EXCLUSIVE: Stowe Story Labs announced today that 16 writers or writing teams were awarded fellowships to develop 16 original projects through its Narrative Lab and Writers’ Retreats, which will be held throughout 2022.
Now in its 10th year, the 2022 Stowe Story Labs and Retreats will take place under the leadership of Founder and Director David Rocchioand. Co-Founder David Pope will be joined by mentors such as Robyn Greene Arrington, Eszter Angyalosy, Marcela Davison Avilés, Alex Boden, Shari Lynette Carpenter, Scott Collette, among others.
All fellowships are through partnerships with industry-leading individuals and organizations and cover the fees to attend a Narrative Lab and other benefits. These fellowships also include a 30-minute consultation with Stacey Davis—an entertainment attorney, Stowe Story alumna, fellowship sponsor, and Stowe Story Labs board member. Fellows also receive needed software, including StoryBoard Quick From Power Production and the newest version of Final Draft.
The first scheduled will be their 10th Annual flagship June Narrative Lab held annually in Stowe, Vermont. It will also kick off the first edition of the Vermont Film and Music Festival—organized in partnership with the Sidewalk Film Festival held annually in Birmingham, Alabama.
Stowe Story Labs is supported by The National Endowment for the Arts and through partnerships & sponsorships with SAGindie, Maven Screen Media, NYX Horror Collective, HollyShorts Film Festival,Irish Film London, Final Draft, The Law Firm of Stacey A Davis, NewEnglandFilm.com, Film Fatales,Page International Screenwriting Awards, Sidewalk Film Festival, Tangerine Entertainment, Champlain College, and The University of Vermont, and others.
“We are excited to work with these diverse, emerging talents, each bringing a compelling vision and interesting, meaningful story to us. We also want to thank our sponsors and partners—especially the NEA—for their commitment tour vision and support of the programs. We could not do this work without them, and we cannot wait to start our 2022 programs,” said David Rocchio. “These fellows will work alongside dozens of deserving and talented writers and filmmakers at our labs and retreats, helping to create a community of talented emerging artists to help each other push work forward. We Can’t wait for the programs to start,” he said.
The fellows and their respective projects selected for the 2022 Stowe Story Labs are:
The Stowe Story Labs / SAGindie Fellowship-Retreat Attendee
Couples Dir. Ahmed Qaid
In the early 1990s, a young, newlywed Yemeni couple immigrate to San Francisco in search of a new beginning but quickly find themselves drifting apart due to economic hardships, homesickness, and unattainable aspirations.
The Stowe Story Labs / SAGindie Fellowship-Lab Attendee
The Tale Of Our Totally Not Magical Christmas Sweaters Dir. Nina Hodge
In the festive days before Christmas, four lifelong friends reunite and discover a long-forgotten set of seemingly enchanted Christmas sweaters from their childhood. Will this Yuletide magic be enough to help them overcome family secrets, evolving friendships, and conniving exes in time to have a happy holiday?
The Stowe Story Labs / Maven Screen Media Fellowship
Green-Wood Dir. Rebecca Miller
When their eternal resting place is overrun by visitors, the distinguished, deceased residents of Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery must overcome their differences to defend their home from a terrifying new threat: the living.
The Stowe Story Labs Diverse Voices Fellowship
An Astronaut Returns Dir. Christopher Manydeeds
In 2150, Astronaut Robert “Bounce” Turtle returns to earth after being on a 100-year mission, only to find everything changed. Hunted by armed agents and mobs, Robert must go to his home on Standing Rock.
The Stowe Story Labs / NYX HORROR COLLECTIVE Fellowship</b
Marked Dir. Sandra Campbell
A paranormal psychologist and her team investigate an infamous house whose past occupants have met a gruesome end; however, in the process, she discovers her own shocking connection to the place, which could lead to her demise.
The Stowe Story Labs / HollyShorts Fellowship
Re Possessed Dir. Oona O’Leary
A young acoustician in LasVegas teams up with a new-age grifter when she learns that capturing things that go bump in the night is more lucrative than soundproofing them.
The Stowe Story Labs / Irish Film London Fellowship
A Difference Dir. Ewen Glass
A grown-up family, still coming to terms with the complicated legacy of fostering scores of troubled kids, struggles to stay close while navigating their lives, loves and losses in modern Belfast.
The Stowe Story Labs / Final Draft Fellowship
Devil’s Bend Dir. Brian Padian
When an anxiety-prone actress leaves Los Angeles for the summer to relax at a remote property in the Sierra Nevada mountains with her husband, she discovers bloodshed occurred there centuries earlier and that a vengeance-seeking ghost is tracking her.
The Stowe Story Labs / Law Firm of Stacey A. Davis Fellowship
Bodice Rippers Dir. Laura Mannino
When a secretive American romance fanfic writer collides with a gay runaway British princess in the Scottish Highlands, they set out together to search for love during a brewing independence movement.
The StoweStory Labs / NewEnglandFilm.com Fellowship
Away With The Fairies Dir. Dr. Sarah Zeiser
After witnessing her cousin Bridget Cleary being burned alive, 19th-century Irish mother Hanney Burke must weigh her faith and beliefs against the truth demanded of her by the colonizing British legal system.
The Stowe Story Labs / Film Fatales Fellowship
No Love Lost Dir. Diana Peralta
When a troubled young woman brings her enigmatic boyfriend home to meet her family, her devoted but insular sisters reveal the extremes they will go to protect one another.
PAGE International Screenwriting Awards Fellowship
The Hill Dir. Nevil Jackson
In his first year as a high teacher, a young Black man from Harlem struggles to navigate the politics and prejudices of life at a boarding school in the whitest place in America–Maine.
The Stowe Story Labs / Sidewalk Film Festival Fellowship
Fletcher: Teen Detective Dir. Cara-Lynn Branch
A jaded former child detective is pulled back into the sleuthing game by an ex-friend and uncovers that the real secrets are the ones we hide from ourselves.
The Tangerine Entertainment Fellowship
Accountable Dir. Marni Sullivan
An emotionally damaged bounty hunter who captures corporate criminals makes a devil’s deal with the government to find the man who killed her family and destroyed the world’s economy.
Champlain College Division of Communication and Creative Media Fellowship
Tomorrow is Today Dir. Emma Worthge
After a stunted man finds the love of his life in a therapist’s waiting room, he must go on a journey to find her, breaking all romantic conventions (and a few laws) in the process.
The University of Vermont Fellowship
Something Old; Something New Dir. Annika Ringen
Every straight man in his twenties needs that one special lady who can rein him in and get him to settle. And sometimes, that woman is in her seventies.
To check out their full bios and mentee honorable mentions, please visit the Stowe Story Labs website.
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