Background

PictureNL, formally known as the Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation, is the lead agency for the province for investments in film and television productions through its equity, tax credit and development programs. Through its programs, PictureNL offers local producers and outside producers/productions the support needed to help the province’s production sector to flourish.

Stowe Story Labs is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 2013, helping exceptional emerging screenwriters, filmmakers, and creative producers develop skills and projects. We welcome talented storytellers from all walks of life, backgrounds, and places.

Stowe Story Labs is pleased to run the annual Producer Accelerator Program for PictureNL. The Program is a three part, multi-month training program designed to help emerging production companies in Newfoundland and Labrador achieve strategic and predictable business growth, especially in the international marketplace, through skill-development, practical hands-on training, exposure to industry intelligence, networking, and mentorship. 

The program will take the selected teams through workshops and customized mentoring with top practitioners in production, sales, finance, development, and coproduction, among other skill sets. The program will help producers enhance and refine industry intelligence through programming elements including training on the international marketplace; co-productions; skill development; exposure to industry intelligence; networking; and customized one-on-one mentorship consultations.

The program will run from mid-December 2026 through end of April 2027. Most elements of the program will run online. There will be a two-day in-person program run in St. John's tentatively planned for April 2027, to be scheduled upon enrollment of the program. 

Participants will leave the program with elevated skills and tools to participate as creative producers in the international film and television industry and be export-market ready to be competitive in the most important markets, promote themselves to the industry, and work to secure partnerships that advance projects.

Participants will be selected through a competitive application process.

Application Process

The questions on the application ask about the company applying, the individual company member(s) (no more than two per company) who will participate in the program, the current slate of projects being developed, and the company's five year vision. The program is geared toward narrative projects. 

It is recommended that eligible participants will meet the following criteria: 

- Must have at least one producer credit on completed productions of the following nature:

• Television one-off production
• Television series production
• Feature film that received financing from a Federal and/or Provincial funding agency
• Participated in the Picture Start or Michelle Jackson Program

- Participated in at least one international market or festival event

- Must have multiple viable projects for international markets 

Applicant companies will submit samples of their materials of projects currently being developed for up to three narrative projects. 

Costs

There are no fees to participate in this program. 

Changes

We will notify all applicants of fee or schedule changes if/when they occur. 

Misc. 

Stowe Story Labs and PictureNL will not provide feedback on projects and/or applications through this submission process.

Interested companies may reach out to Stowe at info@stowestorylabs.org and/or PictureNL at cyril@picturenl.ca with questions about the application or the program.

Dates and Deadlines

Application deadline is November 23, 2026 by 11:59 pm US Eastern Time. 

Thank you for your interest in the 2027 edition of the PictureNL • Stowe Story Labs Producer Accelerator Program. Best of luck if you choose to apply. Please be assured we take the same care in the review process as you have put into developing the work and making your application.

Team Stowe Story Labs

Background

Thank you for your interest in our Narrative Labs, Writers' Retreats, and Fellowships. Please read this headnote before you start your application. It will help you manage the application process.

By way of background, founded in 2013, Stowe Story Labs is a nonprofit dedicated to helping top emerging and established screenwriters, filmmakers, and creative producers get work made and seen. 

We do our work through programs designed to help artists develop skills and projects. We look for people from all walks of life and backgrounds demonstrating talent, a collaborative nature, and presenting a good story worth developing. To be admitted, an applicant does not need to have a background in the film and television industry (similarly) it does not hurt to be a part of the industry.

Use this application for our 2027 narrative labs and writers' retreats. It is also the application for fellowship and scholarship support. 

Details about our programs can be found here (under the appropriate program tabs). We strongly urge you to study the program descriptions before applying. 

In addition, details about our fellowship program and scholarships can be found here. It is worth spending time familiarizing yourself with the programs and criteria before you apply.

Although we charge for our programming, we work to keep the cost of programming as low as possible and we offer dozens of full and partial scholarships and fellowships. 

This Application Platform Supports Your Application to our Narrative Labs and Writers' Retreats 

This application is for admission and consideration for fee-based, fellowship, and scholarship slots to our 2027 Narrative Labs and Writers' Retreats. 

Our 2027 Labs run in Stowe, Vermont, at the Current and are scheduled for:

• June 4 – 7 and  
• September 3 – 6.

You can learn more about our Labs here.

Our 2027 Writers' Retreats dates and locations are:

• The Remote Writers' Retreat will run June 25 – 29, 2027 (online via Zoom)
• The Croatia Writers' Retreat will tentatively run September 20 – 24, 2027 in Lovran, Croatia
• The Connemara Writers' Retreat will tentatively run October 11 – 15, 2027 in Connemara, Ireland

You can learn more about our Retreats here. 

Dates are subject to change. We may add programs. We will have program dates finalized in early 2027. We will share updates with all applicants during the application review process (as we know them).

The questions on the application ask about you, the project you are submitting, and your intent in making the film or show. Please answer questions as fully as possible.

Fellowships and Scholarships Consideration

If applying for fellowships we will consider you for all fellowships you qualify for, maximizing your opportunity for support. You may certainly guide us to which fellowship most interests you. As each fellowship has its own criteria and benefits please check the website for information about each fellowship before completing the fellowship application.

Please note, all but one of our fellowships are dedicated to the narrative labs, and that one is for both a lab and a retreat. 

That fellowship is the Stowe Story Labs Genre Launch Fellowship, which is dedicated to the June Narrative Lab and Remote Writers’ Retreat. You can read full details about the fellowship here. Though this fellowship program includes retreat participation, you must apply for it through the narrative lab application.

In short, if you would like to be considered for a fellowship, you must submit a narrative lab application. Both applications provide opportunities to apply for scholarships.

To be considered for fellowships and scholarships, you must press "yes" on the question in the application "I am applying for fellowships or other forms of financial support," and fill out the statement of need. Otherwise, you will only be considered for full fee slots.

Our fellowships are awarded based on merit and our scholarships are offered based on merit and need.

Fees

The fee to attend an in-person four-day Narrative Lab in 2027 is currently set to be $2,750. 

The fee to attend an in-person international five-day Writers' Retreat in 2027 is currently set to be €4,250 (this covers the fee to attend, full room and board, but not travel). 

The fee to attend the remote five-day Writers' Retreat in 2027 is currently set to be $1,800.

Fees to all programs include all content and most meals. The fees for our in-person narrative labs do not cover travel or lodging.

In Stowe, we work with lodging partners to secure deep and meaningful discounts to participants (and most include breakfast ...). We keep on the ground costs as low as possible during our programs.

Changes

Please note, fees may change based on developing costs. We will notify all applicants of fee or schedule changes if/when they occur. 

Other Notes 

We do not provide feedback on projects through our submission process.

Again, please familiarize yourself with our programs and fellowships before applying. You can of course reach out to us at info@stowestorylabs.org if you have questions.

As noted above, we look for talented people - regardless of experience or background - bringing us interesting stories and showing the capacity to do the work.

Our mission includes breaking down barriers to entry in this complicated industry. 

Dates and Deadlines

Early Bird Deadline ($49): October 3 (ends midnight US Pacific Time)

Regular Deadline ($57): November 16 (ends midnight US Pacific Time)

Late Deadline ($68): December 2 (ends midnight US Pacific Time)

Thank you again for taking the time to apply and for trusting us with your work. Please be assured we take the same care of your work and application in the review process as you have put into developing the work and applying.

Best of luck in the process.

Team Stowe Story Labs