Inside the Rogers-BSO Writers Retreat at Fern Resort, October 30 to November 1, 2026
Eleven writers. One resort. A whole lot of stories.
Ten Black and racialized writers and filmmakers packed up their laptops and their half-finished ideas and headed north to Fern Resort for a weekend with the Rogers-BSO Script Development Program. The eleventh zoomed in from Morocco.
The plan was simple. Workshops by day. Big conversations by night.
Two mentors led the way: Anthony Q. Farrell for scripted television and Alison Duke for documentary. They came ready to dig in.
Scripted writers worked through characters and pilot beats. Documentary filmmakers sharpened their concepts and found their point of view.
Then the stories came out.
A man who turns to pastoring for quick cash and starts performing accidental miracles.
A woman who makes people disappear for a living.
A neighbourhood mystery told from every tenant’s point of view.
A teenage love story set during China’s Cultural Revolution.
Nobody was bored.
Somewhere between the sessions and the late-night snacks, the whole weekend turned into one big writers’ room. People pitched. People pushed back. People said “what if…” and meant it.
A comedy writer had notes for a thriller. A documentary maker spotted the heart of a drama. Ideas bounced around the room and came back stronger.
And nobody had to explain where they were coming from. Everyone already knew.
That made it easier to share messy early drafts, scenes that weren’t working yet, and characters still finding their voice.
A few writers arrived quietly, doubting their projects. They left ready to write.
Others found a whole new direction for their story over breakfast.
It turns out the woods work just as well from Morocco.
By Sunday, eleven writers had become a crew. Group chats were set up. They promised to read each other’s next drafts.
Next up: mentorship sessions and a lot of rewriting.
Thank you to the Rogers Group of Funds for making it happen.
