Rawi Screenwriters Lab is an annual five-day screenplay development workshop aimed at independent Arab screenwriters working on their first or second narrative feature screenplays. Screenwriters joining the lab will be experiencing one-on-one mentoring sessions with internationally acclaimed screenwriters Creative Advisors from all over the world. The emphasis of the lab is to develop the writer’s individual voice as a storyteller. Advisors and fellows will engage in an in-depth dialogue about the craft of screenwriting and rewriting process, as well as the fellows’ individual visions for their stories.

Each year, fellows and advisors work intensively for five days on their feature narrative screenplays. Each fellow will have several one-on-one story sessions with the lab's creative advisors. The advisors’ guidance ranges from improving the fellow's technique as a screenwriter, to life lessons and practical suggestions to be explored in their next draft. Emphasis is placed on each fellow's individual voice and story.

An advisory committee of writers, established film critics, screenplay editors, script doctors, scholars and film professionals work with the Lab team throughout the selection process. They are referred to as Creative Consultants. The primary short listing is based on script merits: story, originality, characters, dialogue, structure, writing style, individual voices, the status of the screenplay and its suitability to benefit from the Lab. Where applicable, we look very closely at the directing work of the writer.

Over the past 18 years, the lab has supported under the mentorship of around 100 advisors more than 143 emerging screenwriters and counting, from different Arab countries including: Jordan, Tunisia, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Syria, Kuwait, Algeria, Iran, Yeman, Sudan, Bahrain and the UAE.

Get to know the scriptwriters/filmmakers who took part in Rawi Screenwriters Lab, and get to know the Creative Advisors and Consultant along the years check out the Rawi Previous Rounds.

For further information and inquires please write to [email protected] or call The Royal Film Commission at 0096264642266, ext. 700 or 701.