Estrada and Antigravity Academy are champions of underrepresented voices, providing a vital pipeline for first-time filmmakers to break into the industry outside traditional gatekeeping channels. The Screenwriters Camp offers mentorship from established talent and a real path from script to screen.
Multiple sources tell us this cycle was hyper-competitive — hundreds of submissions narrowed down to six winners. The real question isn't just who got in, but which major studios are already circling these projects for acquisition deals before cameras even roll.
Estrada earned his Oscar nomination for directing Disney's 'Raya and the Last Dragon' (2021). The Screenwriters Camp launched as part of his Antigravity Academy production company in 2018. Mentors this cycle include Marcus Gardley ('The Color Purple'), Sean Wang ('Didi'), LaToya Morgan ('Duster'), Clint Bentley, and Shaz Bennett.
Six filmmakers just got their golden ticket into Hollywood's inner circle — but the real drama is watching which of these projects attracts studio attention first. The clock is ticking on these writers to prove they belong.
Mexican director Carlos López Estrada has unveiled the six emerging screenwriters who will receive development support through the third edition of his Antigravity Academy Screenwriters Camp, with their feature projects set for packaging and production under his incubator banner. Estrada — who earned an Oscar nomination for directing Disney's 2021 animated hit 'Raya and the Last Dragon' — launched this initiative as part of his broader mission to develop underrepresented stories outside traditional Hollywood pathways.
The six selected writers and their debut features will receive hands-on development work, mentorship from industry veterans, and direct support in bringing their scripts to screen. The selected projects include Alejandra Vasquez and Sam Osborn's 'Teen Age Riot,' a coming-of-age story set in 2008 Mexico City where a teenager finds himself caught between emos and punks. Chloe Jury-Fogel's 'Cherry' follows an intimacy-fearing preschool teacher navigating an unexpected relationship with her pregnant neighbor.
Chris Licud wrote 'Daughters,' about a daddy's girl from a dysfunctional family who goes undercover to investigate her father's second family. The remaining three writers gaining access through this cycle are Daniel Garber ('Crime Cruise,' murders solved aboard a ship full of true crime fanatics), Julien and Justen Turner ('Hindsight,' a desperate college student taking a deadly job to save his dementia-stricken mother), and Meedo Taha ('Other People,' three Lebanese sisters helping their father run a Dearborn laundromat by day while borrowing dresses from the cleaners to attend posh parties at night).
"The caliber of submissions this year was profoundly inspiring; a beautiful testament to the creative power of emerging voices in the industry," Estrada and Abiram Brizuela, who leads development at Antigravity Academy, said in a joint statement. "Every film is grounded in truth, rich with lived experience, and offers a phenomenal new lens through which to view the world." Past graduates have leveraged their Screenwriters Camp participation to secure representation, enter pre-production, and advance through prestigious programs like Sundance Labs.
Current mentors include Marcus Gardley ('The Color Purple'), Sean Wang ('Didi'), LaToya Morgan ('Duster'), Clint Bentley, and Shaz Bennett — a roster that reads as a who's who of indie cinema talent. Estrada is represented by CAA. The Antigravity Academy also operates the Short Film Studio and the Indie Institute virtual filmmaking intensive alongside this flagship Screenwriters Camp program.
