Producers’ Lab

4-DAY IN-PERSON INTENSIVE

Develop Skills and Approaches to Produce Your Micro- or Low-Budget Feature Film

June 7 - 10, 2025 • Stowe, Vermont

Designed for emerging producers looking to produce their first or second, micro-to-low budget ($100,000 - $1,750,000) feature film.

Program capped at 16 Participants. Producers’ Lab participants should demonstrate general knowledge of the industry, life or work experience suited to producing, and present a feature film project they intend to workshop at the Lab (project may be at very early stage).

Applications are now closed for the 2025 Producers’ Lab and Scholarships.

Darrien Michele Gipson (Producer, Executive Director of SAGindie) mentors in a one-on-one project consultation at the 2024 Producers’ Lab.

GOALS + RESULTS

The goal of this intensive, four-day lab is to help participants develop creative vision, market knowledge, practical skills, and leave the lab with a concrete plan and action items to push the work forward.

FOUR DAYS INTENSIVES FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Our intensive programs feature:

  • Direct access to working industry professionals, top in their fields. Past mentors have included Jenny Halper, Executive Vice President of Development & Production at Maven Screen Media; Darrien Michele Gipson, Executive Director of SAGindie; Patrick Fischer, Producer and Managing Director of Creativity Capital; and Jonathan Duffy, Creative Producer (Sorry To Bother You, The Sound of Silence, BlueBack)

  • Opportunities to build knowledge, skills, and insights to navigate the film industry

  • A network of talented peers, vital in this collaborative art and business

  • One-on-one mentor consultations

  • Mentor roundtable discussions

  • Peer-to-Peer sessions

  • Workshop, roundtable, and social time

  • A beautiful setting to develop your craft

Producers’ Lab News

Congratulations to Stowe Alum Connor Martin on his directorial debut with his comedic thriller The Dregs, starring Nava Mau of Baby Reindeer. Recently featured in Deadline, The Dregs centers on a friends’ trip to Tuscany that gets derailed by old wounds and cursed bottle of Vin Santo. Shooting begins in Italy in March 2025.

We were honored to work with Connor to develop The Dregs at the 2024 Producers’ Lab. Congratulations, Connor, we can’t wait to watch. Read more about The Dregs in Deadline.

  • Market knowledge

  • Sales and distribution

  • Pitching and packaging

  • Project selection

  • Creative Vision

  • Development

Producers’ Lab Content

  • Financing

  • Practical skills

  • Leadership

Producers’ Lab mentors are drawn from across the value chain to inform the different stages of a producer’s journey with a project, and typically will include a sales agent, producers, and financiers.

The program will be integrated into Stowe’s anchor Narrative Lab.

Producer/Director Alyscia Cunningham (left) discusses film production with Producer, Writer, and Actor Adam Lebowitz-Lockard at the 2024 Producers’ Lab in Stowe, Vermont (held at The Brass Lantern Inn).

INVESTMENT

The fee for the Producers’ Lab is $2,650. Our lodging partners offer discounts (and some offer breakfast), and we provide other meals and receptions during the time together so expenses during the program are kept to a minimum.

“Returning to Stowe Story Labs again, this time for the Producer's Lab, was a dream! I would leave panels and conversations with these "A-Ha" moments that explained all the nooks and crannies of producing I otherwise wouldn't have even known to think about. It's hard to find a comprehensive program combined with a supportive tight-knit community, there's something special about Stowe in that respect.”

KAITIE DILAN, CT, 2024 Producers’ Lab

2025 Producers’ Lab Application Closed

MEET YOUR MENTORS

Specific program mentors are announced closer to Lab start date.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Applications are closed. Subscribe to our newsletter here to stay up to date.

  • There is no separate scholarship application. You may indicate you are interested in financial support on your application. 

  • A team of two may apply, and if admitted the team will share mentor meetings and peer group slots (not take separate meetings or seats), and will need to cover a room and board surcharge.

  • Yes!

  • Just email us at info@stowestorylabs.org.