Reel Sisters + BRIC Scriptwriting Lab: Create Strong Female Characters

Reel Sisters + BRIC Screenwriting Lab

August 24-26, 2023 @BRIC || August 27, VENUE: TBA

Are you seeking a nurturing environment to revise your screenplay? Do you have a project in development and need to refine your first screenplay? Are you interested in creating strong female characters that resonate with audiences?

Reel Sisters + BRIC Screenwriting Lab is a weekend-long course designed to give independent screenwriters the opportunity to work intensively on scripts for television, film and streaming platforms like OWN, Netflix and Amazon. Join a writers' boot camp devoted to developing risk-taking narratives and creating scripts with richly layered female characters.

Writers will work in small groups and one-on-one with veteran writer/producer Valerie Woods was a Writer/Co-Executive Producer on Season 1 of the Disney+ series The Crossover. She also worked in the same position for the limited series The Big Cigar, coming soon to Apple TV+. Valerie is one of four Syd Field Screenwriting Method Instructors trained by Mr. Field.

You will enjoy a weekend working in a supportive environment of professional producers, directors and screenwriters dedicated to helping you achieve your writing goals. This is a unique and valuable opportunity for you to revise key elements of your feature length or short film script and work on a dynamic elevator pitch.

Eligibility + Application: Writers must submit a synopsis (1 page maximum) and short sample of the screenplay (10 pages maximum) they would they would like to develop during the summer intensive. At the end of the lab, several screenwriters will have an opportunity to showcase an excerpt of their work at a staged reading hosted by Reel Sisters and BRIC in the fall. Writing teams are welcome.

Registration Fee: $225, plus Eventbrite Fees (includes application fee). Lab slots are limited so register in advance. If you are not accepted, you will receive a $200 refund (the application fee is non-refundable). You will be e-mailed a secure link to send your writing sample and synopsis shortly after you register.

ABOUT REEL SISTERS & BRIC

The Scriptwriting Lab is co-presented by Reel Sisters, the first Oscar Qualifying Festival for short narratives devoted to women filmmakers, and BRIC, the leading presenter of free cultural programming in Brooklyn, and one of the largest in New York City. BRIC presents and incubates new work by artists and media-makers who reflect the diversity that surrounds us. Reel Sisters Film Festival will be held on October 21-22, 2023.

For more information visit www.reelsisters.org | www.BRICartsmedia.org.

INSTRUCTOR'S BIO

Valerie C. Woods is a writer/producer in television and film and is also a publisher, editor, and author. Recently (2022), she was a Writer/Co-Executive Producer on Season 1 of the Disney+ series The Crossover. She also worked in the same position for the limited series The Big Cigar, coming soon to Apple TV+.

During Valerie’s 25+ plus years as a member of WGAw, she has also written on one hour drama series four CBS, Lifetime, Netflix, OWN, and Showtime. Her writer/producer credits include Sweet Magnolias (S2), Queen Sugar (S4), Any Day Now (S1-4). Her episode “Family is Family” was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award, Soul Food (S4) and Touched by an Angel (S2). Valerie’s career began after being awarded a Fellowship with Walt Disney Studios.

Currently, she is developing through her MCV Productions banner three projects: a limited series based on Wrapped in Rainbows – The Life of Zora Neale Hurston, the award-winning biography written by Valerie Boyd; an episodic TV series adapted from A Cowboy to Remember, and the Cowboys of California romance trilogy by Rebekah Weatherspoon; and a screenplay, Homecoming, adapted from the historical Christmas romance written by NAACP Award-Winning author, Beverly Jenkins.

As one of four instructors trained by acclaimed screenwriter author and teacher Syd Field, Valerie has served as Creative Director for Syd Field – The Art of Visual Storytelling platform. She also taught as Adjunct Faculty in the Stephens College Low-Residency MFA in TV and Screenwriting program (2016-2020). In Fall 2020, Valerie joined the University of Georgia as a Screenwriting Mentor in their Low-Residency MFA in Narrative Media Writing.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series