The Writers Lab program for screenwriters arrives in Australia with support from Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman
Female and nonbinary screenwriters over 40 continue to confront ageism and gender bias in a market where women have written fewer than one in three of the highest-grossing Australian and New Zealand films of the past decade.
The Writers Lab, the only program in the world devoted exclusively to script development for women and nonbinary screenwriters over 40, will hold its first Australian and New Zealand intensive on the Gold Coast from April 30 to May 4, 2027. Twelve writers selected from a Trans-Tasman call will spend five days in one-on-one mentor meetings and group sessions developing feature film or television pilot scripts.
Founded in New York in 2015 by Elizabeth Kaiden and Nitza Wilon with Kyle Ann Stokes, the lab has run for 12 years with programs in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe. Supported by Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman, it is an official recommending partner of the Academy Nicholl Fellowship, a collaborator of the Writers Guild of America East and a referral partner of Sundance. Alumni have secured representation, staffed writers’ rooms and moved projects into production.
The local program is led by Kaiden and Wilon with Australian Programming Director Brooke Hemphill, who attended the international lab in 2023. Confirmed mentors include Rita Hsiao (Mulan, Toy Story 2, The Monkey King), Liz Doran (My Brilliant Career, Please Like Me, Dalliance) and Briar Grace-Smith (Cousins, The Strength of Water, Swift Street).
Support for the program comes from the Screenrights Cultural Fund, Minderoo Pictures, Screen Queensland, the WeirAnderson Foundation and the South Australian Film Corporation. Community partners include Arts & Cultural Exchange Western Sydney, AFTRS, WIFT New Zealand and Screen Vixens.
“As longtime devotees of the vibrant storytelling of Australian and New Zealand women writers, we’re thrilled to offer craft and career support to help them build the tools and strategies required for success,” co-founder Nitza Wilon said.
Co-founder Elizabeth Kaiden pointed to the industry gap. “With less than a third of the highest-grossing Australian and New Zealand films from the last 10 years written by women, there is an urgent need to strengthen the pipeline of female-led projects that platform female-centric narratives and female protagonists,” she said.
Hemphill described her own experience as the catalyst. “I had the incredible fortune to attend The Writers Lab flagship international Lab in 2023, and ever since, I’ve been urging Elizabeth and Nitza to come to Australia. I can’t wait to share this experience with the women of Australia and New Zealand,” she said.
Screen Australia’s Gender Matters initiative has pushed overall key creative roles toward parity on funded projects, yet feature drama writing continues to lag industry-wide. The Gold Coast intensive joins a growing set of international programs, including a new Los Angeles intensive and a Canada lab in 2027.
Submissions for Australian and New Zealand female and nonbinary writers over 40 open on November 11, 2026, and close on December 11, 2026. Applicants submit a 20-page sample of a feature film or television pilot script.
Find out more and apply at twlstories.org