Screenwriter Sessions 2025
Screenwriter Sessions is back for its 5th installment! This year’s program runs from February 4 to February 25, with sessions held weekly (see course details for exact dates and times). Join us for an exciting series featuring acclaimed guest speakers whose impressive and influential credits span a wide range of storytelling.
From breakthrough debuts like Thoroughbreds, Winter’s Bone, Little Woods, and Man Push Cart, to inventive indie dramas like Jeff, Who Lives at Home and Leave No Trace, to big-budget genre hits like Candyman, powerful adaptations like The White Tiger, and anthology series such as Room 104—these writers bring a wealth of experience and insight to share.
Check out our lineup below, and sign up to join us for a month of inspiration and connection!
This program is generously supported by
Learn more about this year’s guest speakers below.
Mark Duplass - Feb 4
Mark Duplass (Writer / Director / Producer / Actor) is an award-winning actor, filmmaker and producer. As an actor, Mark has appeared in a wide range of film and television projects including the Apple+ series THE MORNING SHOW for which he received a 2020 Emmy nomination and a 2022 Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Mark was also one of the stars of the acclaimed HBO show TOGETHERNESS, a series he co-created with his brother Jay. Mark’s many on-screen feature film credits include: THE PUFFY CHAIR, which he also co-wrote and co-directed, the indie-sensation HUMPDAY, the Gotham award-winning YOUR SISTER’S SISTER, the Oscar-winning ZERO DARK THIRTY, the contemporary classic sci-fi films THE ONE I LOVE and SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED.
Under their banner Duplass Brothers Productions (DBP), Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass and Mel Eslyn create original projects for film, television, and digital media. DBP is under a first-look deal with HBO which has yielded the hit series ROOM 104, TOGETHERNESS, SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE, and the HBO animated series ANIMALS. Some of their recent film productions include the award-winning romantic comedy 7 DAYS, Natalie Morale's directorial debut LANGUAGE LESSONS (in which Mark also starred) and Sean Baker’s landmark film TANGERINE. DBP is also active in the documentary feature and docuseries space, best known for producing Netflix’s WILD WILD COUNTRY, winner of the Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series in 2018. Recent credits include HBO's Independent-Spirit nominated THE LADY AND THE DALE, Hulu's SASQUATCH, plus the features TONY HAWK: UNTIL THE WHEELS FALL OFF, JASON ISBELL: RUNNING WITH OUR EYES CLOSED and NOT GOING QUIETLY about activist Ady Barkan.
Cory Finley - Feb 10
Cory Finley (Writer / Director / Playwright) is a St. Louis-born, New York-based director and playwright. Cory’s inaugural feature film was an adaptation of his play THOROUGHBREDS which he wrote and directed. The film, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Olivia Cooke and Anton Yelchin, premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews en route to being acquired by Focus Features for a wide release. Cory’s follow-up feature, BAD EDUCATION, premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival and was acquired by HBO in a competitive situation. The film starred Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney and won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie at the 72nd Emmy Awards following its release on April 25th, 2020.
Cory's latest feature LANDSCAPE WITH INVISIBLE HAND was released August 18th, 2023. It is based on the book of the same name by Matthew Tobin Anderson. MGM financed the film which stars Tiffany Haddish and was produced by Plan B Entertainment and Annapurna.
Ramin Bahrani - Feb 18
Ramin Bahrani (Writer / Director / Producer) is an Academy Award, BAFTA, WGA and Emmy nominee Ramin Bahrani is the writer, director, and producer of such films as Man Push Cart, Chop Shop, Goodbye Solo, 99 Homes, and The White Tiger. His films have all premiered at Venice or Cannes Film Festivals and additionally screened at Telluride and Toronto. His debut feature documentary 2nd Chance, premiered at Sundance and was released by Showtime. Bahrani has also directed TV pilots for Universal Studios and Apple. Roger Ebert proclaimed Bahrani as “the director of the decade” in 2010. Bahrani is a Guggenheim Fellow and his cinematic oeuvre is housed in the permanent collection at the MoMA in NYC.
As a PGA-winning producer, Bahrani’s films include Alex Camilleri’s Sundance and Spirit Award winning Maltese debut feature Luzzu (2020) and his forthcoming Zejtune, Alexandre Moratto’s Spirit Award winning Brazilian debut feature, Socrates (2018), and his Venice-winning 7 Prisoners (2021), Saim Sadiq’s Cannes winning Pakistani debut Joyland (2022), Angus MacLachlan’s Sundance premiere A Little Prayer (2023) and Oscar nominee Joshua Oppenheimer’s Telluride debut, and Neon release, The End (2024).
Nia DaCosta - Feb 20
Nia DaCosta (Writer / Director / Producer)
Nia DaCosta is a visionary filmmaker and screenwriter celebrated for her ability to craft deeply resonant stories with a fresh, contemporary lens. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, DaCosta studied at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where her passion for storytelling and visual artistry took shape.
DaCosta first gained attention with her debut feature, Little Woods (2018), a poignant and gripping drama about two sisters navigating the hardships of economic inequality in rural America. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, earning the Nora Ephron Prize and establishing DaCosta as a dynamic new voice in independent cinema.
In 2021, DaCosta made history as the first Black woman to direct a film that debuted at No. 1 at the U.S. box office with her critically acclaimed horror film Candyman. Serving as a spiritual sequel to the 1992 classic, the film deftly weaves social commentary with striking visuals, cementing her reputation as a masterful storyteller.
Most recently, DaCosta directed The Marvels (2023), a thrilling chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that showcased her ability to helm large-scale productions with dynamic storytelling. Her work continues to explore complex characters and social themes, solidifying her place as one of the most exciting filmmakers of her generation.
Debra Granik - Feb 25
Debra Granik (Writer / Director / Producer) is the director and co-writer of WINTER'S BONE, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2010 and premiered in Europe at the Berlinale. The film was nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture. Granik and co-writer Anne Rosellini were also Oscar nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. Her first film, DOWN TO THE BONE won Granik the Best Director prize at the 2004 Sundance. In 2015, Granik completed STRAY DOG, a feature documentary, which was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and aired on PBS Independent Lens. Her 2018 film, LEAVE NO TRACE, premiered at Sundance and was included in the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes that year, followed by an international release. She has just completed a five-part immersive nonfiction film, CONBODY VS EVERYBODY, shot over the past eight years, which chronicles the experiences of people reentering New York City after incarceration. Her next project is an adaptation of the non-fiction book, Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich.
