Screenwriter Fellowship Program
The Screenwriters Fellowship Program is a one-year intensive writers’ workshop held by Soda Machine Films with the support from NETFLIX. It aims to foster new Indonesian writers with very diverse and distinguished backgrounds to develop original stories in the form of feature films. The final goal is to have a project being selected to be developed and produced for Netflix.
The 1st batch of fellowship started in July 2023 and ended in June 2024, with 4 selected writers participated under the guidance of academy lecturers Prima Rusdi and Lucky Kuswandi. The fellowship was divided into 3 phases: story exploration phase (3 months), lecturers guidance phase (2 months, with a story summit session involving Netflix Creatives Team from Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea), and writing phase (7 months). The final deliverables were first drafts screenplay and a pitch deck for Netflix. It has been confirmed that one project from the fellowship program is going to be produced by Soda Machine Films in 2026 as a Netflix Original.
Goals
Beyond script development, the program aims to instill a deep sense of creative discipline, intellectual curiosity, and ethical authorship in each participating writer.
With proper support and exposure throughout the fellowship, participants are expected to emerge with strong storytelling skills and a lifelong commitment to learning and continuous self-improvement.
Fellows are encouraged to develop stories that are authentic in voice yet accessible and communicative to audiences.
Equally important, they are expected to demonstrate integrity and accountability in their creative work, ensuring their output is artistically responsible and culturally resonant.
2025 APPLICATION IS NOW CLOSED.
SELECTED PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON OCTOBER 1, 2025