Isabel Sandoval, Tricia Tuttle, ‘Elephants in the Fog’ Producer Anup Poudel Join QueerFrames Mentor Lineup as Lab Unveils New Cohort, Southeast Asia Expansion (EXCLUSIVE)

QueerFrames Screenwriting Lab, a training initiative for emerging queer, trans and nonbinary filmmakers, is expanding into Southeast Asia for its fourth annual edition, bringing together storytellers from India, the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia and the diaspora.

The 2026 cohort features eight fiction feature projects, with queerness woven into the core of each story. The selected filmmakers are Alec Berame and Joshua Caesar Medroso from the Philippines, Saurav Mahind and Sanju Kadu from India, Minh-Anh Vo Dinh from Vietnam and Canada, Megan Teo from Singapore, Kurnia Alexander from Indonesia and Rachel Leyco from the U.S. Their scripts take on identity, intimacy, masculinity, belonging and personal freedom through love stories, thrillers, horror and dramedies that blend genres.

Launched in 2023, QueerFrames has worked with 22 queer and trans filmmakers from the region since its founding. The Lab pairs craft-focused screenwriting development with mentorship from filmmakers, producers, programmers and industry leaders, taking participants from an early draft to a project that is ready for the market.

The 2026 edition will open with an in-person screenwriting retreat in Hua Hin, Thailand, running Sept. 23 to Oct. 2, followed by an Industry Day in Bangkok on Oct. 3 held in partnership with the French Embassy in Thailand, Alliance Française Bangkok and the French Regional Audiovisual Cooperation. The Lab will then continue with virtual sessions through March 2027.

Netflix and the French Institute in India are backing the 2026 edition, with additional support from Purin Film Fund in Thailand and Momo Film Co in Singapore.

This year’s mentors include Anup Poudel, who produced Nepal’s Oscar contender “Elephants in the Fog,” winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes; Berlinale director Tricia Tuttle, returning to the Lab; Filipino filmmaker and actor Isabel Sandoval; “A Useful Ghost” director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke; Indian screenwriter Gazal Dhaliwal; and Momo Film Co chief Tan Si En. Writer-directors Vishnu Sinha, adjunct faculty at Columbia University, and Paromita Dhar return as Lab instructors.

“With this year’s expansion into Southeast Asia, QueerFrames is bringing together a wider community of storytellers who are pushing beyond familiar narratives and exploring queer lives across cultures, genres and lived experiences,” said Rafiul Alom Rahman, director of QueerFrames Screenwriting Lab. “Our hope is to build not just stronger projects, but lasting connections and infrastructure that enable these filmmakers to thrive.”

“Some of the most powerful stories come from places and experiences that have been left out of the frame,” said Poudel. “QueerFrames offers writers the space to develop those stories with courage, specificity and creative freedom.”

Mathieu Béjot, cultural attaché for film, audiovisual and digital content at the French Institute in India, pointed to the partnership’s longevity. “Our longstanding partnership with QueerFrames reflects that commitment, and we are delighted to continue supporting a new generation of queer filmmakers from South and Southeast Asia as they develop their work and connect with the wider international film ecosystem,” Béjot said.

Among the 2026 projects: Berame’s “Hisap Sebatang Before Ciao! (Each/Other)” follows a Filipino diplomat navigating a geopolitical crisis while hiding a quiet romance with his counterpart from Malaysia. Vo Dinh’s “Anglerfish” centers on two men whose seaside getaway is upended by a stranger’s arrival and a string of grisly deaths. Teo’s “Pack” follows a closeted professional boxer who turns to underground pit-fighting to transition. Leyco’s “Winning” is a spoken-word dramedy about a broke queer artist who wins the lottery and slowly becomes the gambling-addicted father she despises.

Mahind’s “Starvation” follows Namya, a gay drifter who pickpockets closeted men until one of his marks comes back looking for closeness instead of revenge. Kadu’s “Under Such a Sky” follows a closeted gay man who breaks his pattern of chasing straight men through a bond with four kids from his swimming class. Medroso’s “Lasto (Last Two)” follows a debt-ridden gay uncle and his niece tracking down the thief who robbed them of their winnings from a “lasto” game. Alexander’s “Jatuh Cinta yang Lurus (A Straight Way to Love)” follows a gay filmmaker who returns to the town that once cast him out, only to find that reconnecting with the friend who was also his first love threatens the life he rebuilt after leaving.