Storytelling structure
Absorb, understand and execute the fundamentals of the universal three-act structure and how they work in all genres.
Learn the core skills of screenwriting and build your story into a solid ready-to-pitch screenplay draft.
Absorb, understand and execute the fundamentals of the universal three-act structure and how they work in all genres.
Develop the central premise or theme of your film to unify story, characters and plot into an impactful whole.
Learn and deploy world-building techniques to create original and evocative settings for your characters.
Study and workshop the creation of three-dimensional, authentic characters with layered emotions, conflicts and complete character arcs.
Known as the - ‘lifeblood of the screenplay” dialogue is a crucial part of character development, giving each character a unique voice. Professional formatting and accepted global industry standards all affect the presentation of your script - make sure you get them right!
Discover how to keep your audience engaged by setting up and paying off twists, and developing plot and sub plots that deepen your story. Enhance dramatic conflict and learn how to use tension and timing in your story to propel your protagonist towards a great ending.
Writing is re-writing. Learn key re-writing techniques that will continue to advance your screenplay, moving forward from the Lab.
Practice this essential collaboration skill for script development with your peers, advisors and teachers.
Learn how to join the active and educated global community of screenwriting alumni and industry professionals
Know how to convey your story through a well presented written pitch, through impactful loglines and synopses and also by moving your audience’s attention towards a concise, original and well presented verbal pitch.
You should apply to this Lab if you want to build a solid and practical foundation of Screenwriting and take practical inputs from international faculty to get a global perspective.
Only Indian citizens above 18+ years of age can apply. Indian citizens residing outside of India are also eligible to apply, however, they need to make payments via an Indian bank account.
Submission Requirements: This is an IDEA to First Draft Lab; hence you should apply with a feature film project that is early stages of development. You don't need to have a script while applying to the Lab. We just need the following during application:
Please see this link to know more about our submission requirements
30 upcoming filmmaker-writers will be chosen for the Lab
The Lab will include academic sessions by the faculty and industry guests focused on the fundamentals of screenwriting, networking and pitching. The participants will go through these sessions while developing their feature film scripts.
Only for final participants Scholarships Available EMI Available
*Taxes extra. All fee are one-time and non-refundable
Applications Closed
Executive Lab Director
Lab Instructor
Lab Instructor
Lab Instructor
CEO, Aamir Khan Productions
Producer - The Hunt for Veerappan
Artistic Director, New Zealand International Film Festival
Head - Writers and Directors at Tulsea
(Cinematographer and Producer - All We Imagine As Light)
(Writer, Filmmaker - Shubh Mangal Saavdhan)
Writer, Director, Screenwriting Professor at Tisch NYU
Writer - Scam 1992
Screenwriter, Inside Out
Producer, Tangerine and The Florida Project
Screenwriter - Vicky Donor, Piku
Filmmaker - Bangalore Days, Koode
We are only accepting up to 30 participants.
The medium of instruction will be English.
This Lab will be conducted online between October 2024 to March 2025. We will organize 1-2 sessions per week and each session will be conducted for not more than 2-3 hours each. There will be academic sessions and guest speaker sessions along with a few one-on-one mentor sessions. The exact dates and timings of the Lab schedule will be emailed to you closer to the start of the Lab.
You should apply to the Lab if you’re looking to:
The Lab is open to all kinds of narrative fiction full-length feature film projects across genres and languages. We are not accepting documentary or short films for this Lab.
While we will share the exact dates and timings with the selected participants, the Lab sessions will either be conducted early mornings or in the evenings.
With 1-2 class and guest sessions, pre-work and writing your script, you should expect to dedicate 14 hours per week to the Lab.
You will need a good internet connection and the Zoom website and mobile app plus the ability to read and view assignments online. If you don’t know how to operate Zoom, an assistant from our team will take you through it.
The pitchfest will be conducted online only for the top 10 shortlisted participants.
If you are selected in the top 10, you will be required to shoot a 2-min video pitch for the industry pitching session that will take place at the end of the Lab, sometime in March 2024 (exact dates will be provided towards the end of Lab). This video pitch will be played during the pitch event.
We will take you through sessions on how to make a good video pitch, to ensure that you make a good pitch video. You are required to arrange your own shooting and video recording equipment to shoot the pitch video.
Please note Writers INK reserves the right to cancel your Pitch showcase if it does not meet the presentation quality that it requires.
We will be inviting programmers, studios, producers, talent managers and other industry professionals for the pitchfest.
Yes, everyone will get to attend the pitchfest, in fact we highly encourage it.
Since this will be an online event, there won’t be any networking. But you will be provided contacts of the attendees, so that you can connect with them after the pitch. The attendees will also be provided a catalog of all the participating projects with the contact details of the participants, so that they can directly reach out to the participants. We will also help facilitate connections in case an industry professional reaches out to us and shows interest in any of the screenwriters.
Ideally we will only take one of the writers. However, in case we have space in the Lab, we can keep the co-writer in the waitlist.
The Lab recordings will be available to the participants for a period of 6 months after the end of the Lab
You will be provided the recordings of the sessions in case you cannot attend one. But we strongly recommend that to get the full benefit of the Lab, you should attend the live sessions, as they are going to be interactive and avoid skipping the sessions unless there is an emergency.
You can choose to opt out of pitching. But we highly recommend you attend the Pitch event to hear the pitches of your fellow participants.
If you have a co-writer, you can apply to the Lab, however, only one of you will be eligible to attend the Lab
You are eligible if you meet the following criteria:
As long you have an Indian citizenship, you are eligible to apply, however, if you get selected you will need to pay the participation fee via an Indian bank account.
You do not need a completed script to apply to this Lab. Please see the form to see what documents are required for application
No. This is a IDEA - to - First Draft Lab and not a Script Rewriting program.
The script must be submitted in English language but the film can be in any Indian language
The Lab is open to all the languages of India. The script, however, must be submitted in English.
The Lab will be conducted in English.
The Lab is open to all kinds of projects across genres and languages.
No, you have to apply with only one idea that you want to develop in the Lab.
Absolutely, you can apply for the next Lab.
Yes, you can apply, as long as the dates of the Labs won’t clash, because you will be expected to devote time to both the Labs.
You can apply for the Lab by filling this form.
No, unfortunately you won’t be able to do that. So you have to fill the form in one go. Hence we suggest that you go through the questions of the sections and keep the answers ready so that you can submit all the information at one attempt.
No, you won’t be able to edit the information after you have submitted the form.
Please email us your questions at writersink@inktalks.com
Please ensure that you don’t upload more than 1 MB per document and try again. If you are still facing problems, email us the screenshot of the problem you are facing at writersink@inktalks.com
No, please make sure you don’t upload the full script. Only participants in the early stages of development of their ideas, looking to achieve a good first-draft of their script, are eligible to apply.
The application fee is a one-time, non refundable fee.
The Lab participation fee has to paid only by the selected participants. The payment will have to be made within 48 hours of the finalist announcements. We will get in touch with the finalists to explain the payment process of the Lab participation fee.
No, once paid, the Lab participation fee is non-refundable.
We only accept online payments, via netbanking, debit card and credit card. Please ensure you make payments through an Indian bank account only. Yes, you can pay in 4 equal installments.
Yes, limited scholarships are available. Please select the scholarships option in the form and we will reach out to you.
Please select the scholarships option in the form and we will reach out to you. We will then conduct an interview and/or require a written application for the same.
Please email us at writersink@inktalks.com and let us know the issue you faced during the payment stage.
Please email us at writersink@inktalks.com and we will check our records.
