1497 has revealed the finalists of its third annual Features Lab. See their bios below.
The lab is designed to elevate and develop screenplays by writers of South Asian descent, while providing career support. It aims to empower writers in the South Asian diaspora to write whatever stories they feel compelled to tell, unbounded by genre, cultural content, geographic location, or any other stereotypical expectation.
Established in 2020 by Adeel Ahmed, Lipica Shah, and Kamran Khan, 1497 has been steadfast in its commitment to championing and empowering South Asian talent, countering their historical marginalization and year preceding colonization in what is now recognized as South Asia.
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1497 Selects Mentees For South Asian-Focused Writers Lab
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1497 Sets Finalists For Inaugural Writers Lab With Mentors Gurinder Chadha, Aneesh Chaganty And Maryam Keshavarz
Sponsored by Final Draft, the 2023 Features Lab will guide three Mentees through a comprehensive, multi-tiered journey during a five-day retreat in Malibu. This transformative process will begin with working with Sundance filmmaker and seasoned script consultant Adrienne Weiss, to bolster the refinement of their feature film scripts.
In addition, each Mentee will be assigned a pod of Mentors, fostering a dynamic exchange of perspectives and insights to sculpt their career pathways. As previously disclosed, this year’s Mentors include Mira Nair (Mirabai Films), Geeta Malik (India Sweets and Spices) and Minhal Baig (Hala), along with industry experts including Kishori Rajan (Viva Maude), Raj Raghavan (ColorCreative), Rabia Sultana (Sultana Films), Priya Satiani (Entertainment 360), Uzma Hasan (Little House Productions), Mohammed Ali (Authentic Talent & Lit) and 1497 Features Lab Alumni Sofian Khan, Kaushik Sampath, and Iesh Thapar.
“We’re so thrilled that our Lab continues to be a testament to the incredibly rich stories created by South Asian artists,” said Ahmed, Shah, and Khan in a joint statement. “Each year it becomes more and more difficult to sift through the many wonderful applicants to find our finalists – we were so deadlocked in debate this time that we decided to announce 11 finalists this year, instead of the originally planned ten! We’re excited to amplify their voices as we work to find our Mentees.”
Another independent selection committee will evaluate the finalists’ applications and screenplays, culminating in the September 22 selection of three Mentees who will embark on this transformative Lab experience.
Here are the finalists for the 1497 Features Lab and their projects:
Maya Bastian, The Devil’s Tears – In a remote jungle village within war-torn Sri Lanka, a community fractured by conflict is forced to come together to defend themselves from a parasitic infection that rains from the skies above.
Aashish Gadhvi, Sun Never Sets – On a trip to the Yorkshire Dales to scatter her fathers’ ashes, Sonia Singh is kidnapped and held captive in a remote village where a cult have recreated British occupied India.
Naman Gupta, Svarak – A tormented woman, haunted by nightmares and burdened with an unwanted pregnancy, sets out to save her dying sister’s life. But her search for a cure draws the attention of an entity from ancient Buddhist folklore, which invades her waking reality and threatens both her sister’s life and her own.
Aditya Joshi & Sid Gopinath, Stay Present – Four friends head to a world-renowned silent wellness retreat, where they soon discover that the retreat’s enigmatic, larger-than-life guru has far more sinister plans for them.
Anna Khan, Mother Mehreen – A Muslim teenager’s lies to cover up her secret abortion from her small Mississippi town spiral out of control when she accidentally claims immaculate conception, and is soon heralded as the mother of the next messiah.
Samah Meghjee, Quran Camp – At a summer camp for Muslim tweens, Tanveer doesn’t expect to find a crush – especially not one who’s her bunkmate.
Jhanvi Motla, Mr. & Mrs. Patel – Abhijeet and Nitya Patel arrive in America to build a new life, starting as managers of El Mirage, a highway motel. But keeping the establishment afloat in the face of precarious clientele and a deadly loan shark threatens to not only crush their dreams but virtually destroy their marriage.
Shunori Ramanathan & Cidney Hue Iris: In a near-future America, a pregnant woman grows addicted to the VR simulation of a baby she can never have, spiraling into a battle between prolonging this fantasy and saving her marriage.
Samina Saifee, AmeriGirl – While away at Camp AmeriGirl, 12-year-old Aaliyah Khan has one goal: to make a friend. When the cooler brown girl walks through the door, she will do anything to befriend her and finally fit in.
Aden Suchak, Fast Life – In upstate New York, an entrepreneur Muslim corner store owner finds himself in a spiraling crisis when a local mobster gives him one week to launder $250,000 in cash.
Jyothi Kalyan Sura, The Extraordinary Inner Lives of Engineer Atul Kulkarni – When a failed clinical trial unleashes his childhood traumas, a timid, anxiety-ridden engineer ventures into his mind to bury his demons but gets tricked by his sly subconscious. Trapped with his worst memories, he must learn to reconcile with his past or lose control of his life forever.
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