Rewriting Your Screenplay and Crafting Your Pitch

Session: June 2026

With: Lee Moss and Q Terah Jackson
June 18–August 23 | Thursdays, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. PT
$750
Payment plan available
8 weeks
48
Rewriting Your Screenplay and Crafting Your Pitch
48
Rewriting Your Screenplay and Crafting Your Pitch

About this Live Online Course

Looking for support to polish your script? Revise your feature film screenplay with an accomplished screenwriter as your guide. In this live online, eight-week course designed for screenwriters at any level, a Sundance Collab Instructor will offer a comprehensive approach to refining your script and preparing it to share with industry professionals. 


How the course is structured:

At the beginning and the end of the course, your instructor will read your screenplay and will meet with you for two dedicated, 45-minute, 1-on-1 sessions.


Outside of the 1-on-1 sessions, you will meet weekly with your instructor and cohort to discuss core concepts and be guided on a revision schedule. The final 1-on-1 session will occur one to two weeks after the last class session.


By the end of the course, you will have a stronger version of your screenplay, a compelling elevator pitch, and the confidence to present your project to industry professionals.


This course is meant to follow Screenwriting: From Outline to First Draft of Your Screenplay, but can be taken on its own if you have a full draft of a feature-length screenplay. This is the final course in the Screenwriting Track. 


Note:

To register, you will need to submit a draft of your feature-length screenplay along with an Intention Statement. You will have the opportunity to submit a revised draft two weeks before the first class. At this point, all screenplays from the cohort will be sent to the instructor to read to prepare for the course.

The Intention Statement is a one-page document that describes what you hope to accomplish with your story, what you want the audience to take away, and what type of feedback would be helpful to you before you dive into your rewrite.


What you bring to the course:

  • a full draft of a feature length screenplay (under 120 pages)

What you’ll get from the course:

  • a greater understanding of screenplay structure and character development
  • tools to develop your own approach to rewriting and polishing your work
  • how to effectively incorporate feedback to improve your script
  • how to develop and practice an elevator pitch

This course will:

  • provide tools and techniques to apply to any project
  • build a creative community of writers to support each other
  • offer personalized feedback on your screenplay and your pitch via 1-on-1 sessions with a Sundance Collab Instructor


A limited number of need-based scholarships are available and are considered on a rolling basis as they are received. Those who apply earlier will have a greater chance of getting support. To apply for a scholarship, please complete the course registration form.


Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Accommodations and services are designed to meet the needs of each participant. Please email us at accessibility@sundance.org to arrange for services. 

Live Online Course
Advanced
Live virtual class sessions
Individualized feedback
Two 1-on-1 sessions with your instructor
Certificate of Completion
Access to course for one year

Scholarships

Sundance Collab offers a limited number of full and partial need-based scholarships for individuals who need assistance. 

Due to limited scholarship funds available, we prioritize one course scholarship per participant in a 12-month period. Scholarship applications are available up to one week before the registration deadline and do not stack with discounts or promotions, including early registration.

Outline

What to expect:

  • You will meet with your instructor and a small group of writers for a two-hour small group session to get to know each other, discuss how to approach rewriting your screenplay, making a plan and a schedule, and best practices for receiving feedback.
  • Suggested assignment: make a plan and schedule for your revisions.

What to expect:

  • Your instructor will read the draft of your screenplay that you registered for the course with and meet with you for a 1-on-1 mentoring session to discuss your plan for revisions.
  • Suggested assignment: revise your plan following your mentoring session.

What to expect:

  • You will meet with your instructor and a small group of writers for a two-hour small group session to discuss character introductions, creating characters with stakes and agency, and crafting the world around your story.
  • Suggested assignment: do a character pass on your screenplay.

What to expect:

  • You will meet with your instructor and a small group of writers for a two-hour small group session to discuss scene craft, identifying subtext, and revealing character through behavior, scene description, and dialogue.
  • Suggested assignment: identify three scenes from your screenplay and rewrite them.

What to expect:

  • You will meet with your instructor and a small group of writers for a two-hour small group session to revisit structure, discuss your Act 3, and crafting that perfect ending.
  • Suggested assignment: review your structure tentpoles. Is everything working as needed?

What to expect:

  • You will meet with your instructor and a small group of writers for a two-hour small group session to discuss your next steps in rewriting and polishing your screenplay, tracking theme and tone, dialogue punch-ups, utilizing verbs, getting distance from your draft, and creating a habit for writing in your life.
  • Suggested assignment: do a final pass focusing on punching-up dialogue and polishing for a reader in order to submit your screenplay to your instructor.

What to expect:

  • You will meet with your instructor and a small group of writers for a two-hour small group session to discuss the different types of pitches you need to prepare, lookbooks, pitch decks, and sizzle reels.
  • Suggested assignment: practice your pitch.

What to expect:

  • The course concludes with a 1-on-1 mentoring session with your instructor. Your instructor will read the latest draft of your screenplay and meet with you for a 1-on-1 mentoring session to give you feedback on an elevator pitch and discuss your next steps.

Team

Q Terah Jackson

Instructor

Q. Terah Jackson uses historical dramas and science fiction to examine personal and public questions about the human condition. His achievements in writing have been honored by his alma maters – the American Film Institute Conservatory (AFI) and Howard University, by the Writers Guild of America-West, and by Film Independent, and received attention from the Nichols Fellowship.

He wrote RUSTIN, an award-winning screenplay about Martin Luther King’s strategic advisor and organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. He wrote COUNTER directed by Nicholas Bouier and starring Demetrius Grosse, which premiered at the 2015 LA Film Festival and has since screened globally, nationally on PBS and at the NAACP's 2020 Virtual Convention. He has worked with Autopilot Entertainment, Reform Media, Black Bar Mitzvah, and AMC Studios to develop film and television projects. He is currently creating a limited TV series based on the US Welfare Rights movement set in Las Vegas.

His science fiction story, JULIUS-X ON DYING EARTH gained the attention of the Sundance / SLOAN Grant Program. He is currently developing a science fiction feature film about life, law, and artificial intelligence.

His screenwriting is deeply influenced by his work on the stage starting with his two hip hop theater plays, TWENTY-20 and HIDDEN PAGES, which was funded by Washington, D.C.’s Arts Commission. Between writing these two plays he was honored by participating in the Lincoln Center’s Directors Lab. For the award-winning play starring and written by Anu Yadav, MEENA'S DREAM, he directed the film of the premiere run before serving as the dramaturg for the off-Broadway development performance at the All For One Theater. He has teamed with Yadav to develop her first musical on poverty and triumph in the United States.

He has taught film and theater writing related courses at Chapman University, California State University - Long Beach, the New York Film Academy and at conferences and festivals around the country. He provides script reading and development services to a number of screenwriting competitions, producers, and filmmakers.

Jackson previously worked in government to enhance the education of youth and adults, particularly those with special needs. He also traveled the world as an IT consultant, which gave him the opportunity to meet old friends, eat lemon Kit Kats, and climb Mount Fuji, which he highly recommends climbing once – only once.

Lee Moss

Instructor

Lee Moss is a filmmaker and story consultant from NYC, now based in Dublin, Ireland. They were named one of Indiewire’s 10 LGTBTQ Creators On The Rise in 2023. They have been a Film Independent Episodic Directing Lab Fellow, Women in Film Fellow, a Yaddo resident artist and an alum of both the Sundance Screenwriters and Directors Labs. They have lectured on screenwriting at Columbia University, SUNY Purchase and NYU.


Their feature directing debut, Birth/Rebirth, premiered at Sundance and was distributed theatrically by IFC. It was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards (Best Screenplay, Best Lead Performance, Judy Reyes and Someone To Watch). 


Their spec pilot, Eureka!, starring Karen Gillan, Jon Bass and Jillian Bell, premiered at Tribeca and won Best Director at Seriesfest. Their short film Fry Day, which premiered at SXSW, was featured on the Criterion Channel, paired with the classic satire, Man Bites Dog.

FAQ

In Sundance Collab’s Live Online courses, participants attend live, virtual class sessions on the same day and time for a specified period. These sessions are led by an instructor and in some cases, supported by a team of advisors. In some courses, you are given assignments with submission deadlines to help you take the next step with your work. 

  • Each week you will be able to attend live lectures via Zoom video and ask questions of your instructor.
  • In some courses, you will receive individualized feedback from your course advisor on elements of your work.
  • In some courses, you will have the opportunity to have a 1-on-1 session with your advisor. Depending on the course, this session may be included or may be purchased separately for an additional cost. Check the course description for specifics. 

All members of the Sundance Collab community are welcome to register for Sundance Collab courses. Please review the course description and any eligibility requirements to ensure the course is a good fit. If you have any questions about a course, please email collab_courses@sundance.org.


Note that space is limited. If the registration window is open, you will see a “Register” button on the course page. If there is an application, applications are considered as they are received and applicants are accepted on a rolling basis until the course is full or the deadline has passed, whichever comes first. 

We do not allow creative partners to do our live online courses as a team. However, both creators can individually register for the course.

Part of Sundance Collab's unique educational approach is to create a teaching team for every course. Each class is led by an instructor who may be accompanied by additional course advisors. This allows us to keep an intimate ratio of participants to advisors and to provide a diversity of voices and approaches to the course content.

We often offer a limited number of need-based, full or partial scholarships. Check the course description to see if that course currently has scholarships available. Scholarships are prioritized for one per person per year (from the date of issue). Scholarship applications are available up to one week before the registration deadline. To apply for a scholarship,complete the registration form by clicking the REGISTER button and selecting the option to apply for a scholarship, if available.

Applicants will be notified about their scholarship decision prior to the first day of the course. Due to the volume of applicants, we are not always able to provide a scholarship, but we may still offer a spot in the course. In this case, depending on the course, payment plans may be available and can be selected at checkout.

Yes, we offer two or three-part payment plans for Live Online courses, depending on the length of the course. In all cases, the first payment is due at the point of registration. The remaining payment(s) are spread out throughout the course term. For specific payment plan dates for a course, please reach out to our team at: collab_courses@sundance.org. 

Yes, you are welcome to take a live, online course even if you can’t make the live sessions. Recordings of each class session are available online by the following day so you can keep up with the course lectures. For courses that include a 1-on-1 session with an advisor or instructor, the meeting is scheduled according to your (and their) availability.

All sessions are recorded and usually made available within one business day. The videos will also contain the chat and transcript from the class session, viewable in the video playbar.


Participants will have access to the recordings for one year following the last class session.

All participants will receive a Certificate of Completion. The certificate will include the name associated with your Sundance Collab account.

You can find any courses that you are enrolled in or have already completed in the profile section of your Sundance Collab account under “Courses.”

You can join a course via a computer or mobile device. All of our live, online courses are conducted via Zoom.


Download and set up the Zoom software (https://zoom.us/download) and make sure you have the latest update. Here are some great resources from Zoom’s Knowledge Base to take a deeper dive into using Zoom:

 

If you have any further questions, please email collab_courses@sundance.org.


Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Please contact us at (435) 776-7790 or email us at accessibility@sundance.org to ask any questions or to discuss your specific needs after you have been accepted into the course.

Upcoming Sessions

$750
June 18–August 23 | Thursdays, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. PT
With: Lee Moss
Did you apply or register for a session that is not listed above?
* A 3.5% + 20 cent processing fee is applied to all transactions.

Payment Plans:

  • A three-part payment plan is available after you register.

  • Payments are spaced two weeks apart with the first payment due at the time of registration.

Scholarships:

  • A limited number of need-based scholarships are available.

  • Scholarship applications are available up to one week before the registration deadline and do not stack with discounts or promotions, including early registration.

  • To apply for a scholarship, complete the registration form by clicking the REGISTER button above and selecting the scholarship option, if available.