Charlotte Rabate’s “Samir, the Accidental Spy,” Zoë Maltby’s “Bear Lake,” And Lana Wilson’s “Back Seat” Selected For 21st Annual Screenwriters Lab

HamptonsFilm will welcome Lana Wilson, Zoë Maltby, and Charlotte Rabate to the 21st annual Screenwriters Lab. From Friday, April 9 through Sunday, April 11, the up-and-coming screenwriters will meet virtually with established screenwriters, directors, and creative-producers for mentoring sessions.

“Since the Lab’s inception just over two decades ago, over fifty screenplays have been developed at our lab, with many being produced, premiering, and winning awards at Festivals such as Sundance, Cannes, SXSW and more, in addition to screening theatrically around the world,” noted David Nugent, Artistic Director of HamptonsFilm. “This year’s selected artists bring diverse, unique, and personal stories about people from all different walks of life. We are so excited to go on their journey with them.”

Lana Wilson. (Courtesy Photo)

The 2021 featured screenplays include Maltby’s Bear Lake, Rabate’s Samir, the Accidental Spy, and Wilson’s Back Seat. Bear Lake centers around “the intertwined journeys of a queer Utah teenager and a Mormon pioneer woman, separated by a century but cosmically united through a mythical, brooding lake monster.” Samir, the Accidental Spy follows Samir, 12, and his family as they seek refuge in Lebanon following the 1966 Syrian coup d’état. “Convinced that his father is a spy, he leads an investigation with his new girlfriend Christine. However, his father’s double life has nothing to do with diplomacy.” Back Seat explores what happens “when a single split-second decision leads to a woman’s life turning upside down.”

In addition to being selected for the Screenwriters Lab, Wilson was also named the Melissa Mathison Fund Recipient for 2021.

The 2021 mentors include Independent Spirit Award winner James Ponsoldt, screenwriter of The End of the Tour, The Spectacular, and Smashed</em>; Jesse Andrews, an award-winning screenwriter and New York Times best-selling novelist who penned the screenplays for Me and Earl and the Dying Girl – as well as Pixar’s upcoming Luca</em>; and Sara Colangelo, whose film The Kindergarten Teacher served as the Opening Night Film of the 2018 Hamptons International Film Festival. The drama made its world premiere at Sundance, as did Colangelo’s Little Accidents and Worth.

Charlotte Rabate. (Courtesy Photo)

“We are committed to celebrating 21 years of the HamptonsFilm Screenwriters Lab by continuing this early spring tradition virtually,” said Anne Chaisson, Executive Director. “We so very much appreciate that our mentors James, Jesse, and Sara have agreed to dedicate their time to this program and to working with these screenwriters. It’s a fitting announcement in Women’s History Month that all three selected screenwriters are female for the second time in three years.”

Earlier in their careers, both Colangelo (2013) and Ponsoldt’s (2008) films were selected for the HamptonsFilm Screenwriters Lab.

For more information, visit hamptonsfilmfest.org.