Roadmap Writers' Short Film Lab

How It Works:

Andrew Carlberg is partnering with Roadmap Writers to launch a Short Film Lab to develop character-driven short film scripts. This lab is for mentorship and education only. 

Andrew Carlberg is an Academy Award-winning producer, best known for producing the short film SKIN, which won Best Live Action Short Film at the Oscars. His work demonstrates a deep understanding of powerful, character-driven storytelling and what it takes for a short film to resonate with audiences, festivals, and awards bodies alike.

In this lab, Andrew will share real-world insight into crafting impactful short scripts, helping writers sharpen their voice and elevate their storytelling.

The 2 winning writers will receive a month-long group mentorship with Andrew Carlberg!

• Submissions open from March 23rd, 2026, through May 1st, 2026.
• Open to short scripts only!  
• The submitted short script should be under 30 pages.
• The short script could be in any genre. 
• There is no limit on the number of submissions, but every entry requires a separate submission fee.
• All submissions are final.
• 10 Semifinalists will be asked to participate in a 30-minute interview with Roadmp Writers.
• The 2 winners will have a month-long group mentorship with Andrew Carlberg during the Summer of 2026.

What You'll Experience: 

Over the course of 4 weeks, two selected writers will work closely with Andrew in a small-group, interactive lab setting.

Each week includes:

• Live Zoom session with Andrew Carlberg.
• Direct feedback on your script pages.
• Guidance on what makes a short film stand out at top-tier festivals.
• Insight into structure, tone, and character within the short format.
• Personalized verbal feedback.

Each writer receives:

• 25 minutes of direct verbal feedback per group session.
• 4 total sessions. 

Pricing & Deadline:

Submission Opens: March 23rd, 2026 | $45

Final Deadline: May 1st, 2026 

Deadline is 11:59 pm PT

Winner Announcements:

Semifinalists | June 5th, 2026

Finalists  | June 19th, 2026

Mentorship Winners I July 10th, 2026

*dates are subject to change*

About

ROADMAP WRITERS 

Founded by Joey Tuccio and Dorian Connelley in 2016, Roadmap is an L.A.-based screenwriting education and training platform that is dedicated to writers seeking a guided path to professional success in film and TV. Led by working executives, managers, agents, producers, writers, and other industry professionals, their classes take place exclusively online and are designed to empower writers to elevate their craft while expanding their network. Roadmap has helped 500 writers sign with representation to date, while guiding some directly toward work in the industry. Writers signed through the program to the likes of Kaplan/Perrone, Echo Lake, Good Fear, Anonymous Content, 3 Arts, Artists First, Industry Entertainment, Fourth Wall Management, and CAA, with some going on to staff on shows like GREASE: RISE OF THE PINK LADIES (Paramount+), REACHER (Amazon), FUBAR (Netflix), THE FLASH (CW), WE WERE LIARS (Amazon), and THE RESIDENT (Fox).

ANDREW CARLBERG 

Named by Variety (alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mindy Kaling, Ryan Coogler, Beau Willimon, and Olivia Wilde) as one of "Hollywoodʼs New Leaders," Carlberg is an Academy Award and Emmy Award winning film, television, new media, Broadway and Los Angeles stage producer. Andrew's extensive credits include, but aren't limited to, ABC's Castle, DirecTV's Full Circle, Broadway's Romeo and Juliet and Side Show, Celebration Theatre's Ovation Award winning productions of The Boy from Oz, The Color Purple: The Musical, and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the worldwide hit improv-based show The Blind Date Project, the Neil LaBute penned feature films Some Girl(s) and Dirty Weekend, actress Jennifer Morrison's feature directorial debut Sun Dogs (Netflix 2018), and the 2018 and 2021 Official Sundance Selection The Blazing World (short and feature).  

Notably, Carlberg was the producer of Skin, which won the 2019 Academy Award for Live Action Short Film.

Additional feature credits include the romantic comedy Sister of the Groom (starring Alicia Silverstone and Tom Everett Scott, and released by Saban Films) and the HBOMax drama The Fallout, which premiered at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival, and won the Grand Jury and Audience Award.  Select additional short films include Anna (which premiered in competition at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival), Tea (which premiered in competition at the 77th Cannes Film Festival), Feeling Through (which was nominated at the 93rd Academy Awards), Lalito 10 (which won a 2023 Emmy Award), Olive (starring Academy Award nominee Lesley Ann Warren) and North Star (starring Colman Domingo, Laura Innes and Kevin Bacon; 27 festival wins).  

Other recent feature films include Peace in the Valley (2022 Tribeca Film Festival premiere), Mutt (2023 Sundance Film Festival and 2023 Berlinale International Film Festival), Xeno (produced alongside Kevin Hart) and the documentary Unicorn Town (produced alongside NFL superstar Christian McCaffrey).  Current feature films in post-production include Fade to Black (Karan Soni, Zosia Mamet, Rafael Casal, John Carroll Lynch, Betty Gabriel, Eli Roth), Final Interview (Scott Wolf) and Oddities (Adrienne Barbeau).

Carlberg has sold projects to HBO, Netflix, CBS, DirecTV and more - and has an ambitious slate of development.  Andrew is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (where he's been named a Distinguished Alumni) with Shakespeare studies at Oxford University, a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Producers United and the Producers Guild of America, an alum of Film Independent's Fast Track Producing Fellowship and New York's Independent Filmmaker Project, and an event producer and fundraiser for the I Have a Dream Foundation - Los Angeles, Sarcoma Foundation of America, and the National Breast Cancer Coalition.

Judging:

Roadmap Writers will review all submissions.

Rules:

• Submission Release Agreement

• Competition Rules & Guidelines