EXCLUSIVE: Antigravity Academy, the production company of Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Carlos López Estrada (Raya and the Last Dragon, Blindspotting), will be offering a third edition of its flagship Screenwriters Camp, a program that helps first-time feature filmmakers from the U.S. and Canada develop their debut projects, under the mentorship of industry veterans.
Launched in 2023, with the intention to create new pathways for artists who have historically lacked access to traditional industry networks, the program kicks off with a week-long intensive next May and will then see writers go through several months of continued development of their works through additional drafts, virtual sessions, and a dedicated period of industry exposure.
Abiram Brizuela, former Director of Artist Community at the Sundance Institute, is once again leading the program, with support from Unapologetic Projects co-CEO Chris Quintos Cathcart. The camp will be produced by Antigravity’s Head of Production, Valerie Bush, with creative development led by Antigravity founder López Estrada, Antigravity Head of Film & TV, Holly Stanton, and screenwriter Anna Moskowitz.
Applications for the 2026 Antigravity Academy Screenwriters Camp will open on October 13th and close on November 3rd. Only filmmakers with no previously produced feature films will be considered. All applicants must be over 18 and able to attend an in-person intensive from May 27th to June 1st, 2026, at a private resort in Lake Arrowhead, California. All travel and lodging expenses will be covered by Antigravity Academy.
In a statement to Deadline, Antigravity’s Brizuela and López Estrada said, “Our company was built with the mission of supporting the next generation of great storytellers, and it fills us with pride to see fellows from our first two cohorts already shining within our industry. We can’t wait to continue meeting the filmmakers who will be responsible for telling the most necessary stories of tomorrow.”
Antigravity’s first produced project, Dìdi (弟弟), written and directed by Sean Wang, premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and won the Audience Award as well the Special Jury Award-Ensemble. The film was acquired by Focus Features and later went on to win two Independent Spirit Awards.
2025 participants in the company’s Screenwriters Camp included Alex Bush (Thaw), Alexander Chard (Fire Over the Hills), Bobby Herrera (Pink Casa), Emma Van Slyck and Tommy Tang (Dead Language), JP Bradham (Egg Bound), and Monisha Dadlani (The Fiddler). The inaugural cohort included A.J. Riggins (Look at Toine), Alexandra Qin (Thirstygirl), Andrés Perez-Duarte (The Last Supper), Carrie Carusone (Somebody Said Nobody), Jay Pendarvis Jr. (Brother’s Keeper), and SM Goldberger (Your Heart Is a Hummingbird).