1497, the nonprofit devoted to boosting South Asian movie and TV storytellers, has wrapped its fifth annual Options Lab.
The five-day Malibu retreat offered a formidable slate of mentors, together with Ritesh Batra (“The Lunchbox,” “Our Souls at Evening”), Nida Manzoor (“We Are Girl Elements,” “Well mannered Society”), Shuchi Talati (“Ladies Will Be Ladies”), Danny Alexander (Impartial Artist Group), Suchir Batra (Zero Gravity Administration), Nishika Kumble (Extracurricular), Raj Raghavan (ColorCreative), Urooj Sharif (Paramount), and Ameet Shukla (One Group), plus returning 1497 alumni Fatimah Asghar, Jaclyn Backhaus, and Jhanvi Motla.
Mallika Dhaliwal, Mahnoor Euceph, and Armaan Uplekar have been the 2025 mentees. Per 1497, they spent the retreat additional growing their unique characteristic screenplays and took part in group classes, one-on-one conferences, and roundtables.
The retreat’s highlights included fireplace chats with filmmaker Boots Riley (“Sorry to Trouble You,” “I’m a Virgo”) and David Levine, chief content material officer of Nameless Content material and former co-head of drama at HBO. The always-frank Riley joined for a candid dialog concerning the politics of artwork. Levine, in the meantime, gave contributors an inside have a look at the adjustments in storytelling and inside the business lately.
The week additionally featured a hands-on workshop with Adrienne Weiss, finest often called a directing and storytelling coach.
This 12 months’s 1497 Options Lab was supported by ShivHans Footage, which can be dedicated to uplifting underrepresented voices and nurturing new views in storytelling. Founder Shivani Rawat mentioned, “I’m honored to assist 1497 to foster the South Asian expertise who will create the tales of tomorrow for a extra inclusive world of movie and tv.”
Since launching in 2020, 1497 has change into a cornerstone of the South Asian inventive motion in Hollywood. The group is an official companion of the Sundance Movie Competition, the place it has hosted the 1497 South Asian Lodge since 2023. Previous 1497 mentors embrace Mira Nair, Deepa Mehta, Gurinder Chadha, Zoya Akhtar, Nisha Ganatra, and Aneesh Chaganty, with business company together with Tony Gilroy, Taika Waititi, Michelle Satter, Rajiv Menon, Rupi Kaur, Tan France, Poorna Jagarnathan, Guneet Monga, and others.
“5 years in, this Lab has change into the sort of house South Asian filmmakers have by no means really had earlier than,” mentioned co-founders Adeel Ahmed, Lipica Shah, and Kamran Khan. “Our work isn’t simply targeted on illustration and authenticity — it’s additionally about entry. It’s about constructing inventive and institutional infrastructure behind the display so storytellers in our neighborhood can thrive lengthy after the Lab ends. Tradition change doesn’t solely occur by who we see on display; it’s additionally by who will get to craft these tales.”
Previous 1497 alumni have gone on to workers writers’ rooms, safe growth offers, achieve competition entry and acceptance and entry to labs together with Sundance, and have their tasks optioned by main studios.
