
The Filmmakers' Workshop serves a specially curated group of film and TV writers each year. We focus on fresh, ambitious work and prepare writers for success in a competitive industry.
Our tailored, process-oriented approach mirrors our celebrated development of new plays and musicals. This year, the program has been redesigned as a virtual workshop to provide even deeper engagement and creative solutions, and for early-career screenwriters and TV writers during a time of uncertainty. It will run through 2020-21, with weekly virtual engagement through the fall, culminating in a summer residency during the 2021 Powerhouse Season. Participants will receive one-on-one mentorship, participate in round table discussions with industry leaders, and in-depth group discussions of their work.
Marin Gazzaniga (Filmmakers' Workshop Director & Co-Facilitator) is a writer and producer who works in TV, film and theater. She has written pilots for Hulu and Freeform (The Line co-created with Serena da Conceicao and executive produced by Ilana Glazer). Other TV and film credits include co-head writer of the final Emmy-nominated season of One Life to Live (Hulu) the original web series Like So Many Things... (co-created, written, produced with Anslem Richardson for IFC), and the film version of her play So Close (co-produced and co-starring with John Ellison Conlee). She produces digital content for top entertainment brands including HBO (where she was Senior Digital Features Editor in the marketing department for seven years), AMC, Lionsgate, and Turner Networks. Her plays have been developed or produced by The Civilians, LAByrinth Theater Co., Rising Phoenix Rep, and Primary Stages ESPA in NY, Echo Theater Company in Dallas and Santa Fe Theatre, among others. Marin began her career in journalism and communications, working at Vogue, NBC News, Fortune, and Safe Horizons. She received her BA from Columbia College and M.A. from City College and is a member of the Writers Guild of America, Authors Guild, and Dramatists Guild.
Luis Castro (Co-Facilitator) is an independent producer and strategist whose mission is to fuse storytelling and social impact. He brings authentic stories by women and diverse creators to multiple platforms and advises entertainment companies, nonprofits and funders on creative talent development, equity, and social impact strategy.
Luis’s unique background in entertainment, philanthropy, and government gives him a fresh perspective on finding and cultivating original voices whose powerful stories illuminate the kaleidoscope of human experience. Luis was an executive in programming at HBO in Los Angeles, where he worked across HBO Series, Films and Cinemax to expand the network’s relationships with diverse creators, find new scripted projects, and identify writers for existing shows. Before joining HBO, Luis led corporate grant making as Executive Director of Philanthropic Initiatives at Time Warner, where he created a multi million-dollar fund to support diverse writers across theater, film and television. As Acting Commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, Luis oversaw the City agency charged with supporting and promoting New York’s multibillion-dollar film, television and theater industries.
Luis is a Senior Advisor to The League, a social impact collective. There, he helps design initiatives that partner creators with organizations to inspire civic involvement through storytelling. He is also a Senior Fellow of TV Storytelling and Culture Change at The Pop Culture Collaborative. Luis serves on the Board of Directors of New Dramatists, the country’s top playwright development organization, and the Sundance Institute Theater Program Advisory Board. He recently completed a three-year term on the TONY Awards Nominating Committee.

Marilyn Agrelo
Zakiyyah Alexander*
Joshua Astrachan
Kevin Bacon
Stephen Belber
Kyle Bradstreet
Anthony Bregman
Keith Bunin
Anne Carey
Thomas Carter
Luis Castro
Elsie Choi*
Rebecca Choi*
Miranda de Pencier
Bash Doran
Griffin Dunne
Laura Eason*
Grace Edwards
Shani Geva
Melissa Gibson
Geoffrey Gilmore
Jessica Goldberg*
William Goldberg*
Tony Goldwyn
Bingo Gubelmann
Jenny Halper
Zach Helm*
Michael Hoffman*
Soo Hugh*
Tom Hulce
Kim Jose
Rajiv Joseph
Toni Kalem*
Aditi Brennan Kapil*
Jason Katims
Richard LaGravenese
Michael London*
Andrew Marcus
Riva Marker
Mia Mask
Mary Stuart Masterson
Max Mayer*
Paula Mazur
Lillah McCarthy
Scott McGehee
Bill Migliore
Rebecca Miller
Rob Morrow
Ekwa Msangi
Janine Nabers*
Geoffrey Nauffts
Michael Nozik
Ken Olin
Frank Pugliese
Josh Radnor
Jacquelyn Reingold
Anslem Richardson*
Amy Robinson*
Julie Rottenberg
Kent Sanderson
Peter Saraf
Kyra Sedgwick
John Patrick Shanley
David Siegel
Diana Son
Tim Squyres
Shelby Stone*
Charlie Stratton*
Jon Tenney
Bryan Unkeless
Leslie Urdang
Ben Watkins*
Suzanne Weinert
Jennifer Westfeldt
Diana Williams*
Matt Williams
Stu Zicherman
Maria Zuckerman
Elisa Zuritsky
*2020 Mentors

Nichole Abshire
Kevin Armento
Brooke Berman
Jonathan Bird
Jaki Bradley
Maria Agui Carter
Damon Colquhoun
Michael Cooke
Melody Cooper
Jed Cowley
Adam Curley
Danielle Davenport
Sachin Dharwadker
Daracy Fowler
Avra Fox-Lerner
Kyle Fried
Jonterri Gadson
James Gallagher
Bat-Sheva Guez
Lukas Hassel
Olga Humphrey
Tori Larsen
Ana Lazarevic
Josh Liveright
Nolan Lynch
Abigail Mangin
Mozhan Marnó
Jabari McDonald
Charlie McNamara
Denise Meyers
B. Monet
Caitlan Moore
Heidi Neurauter
Tyler Nilson
Samuel Nozik
Maya Perez
Ashley Pishock
Jay Riedl
April Rouveyrol
Robin Rose Singer
Azia Squire
Syd Stewart
Shawn Wines