Alumna Maggie Briggs '19 Selected for 2022 TIFF Writers' Studio
Alumna Maggie Briggs '19 will participate in the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Writers’ Studio class of 2022.
The program, which is in its 11th year, is a collaborative five-day intensive lab offering Canadian and international screenwriters and writer-directors a space to consolidate skills, exchange ideas, and discuss challenges. As part of the program, selected filmmakers participate in workshops, artist talks, peer-to-peer mentorships, and one-on-one project development consultations guided by industry experts.
“In 2021, for the first time, TIFF invited international screenwriters and writer-directors to apply. This year will be the first time we will be welcoming international TIFF Writers’ Studio participants in-person at TIFF Bell Lightbox, and we couldn’t be more excited,” said Geoff Macnaughton, Senior Director, Industry & Theatrical at TIFF in an official press release. “Under the guidance of both Canadian and international experts, we look forward to seeing the evolution of the participants’ projects and how the programme will help take their careers to the next level.”
Chosen from over 150 applications, Briggs is among the eight screenwriters chosen to participate in the program, where she will continue to develop her feature film, Prone to Wander. Told through a collection of seven Sundays, Prone to Wander follows Lua Dunn as she falls hard into adolescence during the summer of her eleventh year and navigates her first love with conflicting lessons from her street and her church. Briggs’ Prone to Wander was previously selected to participate in Cine Qua Non Lab’s esteemed 2021 script revision lab.
The Writers’ Lab will support the development of the participants’ feature-length projects with guidance from world renowned industry experts, including Film Program faculty members Assistant Professor Christina Lazaridi ’98 and Professor Trey Ellis.
Briggs is also among the four screenwriters who were awarded a grant from the CHANEL Women Writers’ Network, a major supporter of Share Her Journey, sponsors of the TIFF Writers’ Studio that are committed to addressing gender parity and championing women in front of and behind the camera through TIFF’s Festival and year-round initiatives.
The 2022 TIFF Writers’ Studio will take place in person March 21–25, 2022 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.
Maggie Briggs is a filmmaker based between her hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, and New York City, where she received her MFA at Columbia University. Her thesis film, To Sonny, premiered at Clermont-Ferrand in 2020 and continues to tour the festival circuit. Her latest short, Louis I: King of the Sheep, a stop-motion animation she wrote and produced, had its premiere at the 72nd Berlinale. Her work as a producer has shown at festivals including TIFF, Palm Springs, and Nordisk Panorama. Her first feature in development, Prone to Wander, has been supported by Tribeca Film Institute, The Gotham, and Cine Qua Non. She is a writer on Samir Oliveros’s second feature, which is in development with Fabula, and on a first feature by alumnus Saim Sadiq '19, which is based on his short film Darling.