Our Fellows Advice on Applying to Fi Labs: Spotlight Your Story
“When I applied, I was very stuck.” said Naomi Iwamoto. “I was really looking for a cohort to give me fresh eyes and honest opinions on my script. The [Screenwriting] Lab helped me clarify what I wanted to say and the core of my story,” expanded Iwamoto, a writer-director, Film Independent Fellow, and guest speaker at last week’s Spotlight Your Story panel.
Hosted by Associate Director of Fiction Programs Dea Vazquez and Fiction Programs Manager Ashley Flores, the ‘Spotlight Your Story: Applying to Film Independent’s Artist Development Programs’ virtual information session featured an overview of the Screenwriting Lab and the Episodic Directing Intensive, informing prospective applicants on what to expect and how to make their applications stand out . Joining them were accomplished fellows Mary Dauterman (Fast Track 2023, Screenwriting Lab 2024, Episodic Directing Intensive 2025), Erin Lau (Project Involve 2021, Episodic Directing 2022), and Naomi Iwamoto (Screenwriting Lab 2024).
THE PROGRAMS
The Screenwriting Lab
The talk covered the Screenwriting Lab through which Film Independent selects six feature-length projects for this fully in-person two-week workshop. This Lab connects writers with creative advisors (an established writer or writer/director) and allows them to workshop their script and a 5-minute project pitch with a supportive group of fellows.
Film Independent is looking for bold stories told from an authentic point of view and a strong sense of voice, theme, and character. Writers can submit projects of all genres, and aside from a completed draft, the main requirement, Vazquez says, is that “This is the project that you really want to make. You can’t move forward as a film maker until you’ve made this project.”
Iwamoto, whose project revolved around a high school girl who loses her best friend and learns to love her mother, said the Lab impacted her script in infinite ways, helping her clarify what she wanted to say. The Lab “reminds you why you want to tell your specific story,” added Dauterman, who fondly recounted lunch breaks spent workshopping one another’s projects and how she felt reinvigorated with her project by the program’s end. The two also noted the Lab’s impact on their writing and scripts. While Iwamoto said, “You really need community to make your script better,” Dauterman lauded the advice from her story editor mentor, a connection she maintains to this day.
The Episodic Lab
The Episodic Directing Intensive is a three-day virtual program, consisting of panels with veteran TV directors, showrunners, executives, actors, and other crew members to prepare directors for a career in scripted episodic television. The program selects six directors with experience in fiction short films, fiction features, or commercial directing. Selected fellows become lifelong Fellows with year-round support from Film Independent.
“If you’re a visiting director or it’s not your show, you are fitting into a system that is already working,” says Dauterman, so “[getting] to talk to DPs and editors, talking to keys that would be your collaborators, was really interesting to learn what you can bring as a director and what can you learn and when should you listen.” And for Lau, learning how to take an interview, what expectations a showrunner has, and common mistakes for new directors, helped her when she directed her first episode: “I went back and looked at my notes before I had my interview for the show and when I was in prep.”
GRANTS
Applicants can also be considered for grants in both programs should they or their project qualify. The first is the Climate Entertainment Development Grant, a $25,000 grant developed by Plot Shift Media and Film Independent awarded to one filmmaker—accepted into the Screenwriting Lab or Fast Track Program—with a project elevating the climate crisis. $5,000 must be put toward packaging the project, and the grant committee will prioritize projects that “inspire feelings of possibility and agency when it comes to climate solutions, especially through characters and genres not traditionally associated with ‘climate stories.’”
Applicants for the Screenwriting Lab and the Episodic Directing Intensive can also apply to the Cayton Goldrich Family Foundation Fellowship, which provides $10,000 grants to two Jewish filmmakers accepted into any Artist Development Program, or the MPAC Hollywood Bureau Fellowship, which awards $10,000 grants to two Muslim-American filmmakers accepted into any Artist Development Program.
WHAT MAKES A STRONG APPLICATION
With hundreds of applications to each program, how can you ensure your application stands out? Vazquez and Flores emphasized the importance of the cover letter and artistic statement, where applicants can underscore why this project, this program, and why now as well as who they are and how they envision the project. They also emphasized the importance of professionality, copyediting, and utilizing all the real estate of the application to show readers who you are. When asked if a great script could be denied given a so-so application, Vazquez pitched in: “[The application] is a reflection of how seriously you’re going to take the program.”
The fellows also gave their advice on applying:
Dauterman: “It’s useful to say what you want help with. You’re applying to this program with a project you love, but you know it’s not perfect. If you can articulate, ‘Here’s what I think I would get out of the program,’ it will help you have clarity.”
Lau: “Being specific is really important, not only in telling your individual story but also in [answering] why this program. Really do your homework… You can tell when there’s a copy and paste answer versus how this specific program will benefit [someone] where they’re at.”
Iwamoto: “In application, you’re showing your ability to be a storyteller. Even when you’re talking about yourself, it’s an opportunity to show your storytelling skills.
WHEN TO APPLY
Both applications are now open. For the Screenwriting Lab, applications close on August 25, 2025, for Non-Members and September 8, 2025, for Members. For the Episodic Directing Intensive, applications are due for Non-Members on September 22, 2025, while the Member deadline is October 6, 2025.
More importantly, though, writers should apply for the Screenwriting Lab when they have “a script that [they’re] really passionate about and want guidance on,” says Iwamoto. The Lab is also great for those who have worked in TV or commercials and are now hoping to move to the feature world.
Directors should apply for the Episodic Directing Intensive after they’ve gained experience managing a large crew and have developed a strong body of work. Vazquez recommended 3-5 shorts but emphasized that all directorial fiction samples were welcome. While episodic samples are also welcome, this Intensive is mainly for those transitioning into the scripted episodic world. For example, Dauterman had done commercials and even made her first feature, but she was eager to dip her toe into the storytelling prowess of TV. Lau had been a PA for various TV shows but noted “it’s very elusive finding that entry point, and TV directing is its own artform. [The Intensive] was really really helpful.”
So, if you’re eager to collaborate with other talented filmmakers, take the next step with your script, or learn more about the film and television landscape, make sure to apply. These programs provide invaluable feedback and lifelong relationships, and, as Iwamoto noted, “Being a part of the bigger Film Independent family has been amazing; it really does feel like you’re a part of something bigger.”
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