2024 Black List Feature Writer Labs

Two unique screenwriting labs set in beautiful Ojai, California.

From the good folks at the Black List.

Want to join us this fall in Ojai for a week of intensive peer workshops, deep script development with @gointothestory, and professional mentorship from established screenwriters and filmmakers? Then don’t miss the deadline for our 2024 Annual Labs, which is just SIX WEEKS AWAY! Head over to blcklst.com/programs to learn more about how to submit your script today…

This year, we have two distinct Labs for storytellers + filmmakers — read on to learn more about which Annual Lab might be best for YOU!

The Writers Lab is for writers who intend to further develop feature scripts that they intend to sell and/or use as voice samples. Writers in this cohort should have a strong interest in working within the studio system. The Writers Lab will meet the week of 10/14/24 in Ojai.

The Projects Lab is for writers who want to develop feature projects which they also intend to direct. Directing samples will be required for the writer-director track, but will not be a consideration in the final selection. The Projects Lab will meet the week of 11/11/24 in Ojai.

The deadline for both 2024 Black List Labs is coming up VERY SOON — mark July 1, 2024 down in your calendar today, filmmakers!

The very first Black List feature writers lab took place in 2013. I was there as a mentor and story workshop leader. Every year since that inaugural event, I have taken part in each feature writers lab: 23 in all to date.

I’m scheduled to return this fall to both of these events: The Writers Lab and the Projects Lab.

Here are some comments from participants in the 2023 lab:

Jainaba Secken: The Lab was so thoughtfully curated. Each item on the agenda allowed us to grow closer. By the time we had our 6-hour workshop session with our Lab Dad (Scott), we had developed so much trust, respect, and pure admiration for one another. This allowed our workshop session to be incredibly productive, fun, and safe.

Christopher Kim: The new friends I made in Ojai understood the heart of that story, and spent a lot of time and energy helping me to hone that into the strongest screenplay possible.

Kathryn Prescott: Scott really cares about his mentees. He gave great notes that took into account the script you actually set out to write. He took the time to learn what we were trying to say with our scripts and structured our sessions around bringing those key elements to the forefront.

Jake Burnstein & Brandon Verdi: For us professionally, more has happened in the few short weeks since the lab than has happened in the previous ten years combined. We signed with a manager we’re super excited about, and our script is already being sent out.

Lisabelle Tay: For writers on the margins of power, access — or the lack thereof — marks the difference between serious pursuit and material impossibility. Initiatives like the Lab make possible the tilting of the scales. Suddenly, the dream contains within itself the seed of reality. For this, and for so much else, I will always be grateful.

For me, the lab experience is intense and inspirational. Intense because there is a ton of time involved in preparation: reading creative statements, reviewing multiple screenplays, assembling feedback. Then there is the event itself and especially the group workshop, a 3–4 hour session where each writer has the chance to share their notes. I’m responsible for overseeing the ebb and flow of those conversations, and to help each writer come away with a starting point for their rewrite process.

But after every lab as I fly home, I have the same feeling, a combination of exhaustion and exhilaration. Working so intimately with a talented and creative group of writers inspires me, both as a writer and a teacher.

I look forward to participating in both labs again this year. Plus, I love Ojai!

To read more reflections of previous Black List lab writers, go here.

For more information on The Writers Lab and The Projects Lab, go here.