Ireland’s smash hit screenwriting festival, Storyhouse, will return to Dublin’s Light House Cinema for its second edition on Thursday, 3rd & Friday, 4th April 2025, along with the pioneering script development initiative Storyhouse Lab.
Emerging and established screenwriters are invited to apply now for Storyhouse Lab with a specific feature length film or TV project they want to develop. Storyhouse Lab is an inclusive professional development programme for 10 - 12 emerging screenwriters. This week-long intensive programme will run from Monday, 31st March to Friday, 4th April 2025 in Dublin city centre, including attendance at the main festival.
Now in its second year, this pioneering script development initiative is an intensive programme that provides aspiring Irish screenwriters with an intensive workshop under the guidance of Creative Mentor Malcolm Campbell (Bad Sisters, Shameless, What Richard Did), followed by access to all Storyhouse Festival events, as well as additional focussed sessions with Storyhouse speakers. This initiative targets emerging and diverse screenwriting talent and is looking for fresh, unique and distinctive projects to take part in the development programme.
Storyhouse is a not-for-profit initiative founded by Academy Award nominated Producer and Element Pictures Co-CEO Ed Guiney (Poor Things, The Favourite, Normal People, Room). Storyhouse is supported by Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland through the Screen Stakeholders Funding Scheme, Fremantle and Element Pictures and is produced by Lara Hickey and Charlene Lydon, in association with the Light House Cinema.
Storyhouse Lab aims to empower its participants to develop their own creative voice and screenwriting practice. It provides expert guidance and support as they approach the next phase of their career as screen storytellers. The goal is to provide a dedicated space for the exchange of ideas, to encourage and inspire them, and to deepen their understanding of the collaborative process. Applicants are invited to apply with a specific project they are working on and would like to take to the next stage of development.
The content of the Lab sessions focus mostly on the two aspects of screenwriting: nurturing the creative process and the development of craft. The Lab does not focus specifically on the practical aspects of building a career in the industry. The Lab takes place in the context of the Storyhouse Festival, which will play host to a variety of top international screenwriting talent. The lineup for the 2025 Festival will be announced in full in March 2025, but in 2024, the participants in Storyhouse Lab engaged in private breakout sessions with the speakers in attendance, including Tony McNamara (The Favorite, Poor Things, The Great), David Nicholls (One Day, Starter for Ten), Sarah Phelps (Dublin Murders, A Very British Scandal, The Sixth Commandment), Ali Abbassi (The Apprentice, Border), Molly Manning Walker (How To Have Sex), Namsi Khan (True Detective), Stacey Gregg (Here Before, Bad Sisters), Mounia Akl (Boiling Point), Nancy Harris (The Dry) and many more.
Storyhouse Lab will start with group work with the Creative Mentor, where the participants will share and work on their submitted projects, honing their ideas and sharing feedback with each other. The participants will then get to meet the visiting speakers in breakout sessions where they can learn from the wealth of experience of the lineup. Finally, they will attend all public sessions at the festival and be invited to screenings, keynote talks and networking events as part of the main programme.
The goal is that Storyhouse Lab participants benefit from shared insights from the other participants, in addition to one-to-one follow up sessions with the Creative Mentor and ongoing support from the alumni and growing Storyhouse community and mentors.
I was overjoyed to be a participant in this year’s Storyhouse Lab and could not praise the team behind it more highly. It gave me not only the opportunity to speak with and attend talks by the most exciting working screenwriters in the world, but the chance to connect with other wonderful Irish writers in a nurturing and supportive environment. The experience has elevated the platform and network I had as a creative, and has totally inspired me to keep making original and challenging art. I’d do it again a million times if I could!
- Hiram Harrington
I enjoyed every minute of the Storyhouse Lab. Malcolm cultivated a friendly, inclusive writer's room space that encouraged sharing (and challenging) ideas amongst a brilliant group of writers. That alone was great, but the speakers at the main StoryHouse event were an endless source of storytelling wisdom and inspiration. I loved it.
- James Doherty
Such a special experience to be part of the Storyhouse 2024 Lab. It was all top-tier — the projects being pitched, the diversity of participants, and the complete access to festival events. When it was over I was left feeling excited and inspired to sharpen my storytelling craft and further develop my film project.
- Rose Ugoalah
Interested candidates are invited to apply by completing our online application form, which can be found HERE.
The deadline for applications is Monday, 17th February 2025, 5pm.
Applicants will be notified of decisions on or before Friday, 28th February 2025.
For any queries, please contact storyhousescripted@gmail.com
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