TFC Names 10 Fellows to Second Career Development Lab
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- Transgender Film Center revealed 10 fellows for the 2025-26 Career Development Lab, its second annual cohort of trans creators working in film and television.
- The 12-week accelerator, funded by Netflix, combines 12 in-person sessions and 8 virtual workshops, with fellows convening in Los Angeles for several days of meetings and seminars before moving to weekly virtual sessions.
- Industry leaders Lilly Wachowski and Mark Duplass led virtual workshops, and the cohort participated in learning sessions at the Tribeca Film Festival designed for navigating the festival circuit.
- Each fellow receives a $15,000 honorarium to offset time away from paid work and graduates with a refined 90-day roadmap to translate Lab insights into concrete career progress.
- The cohort includes Eva Reign (writer of coming-of-age stories about marginalized women and girls), Betti Platt (actor-writer-producer of absurdist trans scripts), Gugu Issa (TV writer developing the Sundance-supported feature Khutbah), and seven other trans artists across film, TV, stand-up, and animation.
- Sav Rodgers, TFC's Executive Director, framed the Lab as a vehicle to help trans professionals "build durable careers in film and television — because that's how more trans-made stories reach audiences at scale."
Why it matters: Ten trans creators gain direct access to working showrunners, directors, agents, and managers — plus a $15,000 stipend and structured 90-day post-program plan — while Netflix's funding of the Lab positions the streamer as a pipeline-builder for trans film and TV talent, not merely a content buyer.
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