By: Mohnish Singh
1497, the non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting South Asian filmmakers, has put together a team of acclaimed filmmakers including Mira Nair, Geeta Malik, and Minhal Baig as mentors for its third Features Lab.
1497 co-founders Adeel Ahmed, Kamran Khan, and Lipica Shah said in a joint statement, “We are excited to bring back this unique opportunity for emerging filmmakers to work with top-tier talent in the industry.”
They further added, “The Features Lab has evolved tremendously over the past two years. We’re now opening submissions globally. We want to continue empowering our community to write whatever stories speak to their creative souls, unbound by geographical borders, cultural content or anyone else’s expectations. We believe these artists can challenge gatekeepers in the American film and television industry and demonstrate the vibrancy, diversity, and richness of our storytelling power.”
The 2023 edition of 1497 Features Lab has a team of industry figures descended from all eight officially recognized South Asian countries — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, The Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka — to serve as mentors, Lab advisors and on the selection committee.
The third edition of 1497 Features Lab is scheduled to take place Oct. 18 through 23.
Stay tuned to this space for more updates!
