For its 2019 screenwriters Lab, the Whistler Film Festival will select up to six writers from across Canada for the two-phased, six-month mentorship program.

Created to facilitate unique voices in Canadian film, phase one of the program—which  will be followed by  four months of ongoing feedback and script development—starts at Whistler from June 24 to 28. Phase two will take place on December 4-8, during the Whistler Film Festival, and provide selected screenwriters with unparalleled access to industry experts.

"Over the past few years we’ve seen Canadian writers gain significant traction with projects they’ve brought through this two-phased program,” says Patricia Gruben, WFF’s Screenwriters Lab Facilitator and Founder of the Praxis Centre for Screenwriters. “The in-depth summer workshop and ongoing mentorship of Phase I, combined with the intensive industry immersion of Phase II provides the kind of vital feedback and relationship building that is crucial to the success of the participants and their projects.”

Recent scripts from former Screenwriters Lab members include Emily Bridger’s Little Orphans (2017), which is currently shooting in Newfoundland; Kate Bond’s Trapline (2017), currently in the casting phase, and Karl Hearne’s Touched (2014), which has been nominated for the John Dunning Award for Best First Feature at the Canadian Screen Awards.

The application deadline for the Screenwriters Lab is April 22, 2019, and film screenplays in all genres may be submitted. Applicants must be Canadian citizens or have permanent resident status. Application forms and guidelines are available at whistlerfilmfestival.com.