The M
Film Lab

Tales of Identity & Imagination Spring 2025 program:

Storytelling has the power to challenge perspectives, foster empathy, and bring unheard voices to the forefront. The M Film Lab is dedicated to discovering and nurturing stories that reflect the experiences of minorities, immigrants, and underrepresented communities. Open to writers of all backgrounds, this lab is a space where diverse narratives are championed, authentic voices are amplified, and bold storytelling is cultivated. If you have a screenplay that needs to be told, this is the place to bring it to life. We are looking for 6 incredible writers, to join the M Lab’s Spring 2025 program, where they will receive direct one-on-one mentorship at the hands of 6 experienced industry professionals over the course of 2 weeks. In the end, 1 of the 6 scripts will be optioned for production!

Women of Color Spring 2024 program:

More technically skillful, the female screenwriters of today are diversifying genres and changing the landscape by creating more female-driven stories, told with more courage and confidence than ever.  Modern screenpay mavens like Diablo Cody and Greta Gerwig, have proven to be both creatively and financially bankable.  So, with this fantastic and long-overdue wave of recognition and success for female screenwriters, we look to create opportunities for women of color. If you are skilled a screenwriter, who identifies as a woman of color, and who has a unique and indelible cinematic voice, the Spring 2024 M Film Lab is for you.   Submit your best 10-12-minute short film screenplay, genre & topic of your choosing, and show us why you belong in our lab. Six (6) talented women of color will be selected to participate in the week-long lab, and one winner will be selected to have her short film produced!

Fall 2023 Program: indigenous screenwriters

With representation of Indigenous peoples and culture in film and TV at shamefully low levels, and with the inaccurate and harmful portrayals of Native peoples, Hollywood has been perhaps an unwitting accomplice in the institutionalized erasure of Native peoples. For too long, Native people have been erased from history, the present, and popular culture. But it doesn’t have to be this way: the indigenous peoples of North America contribute to every aspect of society and are a living testament to survival, resilience and resistance. 

Spring 2023 Program: South Asian Screenwriters

Despite recent gains, South Asians are among the most underrepresented minority groups in film and TV.  Even more woeful than the numbers, is the quality of their representation. Whenever South Asians appear on screen, they are often treated poorly in the storyline. Characters are often invisible, stereotyped, tokenized, almost always reflect tired tropes – all which point to a dearth in the quality of the writing.  That is why we are focusing our Spring 2023 program on finding and empowering talented screenwriters of South Asian descent. We are looking for scripts of any genre and subject matter, so long as they are written in the authentic voice of the writer.

Fall 2022 Program: AMPLIFYING LATINX STORIES

Despite comprising a significant and rapidly increasing segment of the audience, and a higher-than national average of the spend on entertainment (streaming services, box office), Latinx stories continue to be underrepresented on the screen. Beyond the increase in demand, and the economic argument for creating more Latinx content, there is an immense depth and richness of stories, with varied cultural nuances and breadth of experiences, that remains largely untapped. Hollywood continues to forgo this veritable goldmine of stories for exhausted tropes of narco-culture. The M Film lab’s goal is to explore genuine and authentic stories from a Latinx perspective, that defy this reductionist trend. We are looking for stories of any genre and subject matter, so long as they are delivered with a uniquely latinx voice.

Spring 2022 Program: EMPOWERING BLACK SCREENWRITERS

We are proud to announce the launch of the M Film Lab's Spring 2022 program, focusing on developing the talents of Black screenwriters. This is an opportunity for Black screenwriters to submit a working draft of a 15-minute short film screenplay for a chance to have it produced. You will work with a team of acclaimed mentors and industry professionals in virtual, 1-on-1 sessions over the course of 10 days to develop that screenplay and submit it for consideration to the M Film Lab Board. The best screenplay will be filmed and produced!**

Fall 2021 Program: Muslims in the West

Tired of seeing harmful stereotypes of Muslims on film & TV? Then this is your chance to help us change the narrative! M Film Lab is a free-to-join screenwriting workshop and mentorship opportunity for storytellers and creators committed to fair artistic representation of Muslims and Islam in film & television. Six (6) talented artists will be selected to work with acclaimed industry professionals to develop their screenplays, and the top screenplay will be guaranteed production! Applications are now closed. Congratulations to those selected to participate in our Fall 2021 Program! Thank you to all who applied.