1497, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting South Asian filmmakers, has recruited Mira Nair, Geeta Malik ( India Sweets and Spices) and Minhal Baig (Hala) as their third functional laboratory tutor. Baig returns after also serving as a mentor for last year’s lab, which was held virtually and in person in New York. 1235026117
1497 Version will make its first off-road trip to Malibu in October to 23, each of the three lab participants will receive a dedicated panel of experts – a filmmaker , a producer, a representative, and a Lab alumnus—helping them with script development and career guidance. Additionally, they (along with seven other finalists) will receive the latest version of Final Draft software, which will return as a lab sponsor. 1235026117
1497 Bringing together participants from all eight officially recognized South Asian countries—Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan— —industry people in India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka—as mentors, lab advisors, and selection committee members. They include Sharbari Z. Ahmed (Quantico), Mohammed Ali (Authentic), Labid Aziz (POC Studios), Arun Bhattarai (The Next Guardian), Pawo Choyning Dorji (A Yak in the Classroom), Nausheen Dadabhoy (An Act of Worship), Sanjit De Silva (Silvadollar Films), Karma Deki (Kushuthara: Pattern of Love), Chencho Dorji (Bardo: Intermediate Status ), Ravee Farooq (Ingili), Mehreen Jabbar ( Ramchand Pakistani), Sofian Khan (The Interpreters), Nikki Menon(family owned), Fawzia Mirza( Signature Actions ), Raj Raghavan (Creative Color), Kishori Rajan (Random Acts of Flyness), Swetha Regunathan (Forever Tonight), Kaushik Sampath (Grooming), Priya Satiani (Entertainment
), Rabia Sultana (Sultana Films), Iesh Thapar (Alien Kulture), Zamarin Wahdat (Bambirak ) and Nani Sahra Walker (LA Times).
Filmmakers from the South welcome Asian backgrounds, Individuals by experience level and geographic region apply, but they must be in the United States during the lab period for eligibility. From now until May 7th, Coverfly is exclusively accepting applications for the 1497 Feature Lab. 1235026117
“We’re excited to bring this unique opportunity to support emerging filmmakers working with top talent in the industry,” 1497 co- Founders Adeel Ahmed, Kamran Khan and Lipica Shah said in a joint statement. “Feature Labs has changed dramatically over the past two years. We are now open to submissions globally. We want to continue empowering our community to write any story that expresses their creative soul, regardless of geography bound by boundaries, cultural content, or anyone else’s expectations. We believe these artists can challenge the gatekeepers of the American film and television industry and demonstrate the vibrancy, diversity, and richness of our storytelling.”
