Square Peg Social Is Ready to Build Another Group of Filmmakers Driven by Passion, Not Desperation

Building a film career is never easy, and artists at early stages of the journey often end up sifting through an endless list of programs, labs, and festivals that offer opportunities that seldom materialize. And on the opposite end of the spectrum is Square Peg Social, which is as admirable for the things it doesn’t offer as for what it does.

The talent incubator launched by Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen, named after the production company they co-founded in 2019, does not give out awards or accolades. It doesn’t select projects to develop or promise job opportunities. It simply gathers filmmakers in early stages of their career for a closed-door summit that offers inside information about how the industry actually works from people who have succeeded in it.

The inaugural Square Peg Social took place in Austin in October 2025, where it will return this September. During a recent conversation with IndieWire, Knudsen (who credits his wife Amy with the original idea), explained that the mentorship-focused event stemmed from his desire to give back to an industry that nobody breaks into without a few helping hands.

“I’ve done over 40 movies. I learn a lot on every movie, and I take that for granted. Ari has done four movies. I think we forget that there are directors and producers that are coming up that could learn a lot from having three or four days with us. And if you just add three or four more other directors like Ari and three more other producers like me, and then we all share all our information over those four days, that something cool will come out of it,” Knudsen said.

He continued, “I invited [Searchlight president] Matthew Greenfield to come because I kept telling people that when I started out, I was able to call Matthew and just ask him if what I was doing was the right thing. And he said, ‘You’re doing it right. Keep going.’ And that one phone call really did everything for me. And so I thought that if we could do that times a thousand where we come all together and you really spend days just breaking down everything, giving advice, nothing is off limits. Only good things can come from that.”

Knudsen said he was pleasantly surprised by how last year’s attendees continued to support each other after the event concluded, suggesting that the team’s vision of building a community of filmmakers who help each other throughout their careers is coming to fruition.

“Year one exceeded our expectations because the directors and producers have now created their own community,” he said. “Being all at a place of their careers where there’s a lot of uncertainty and unpredictability, they were able to take this event and then create a community where they could support each other during those times. That was the sort of thing that we were hoping would happen.”

Who should apply? Knudsen made it clear that there is no single archetype. Past attendees ranged from recent AFI graduates to directors and producers with features under their belts. The common denominator was that candidates were willing to learn and enjoy the journey of building a career in filmmaking, rather than expecting the program to deliver immediate results.

“When we did our first year, we didn’t quite know who we were looking for. I keep harping on this thing where it’s passion driving you, not desperation,” he said. “I don’t expect a producer or director to know when they’re more desperate than passionate, but it is at that stage where excitement is fueling it. It’s not a place to come to say ‘I’m coming here to get my movie financed and I’ve been trying to get a movie financed for two years and I’m sort of hoping that this is the place.’ It’s really a place for directors and producers, not projects.”

The second edition of Square Peg Social will take place in Austin from September 17-21. Submissions are now open via FilmFreeway.