwright and writer Christina Ham (Them), and producer Ameenah Ayub Allen (Rocks, Ali and Ava).

TWL Europe is produced by co-founders Elizabeth Kaiden and Nitza Wilon in partnership with Untamed Stories, led by Julia Berg and Ruth Spencer. The UK and Ireland TWL programme backed by Cate Blanchett´s Dirty Films was launched last year, whilst the US iteration started in 2015, is produced by NYWIFT and counts Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman among its supporters. 

The 17 participants of The Writers Lab Europe 2022:

  • Regine Anour, Underdoc (Comedy, Austria)
  • E Coleman, Dumas (Historical Drama, Switzerland)
  • Ilaria Freccia & Bebetta Campeti, Hold Me Tight (Feature Drama, Italy)
  • Mumta Mala Ghedia, No Monsters in Berlin (Drama, Germany)
  • Virginie Gourmel, Concussion (Feature Thriller, Brussels - Belgium)
  • Tuija Halttunen, Hard Boiled Eggs (Feature Comedy, Finland)
  • Orla Hannon, Bereft of a Talisman ( Drama, Ireland)
  • Marta Hopfer-Gilles, Good Enough (Comedy, Norway)
  • Nicole van Kilsdonk & Marijke Schermer, Breakwater (Feature Drama, Netherlands)
  • Tereza Kotyk, Faith: A Fair Balance of Pain (Feature Drama, Austria)
  • Álfrún Örnólfsdóttir, Shitballs (Feature Comedy, Iceland)
  • Carlota Pereda, The Blondes (Feature Comedy/Thriller, Spain)
  • Ninon Schubert, The Plague Doctor (Feature Horror, Germany)
  • Raquel Stern, Imperfect Cadence ( Comedy, Germany)
  • Francesca Tasini, Unclean (Drama, Italy)
  • Dorotea Vucic, Hadi ( Sci-Fi, Croatia)
  • Agnieszka Zwiefka, She (Feature Drama, Poland)

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