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EXCLUSIVE: In an expansion of its Lab program, the Black List has named the projects and writers for its inaugural Projects Lab. The six writers are developing feature projects they intend to direct. The Lab program, now in its eleventh year, provides creative mentorship and professional support to promising screenwriters during a weeklong workshop in Ojai, CA.
This year’s writers are Dylan James Amick (The Estranged), Steve Anthopoulos (My Summer in the Human Existence), Meghan Lennox (Gay For Amy), Alex Murawski (Walking In Iowa), Gabriella Mykal (Fuzzy), and Alexandra Qin (Thirstygirl). The Black List selected these writers from over 1,700 script submissions on blcklst.com.
During the Lab, each writer will develop their screenplay through peer workshops and one-on-one sessions with working professional screenwriting mentors, including Hannah Fidell (A Teacher), Liz Hannah (The Girl From Plainville), Maryam Keshavarz (The Persian Version), Sarah Adina Smith (Birds of Paradise), Axelle Carolyn (The Manor), and Scott Myers of Go Into The Story.
Submissions for the 2025 iteration of both programs are open on the Black List website. The Black List will be looking for the strongest screenplays for both tracks–material with strong characters and a strong concept–as well as writers who have strong professional instincts who are looking to build long-term careers in the entertainment industry. Both tracks remain focused on the goal of having all twelve writers emerge with the strongest possible script and the knowledge of how to move forward in their careers, whatever the direction.
Annual Lab alumni have gone on to have successful careers in both film and television, both as writers and filmmakers. Previous Black List Lab alumni include Claire Ayoub (Empire Waist), Minhal Baig (We Grown Now), Tom Dean (Carolina Caroline), Savion Einstein (A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow), Gia Gordon (Law and Order), Jimmy Keyrouz (Broken Keys), Dagny Looper (The Resort), Noga Pnueli (Meet Cute), Michelle Steffes (For When You Get Lost), and Jason Young (The Magic Flute).
The 20th anniversary of the Black List is expected to drop in mid-December. Stay tuned.
Below are the 2024 Writers Lab Projects and bios of their respective writers:
THE ESTRANGED by Dylan James Amick
Logline: After their abusive mother’s suicide, two estranged brothers reunite to clean out and sell their childhood home. As the project and their personal lives spiral out of control, they discover the house is haunted by more than their dark memories.
Dylan James Amick grew up in southern Virginia with a stutter, so after a decade of speech therapy, he considers every word carefully. He writes horror that questions what it means to be a monster, and his dream is to create films that make other recovering weird kids feel less alone. Currently, he lives in Los Angeles with his biggest fan (his wife) and his biggest critic (his cat).
MY SUMMER IN THE HUMAN RESISTANCE by Steve Anthopoulos
Logline: A socially awkward young man is glad that robots have taken over the world, until he falls in love with a handsome anti-robot revolutionary and joins the human resistance.
Steve Anthopoulos is a comedy writer and director. His short film VOICE ACTIVATED was an official selection of the 2023 Tribeca Festival and was nominated for an Australian Writer’s Guild award and an Australian Academy Award. In 2022 he wrote and directed MY SUMMER IN THE HUMAN RESISTANCE, a proof of concept short made through The Black List / Hornitos ‘Take Your Shot’ initiative, which premiered internationally at the 2023 Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Festival.
GAY FOR AMY by Meghan Lennox
Logline: In 1994 suburban New Jersey, 14-year-old Ana finds herself reckoning with increasingly unavoidable feelings for her lifelong best friend as they are about to embark on their freshman year of high school.
Meghan Lennox spent the last 15 years playing a variety of roles in the industry, from casting director to actor to producer and is thankful to have found her way home as a writer/ director. She currently lives in L.A. with her two kids, Jack and Hudson.
WALKING IN IOWA by Alex Murawski
Logline: After her son accidentally drowns, a reclusive photographer rebuilds her life in Montana where she falls in love with a kind widower, but her newfound happiness is threatened by a secret from her past.
Alex Murawski is a screenwriter and director inspired by the hidden wounds of being human. His short films KISS, ARI and SNOW have screened at nearly 100 film festivals and received 7 million views online. Academy Award nominee Bruce Beresford is Executive Producer on his feature screenplay, WALKING IN IOWA.
FUZZY by Gabriella Mykal
Logline: Spurred on by her childhood best friend, a pink fuzzy monster, and her new crush, a closeted high schooler embarks on a psychosexual exploration of love and violence.
Gabriella Mykal is a Queer West Indian American filmmaker, writer, and visual artist. Her work treats personal trauma as an access point to humor and social hyperreality, combining narrative, non-fiction, and experimental techniques to explore radical vulnerability, femme friendship, and sexual dysfunction as grounds for political discourse.
THIRSTYGIRL by Alexandra Qin
Logline: When her estranged alcoholic sister lands in the hospital after a relapse, Charlie reluctantly agrees to drive her from New York to a rehab in Kentucky. But she must deal with a secret addiction of her own along the way.
Alexandra Qin is a French-Filipino-Chinese screenwriter and director with a background in software engineering and prison reform activism. Alexandra’s first short film, Thirstygirl, based on her award-winning feature screenplay by the same name, was an official selection of Sundance 2024, among many other festivals. She is currently developing the Thirstygirl feature with Asher Goldstein (Short Term 12, Just Mercy) and Carlos López Estrada’s production company Antigravity Academy (Didi).
