Smriti Mundhra '09—the DGA-winning, two-time Oscar-nominated, and Emmy-nominated filmmaker who created Netflix's hit Indian Matchmaking—is among the group of 12 renowned screenwriters selected for the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, set to take place June 29–July 2, 2026.
Mundhra, who directed the film, and co-writers Nikesh Shukla and Himesh Patel will spend four intensive days workshopping their film Brown Baby, which follows a mixed-race couple's marriage and the cracks that form when their young daughter’s reaction to a doll exposes the truths they've spent years avoiding.
Mundhra brings directorial experience from Mindy Kaling's Never Have I Ever (Netflix, 2020–2023) and St. Louis Superman (2019), and writing credits from The Romantics (Netflix, 2023) and A Suitable Girl (2017). Shukla is an award-winning novelist and screenwriter who edited the essay collection The Good Immigrant (Little, Brown, and Company, 2019). Patel is an actor and writer who can be seen next in Christopher Nolan's forthcoming rendition of The Odyssey.
The Sundance Institute's coveted lab offers filmmakers an immersive environment in which fellows can revise their scripts with the guidance of creative advisors at the top of their field. Led by artistic director Howard Rodman, the 2026 screenwriting advisor cohort includes John August (Go, Charlie's Angels), Anna Boden (Captain Marvel), Reggie Rock Bythewood (Dancing in September), and Haifaa Al Mansour (Wadjda)—one of the first female filmmakers in Saudi Arabia—among others.
Emmy-winning writer-director Joanna Rothkopf (JRN '14), who has worked as a senior writer on HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver since 2019, will also join this summer's labs with Attachment (a.k.a. Bluey Is the Warmest Color), an erotic thriller in which a mother's obsession with a popular children's entertainer threatens to spin her life out of control.
"For over four decades, our labs have created a nurturing space where bold and powerful storytellers hone their craft and build lasting relationships," said Michelle Satter, the Sundance Institute's Founding Senior Director of Artist Programs. "We are so incredibly grateful to the advisors, actors, crew, and staff who make this possible and carry forward our mission of uplifting independent storytellers and bringing a creative community together."
