South Asia’s premier incubator
for emerging queer storytellers

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The QueerFrames Screenwriting Lab provides a vital platform for early career queer storytellers to refine their craft, expand their networks, and advance their careers in the film industry.

Since launching in 2023, it has supported 14 diverse queer filmmakers from across South Asia, with a mission to amplify queer representation in cinema and shift broader cultural narratives.

QueerFrames 2025

This year, the Lab will bring together 8 emerging queer and trans writer-directors from India, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and the South Asian diaspora with fiction feature scripts in early development. We are looking for projects that are deeply rooted in South Asia and explore queerness not as a subplot, but as the driving force of the story.

Program Components

Screenwriting Residency
October 3-12, 2025
An immersive retreat designed to foster creativity and community in a serene setting. Fellows will develop their scripts through daily craft sessions, peer collaboration, and one-on-one mentorship, alongside curated screenings, story-driven discussions, and unstructured time for rest, reflection, and creative exchange.
Online Program
October 2025-March 2026
The Lab continues online with weekly sessions on screenwriting craft – covering structure, character, and theme – through lectures, feedback, and guided discussions. Masterclasses offer insight into storytelling and the industry. The Lab culminates in a virtual table read and showcase for peers, mentors, and industry guests.
Advanced Development Support
Post-March 2026
Following the completion of the Lab, select projects will be offered extended support – including tailored consultations with industry experts, pitch training, access to proof-of-concept funding, and potential festival exposure – to help bring their visions one step closer to the screen.

Industry Experts

Vikramaditya Motwane,
Filmmaker
Alankrita Shrivastva, Writer-Director
⁠ ⁠⁠Tricia Tuttle,
Festival Director, Berlinale
Shonali Bose, Filmmaker
Rohan Parashuram Kanawade,
Filmmaker
Min Bahadur Bham,
Director
Mahveen Shahraki,
Producer
Nitin Baid,
Film Editor
Utsab Nath,
Creative Executive, Netflix
Neeraj Churi,
Producer

Lab Instructors

Vishnu Sinha

Vishnu Sinha is an award-winning writer-director with an MFA from Columbia University, where he teaches screenwriting. He is currently writing for Netflix’s The Royals, developing his short Strawberry Cream into a feature, and creating a TV series with an International Emmy-nominated company.

Paromita Dhar

Paromita Dhar is a Goa-based director, cinematographer, and screenwriter. A Berlinale Talents alum, her work includes Behind the Tin Sheets, Birha, and That Cloud Never Left (Busan, IDFA, Yamagata). She is developing Last Time on Earth, supported by NFDC and the Hubert Bals Fund.

Samah Meghjee

“My bond with the cohort is deeply precious – these are lifelong friendships. I’m so grateful to the Lab for guiding us through industry meetings. What could have been overwhelming felt manageable, even exciting, because I never had to go in alone.”

Shubham Negi

”In our desire to tell stories, we often overlook the craft needed to truly move others. This Lab gave me the tools and techniques to bridge that gap – transforming raw emotion into stories that resonate with diverse audiences.”

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