
Our 2022 FilmLabTV Writers' Rooms!
We are proud to announce our 2022 FilmLabTV Writers Rooms in Comedy and Drama!
Our showrunners this year include Daphne Pollon and Grant Rosenberg, two veteran producers and screenwriters for shows like MacGyver, Star Trek, Lost Girl, Jeremiah, Sullivan & Son, and Murphy Brown.
Welcome to our Winners!
The Comedy Writer's Room








The Drama Writer's Room








Our 2021 FilmLab Writers' Room!
Our 2021 finalists joined our showrunner, Daphne Pollon, in an online writers' room in spring of 2021! Meet the room below!



FilmLab 2021 Winner
Alice Wang is a Chinese-Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter based in Toronto. With a degree in psychology and political science from the University of Toronto, she has now transitioned to filmmaking and is at Humber College studying film and multiplatform storytelling. Passionate about representation in media, she aims to tell LGBTQ+ stories, immigrant stories, and stories about belonging and acceptance. In her free time, she loves to beatbox, play the guitar, and kick around a soccer ball.


N. Eleanor Campbell is a Portland screenwriter whose passion lies in expanding queer representation in episodic television. Eleanor is proudest of her work co-writing and set-producing Kai Tillman’s “Hey Man” which is in post-production. One of her current projects is building the Playwriting/Screenwriting Certification program for The Conservatory Online. Outside of the film world, Eleanor works for Oregon Health and Science University as a Computational Biologist. She lives in South Portland with her dog, Rowena, her cat, Misha, and over two dozen house plants.

Jaime Dunkle once killed 30 bikers and died twice in a movie. She has performed raw memoir and wild tales in Portland for over 20 years. She directed, wrote and acted in ritual theater and performance art as a youth. She appeared in a dozen b-movies you’ve never seen. She has conducted counter-culture interviews for Suicide Girls, reported for The Oregonian and Digital Trends, and has written columns for Exotic magazine. Jaime also dabbled in stand-up and live sketch comedy and considers herself a humorist. Her columns, new-journalism essays, fiction, and screenplays center on the paradox of absurdity and drama.

Peter Hoffman Kimball is an award-winning writer, filmmaker, and former bouncer. As a director, his short films have played at festivals on five continents. He is the husband of an ER doctor, the father of multiple children, and the roommate of an obstinate beagle.

Egyptian writer/director, born and raised in Dubai, Nagham Osman moved to New York to fulfill her dream to study at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts graduate film program. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the American University in Cairo where she studied theatre and mass communications. Two years later, she met the Canadian-Syrian director Ruba Nadda at the Cairo Film Festival who offered her a job on the feature film Cairo Time. She also worked on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Fair Game in Egypt as a production assistant. Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami inspired her to pursue directing.

Sabeena N Singhani (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based journalist and artist. She currently works with CNN, after serving as a journalism fellow at The New School. She received a grant from NYU’s Asian/Pacific/American Institute in the summer of 2020 to begin Ghar, a short documentary that follows three Asian/Pacific Islander women/non-binary folks through their daily lives as new essential workers. Her work centers around home, diaspora, and the gendered body.

Katy Strutz is an artist based in Portland, OR who is fascinated by the aesthetics of stop motion in the age of CGI. She endlessly enjoys investigating how best to capture tactile characters in photography, and believes people made by hand are often the most human of all. She is currently working as a character sculptor on Guillermo del Toro's "Pinocchio", and has also worked for studios such as Laika, Shadowmachine and Hornet Inc. She is an advocate for pickles of all kinds and is an insufferable, inoperable musical theatre fan.

Luke Zwanziger is a writer, actor, and filmmaker living in Portland, OR. His screenplays have been semi-finalist at ATX, NYC Midnight, and more. He works as the Director of Video Production at Curious Comedy Theater. He loves film and has been board members of the Eastern Oregon Film Festival and the Ruby Peak Film Festival. He runs a monthly comedy short showcase called Portland's Funniest Videos every third Wednesday. He has performed and taught improv comedy around the world. He loves the art of improv because it allows unfiltered exploration of character and story.
The FilmLabTV Cohort
Winning writers will join our FilmLabTV Cohort, where they will participate in workshops, check-ins and Writer’s Rooms with colleagues and industry professionals. They will also practice pitching their work to Grant Rosenberg, a former executive with Paramount Television and Walt Disney Studios. A few weeks later, writers will step into the Writer’s Room with either Grant Rosenberg (drama) or Daphne Pollon (comedy) to break a script and develop an episode of a show. Finally, the participants will have the opportunity to present a table read of their work at the Willamette Writers Conference, in partnership with SAG-AFTRA.
The cohort is all online this year. Congrats to our 2022 FilmLab Winners!
About the Contest
FilmLab started in 2012 during the Willamette Writers Conference. The lab grew out of a desire to expand upon and promote the growing film industry in Portland, Oregon. Willamette Writers has been helping writers find their community, develop their craft, and expand their careers for 56 years.
Rules & Guidelines
Important: Only one script submission allowed per person. We cannot accept scripts from writing teams. If your script was co-written with another person or group, choose one person who will retain authorship of the script. If chosen, only that one person will join the writer’s room. If two names are submitted, the script will be disqualified.
Judging: Scripts will be judged on their creativity and writing in the particular genre (comedy or drama).
Submissions: All submissions should be written in English, typed in 12-point Courier or similar font, and in industry-standard screenplay format. Maximum of ten pages (as normally formatted on standard 8.5x11 paper). Scripts should be converted to and exported as PDF files. Submissions over ten pages will be rejected without refund.
Story: Scripts should be aimed at a general audience. No pornography or graphic violence. FilmLabTV and the contest judges may disqualify a script from consideration if the subject matter or content of the script is, at the judges’ sole discretion, not suitable for the contest.
Travel: Finalists and winners are responsible for their own travel and accommodations.
Eligibility: Members and immediate family of the Willamette Writers Board, Committees, Staff, Program Chairs, Chapter Chairs, and FilmLabTV judges and personnel are not eligible to participate. Previous FilmLabTV Grand Prize winners are not eligible to participate. FilmLabTV participants from the last three years are ineligible (in order to provide the opportunity for more writers).
Legal Information
By entering the FilmLabTV Competition, entrants affirm that the submitted script is their own work. Entrants understand their submitted work will be distributed and viewed my multiple judges and Willamette Writers personnel. Scripts will not be returned. Entrants agree to hold Willamette Writers, Inc. (a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization), the Willamette Writers Conference, and the FilmLabTV team harmless with respect to any claims (including, but not limited to, claims related to intellectual property, defamation, or any other tortuous acts) arising from the acts of any individuals acting within the scope of their duties to Willamette Writers and its programming.
Legal Information for the Writer’s Room Activities
Editorial Control: The Entrant agrees that, if entrant’s ideas from within the writer’s rooms are produced into a film or series, the resulting film or series may vary in form or content from the original idea, owing to artistic choices by the director or to production needs and limitations. Entrant understands and agrees that Willamette Writers and its supporting teams will have final artistic and editorial control over the resulting script created in the writers’ rooms. Any ideas used in such script will be credited to the FilmLab Cohort participants as assistant writers.
Ownership: In exchange for the expense and effort expended by Willamette Writers, Inc. and the team in supporting cohort activities, the Entrant agrees to fully assign and transfer Entrant’s ownership and copyright interest in work developed during the Writers’ Rooms to Willamette Writers, who shall be the owner of the final completed script. Entrant understands Willamette Writers may exhibit and promote Writer’s Room activities and ideas on an ongoing basis, at film festivals, and at Willamette Writers events.
Our 2021 Showrunner: Daphne Pollon

Important Changes to FilmLab 2021

FilmLab and Willamette Writers would like to sincerely thank Oregon Film for their support of the 2021 FilmLab Writers' Room. We thank them for their investment in the screenwriting community in Oregon!
How the writers' room works

A member of the Dramatist Guild of America, Actors Equity and AFTRA, Charlie LaTourette's writing credits include Another World (NBC), HOOPS (Divine Theatre Company), Chicken Little Was Right! (New York Actors Ensemble), Franks (Theater St. Peters at CitiCorp), Twisted Positions (Courtyard Theatre) and All The Tomatoes (Lion Theatre on Theatre Row.) Three of his plays were produced by PDX Playwrights. He studies at the NW Film Center, and his screenplay Myosotis Love has been a finalist at the NW Film Festival, Big Apple Film Festival, among others. The script was filmed in 2019.

Lindiwe Mueller-Westernhagen is a songwriter turned screenwriter. Her first short film, Desmond’s Not Here Anymore, won the 2019 HollyShorts Screenplay contest and will be produced in 2020 by the Seattle Film Summit. Her first comedy TV pilot, That Sister Thang, was Fresh Voices runner-up and has been Finalists in other international screenwriting competitions. She was voted by NetworkISA as Top 25 Screenwriters to watch in 2020. She is also a ISA Development Slate writer and a Stowe Story Labs alumni.

Matthew’s love letter to John Hughes (Don’t You Forget About Me, 2006) saw an overnight bidding war for the microbudget doc, after the reclusive Hughes passed away suddenly. The same year, he also filmed his improvised featurette (Most Likely To), which was called “a potent calling card” by Variety Magazine. Matt's second flick was his critically acclaimed narrative feature debut (Pretend We’re Kissing, 2015) featuring Zoe Kravitz and is now available across digital/VOD/ platforms around the world. He received accolades for writing/directing The Brief (www.thebriefseries.com). His next film, Cherries, was a top three finalist at the 2019 Slamdance Script Competition.

Luke Zwanziger is a writer, actor, and filmmaker living in Portland, OR. His screenplays have been semi-finalist at ATX, NYC Midnight, and more. He works as the Director of Video Production at Curious Comedy Theater. He loves film and has been board members of the Eastern Oregon Film Festival and the Ruby Peak Film Festival. He runs a monthly comedy short showcase called Portland's Funniest Videos every third Wednesday. He has performed and taught improv comedy around the world. He loves the art of improv because it allows unfiltered exploration of character and story.

A native Oregonian, Emily Redinbo lived in the Bay Area, upstate New York, and Boston before returning with her family to enjoy the Pacific Northwest. A medievalist with expertise in ancient languages, she taught writing and literature at Cornell University and Santa Clara University, prior to working for a high tech company in the Silicon Valley. Currently, Emily’s revising her YA novel set in Oregon, a modern retelling of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. She recently completed a feature screenplay about the female chemist who formulated the first effective treatment for leprosy.

Dragos Andrei Dobai studied Advanced Screen Writing at NW Film School in Portland. He has been working on other projects in the animation field, but '770' is his first live-action short screenplay, and he is thrilled to be one of the finalists. His short is intimate, intense, dialogue-driven, with old school east European sets. With the increased conversation about abortion bans in the US, he thinks we have to tell this story. The message of the movie is NEVER FORGET and never tell women what to do with their bodies.

Ian is a playwright and screenwriter based in Oxford, UK. On a whim he decided to enter a local stage play competition to keep busy during a long commute. To his surprise, The Trinity won and was produced at the Burton Taylor Studio in Oxford. He was hooked and has since written two full length plays and two television pilots that have placed in multiple competitions. Never Meet Your Hero is his first foray into webseries and he is pleased to see that all those years spent daydreaming are paying off, as was the plan all along, he swears.

David M. Musgrave is an established sculpture artist, children’s book writer, screenwriter and architect who enjoys the surprise of abnormal art scale, daring and exhilarating color in design and imaginative writing. Waddle, his 12 foot tall steel duck sculpture, stands in a local park and his children’s book Mrs. Claus Who?, is loved by many.
Our 2020 FiLMLaB Writers' Room!
About the Contest
FiLMLaB started in 2012 during the Willamette Writers Conference. The lab grew out of a desire to expand upon and promote the growing film industry in Portland, Oregon.
The Script to Screen Competition is the main focus of FiLMLaB. Writers submit a script, which is judged by industry professionals in Portland for the first round, then sent to our judges in LA for the final round. The winning script is then produced by Willamette Writers, and is premiered at the Willamette Writers Conference the first week of August.
From our 2019 Winner
"FiLMLaB has made my entire year! To say I’m grateful for this experience is an understatement – I got to workshop my short, sit in on the casting process, be on set, watch a couple editing sessions, attend festivals – this has forever changed my perception of the movie-making world and the village it takes to make something good. Not only that, but I’ve gotten to work with and meet so many talented, kind and lovely people that I otherwise would not have. The support and encouragement alone are an awesome prize. Thank you, FiLMLaB and Willamette Writers!"
-Alexandra Keister, 2019 FiLMLaB winner
Our 2019 Contest was supported by a generous grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council. We thank them for their investment in our screenwriting community, and their continuous work toward creating a stronger arts community.
Our 2018 Competition
Our 2018 Competition brought a new twist -- FiLMLaB! Writers submitted their web series scripts to earn a spot in the Writer's Room with Showrunner FJ Pratt (Ellen, Frasier, Sullivan & Son). The winning script launched into production in 2019.
Alexandra Keister, a Portland screenwriter, won with her script "Stripes." Her story was produced by Alyssa Roerhenbeck, and directed by Phil A. Anderson. It premieres at the Willamette Writers Conference in August.






The 2019 FiLMLaB Team


The 2019 FiLMLaB Crew
Philip A. Anderson: Director
Alyssa Roehrenbeck: Producer
Amy Souza: Production Coordinator
Eric Macey: Director of Photography
Efrem Peter: Camera Operator
Sean Conley: First Assistant Camera
Jasmine Karcey: First Assistant Camera
Christopher Alley: Gaffer
Ryan Fitz: Key Grip
Travis Buffington: Grip and Electric Swing
Rory Leonard: Grip
Heidi DuBose: Sound Mixer
Jade Harris: Production Designer/Costumer Designer
Kameron Gates: Makeup Artist
Jon Dragt: Script Supervisor
Ashley Blincow: Production Assistant
Proudly Supported By
Companies and Organizations
Regional Arts and Culture Council
Gearhead Production Rentals
Deep Sea Pictures
Koerner Camera
Galaxy Sailor Productions
Canby Film Festival
Klamath Film Festival
Individuals
FJ Pratt
Phil Anderson
Alexandra Keister
Eric Macy
Jade Harris
Efrem Peter
Heidi DuBose
Kameron Gates
Glenn McCumber
Jessi Walters
Raquel Mansell
Randall Jahnson
Stefen Feuerhardt, Attorney at Law
Amy Souza
Kate Ristau
Donations
Nicholas Restaurant
Off the Waffle
Crater Lake Soda
Xylem Cider
Ecliptic Brewing
New Cascadia
Hot Lips Pizza
Nossa Familia Coffee
Heathman Hotel
From the FiLMLaB Blog
2012 FiLMLaB Winner – Alis Volat Propriis
2012 Winning Script – “Alis Volat Propriis” by Haley Isleib Winner of Best Comedic Short in the Oregon Independent Film Festival 2013, Official Selection at the Mt. Hood Independent Film Festival 2013, and Official Selection at the Portland Film Festival 2014.
Welcome 2012 Judges
The judges for the final round of the 2012 Willamette Writers FiLMLaB script to screen competition are: Eric Williams Manager at Zero Gravity Management Bio: After years as an agent at Paradigm Talent Agency and Writer’s & Artists Agency, Eric founded the management division of Zero Gravity in 2004; a full-service management and production company…
- « Previous
- 1
- …
- 11
- 12
- 13