Aspiring screenwriters, here’s an opportunity that doesn’t require you to spend any money. As long as you have a story to tell.
Mumbai Mantra, which organises a screenwriting lab every year in association with Sundance, has come up with a unique Script to Screen programme called ‘Cinerise 100 Storytellers’ that gives young writers a chance to develop their scripts from scratch and have them mentored by the best in the business.
Leading screenwriter Anjum Rajabali, head of the departments of screenwriting at Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and Whistling Woods, Mumbai, and the convenor of the programme, explains: “All they need do is send us a story — about six to eight pages — that can be developed into a script. We will pick 100 of these and the chosen writers will get to attend a two-day screenwriting workshop to be held in five different cities.
On the first day, they will be given basic inputs on screenwriting and on the second, specific feedback on how to turn these stories into scripts, looking at thematic issues and the script's potential.”
Having been a part of Mumbai Mantra’s screenwriting projects over the last three years, Rajabali observed that many scripts did not work because they were flawed right at the story level. Hence, he saw the need to start the hand-holding right from the story stage.
After the workshop, the chosen 100 will have to develop their scripts with dialogues and submit them for the lab. Fifteen of these scripts will get feedback from mentors and at least eight of these writers will be allowed into the lab. The lab will have international screenwriters mentoring and advising the writers. “We will train them on how to pitch the idea within a page to convey the USP of the film and also organise a pitching session that allows writers to pitch to studios, producers, directors and festival directors,” says Rajabali.
“Educational effort requires financing support and in an ideal situation, one should dovetail into the other. And that’s the advantage of having a production house like Mumbai Mantra support this programme,” he adds.
“Structured mentoring is new and alien to India. The first course in screenwriting came to India only in 2004. And there are only two full-fledged courses in screenwriting in the country — at FTII and at Whistling Woods. At least directors take assistants, but there is no concept of apprenticeship for writers… because people write alone. Writers such as Sriram Raghavan, Vishal Bhardwaj, Jaideep Sahni, Shridhar Raghavan have pledged their support.”
To apply, submit a story that has a clear beginning, middle and end (about six to eight pages), a two-page writer’s statement outlining the project and the writer’s profile with contact details by August 30 to Mumbai Mantra CineRise Screenwriting Programme, Mumbai Mantra Media Ltd., Mahindra Towers, 5th Floor, Worli, Mumbai – 400018 (More information on >mumbaimantra.com )
