Launching next year, Desert Noir is a year-round initiative developed in collaboration with the organizers of Philadelphia and Palm Springs–based NoirCon. The program connects powerful noir stories that can be filmed in the Mojave Desert with screenwriters, producers, directors, and film financiers seeking high-impact, cost-efficient projects.

By January 2026, six books—each ripe for fast, affordable adaptation—will be selected. Each title will be paired with a screenwriter tasked with developing a feature script under clear production-driven guidelines: a 3–4-week shoot, a budget under $1 million, and a limited number of carefully chosen desert locations. Every project is designed to maximize California Film Commission tax incentives, the region’s proximity to top-tier cast and crew, and the Mojave’s production-ready landscapes requiring minimal set dressing.

Screenwriters will receive an advance against development fees and will be invited in May 2026 to a three-day script-doctoring retreat in Twentynine Palms, working with mentors experienced in noir storytelling and adaptation.

During next year's Twentynine Palms Book Festival (30–31 October and 1 November), Desert Noir will host a dedicated industry program bringing together authors, screenwriters, producers, directors, and local production talent. The gathering will open with the inaugural Desert Noir Award on Thursday, 29 October, honoring one of the six screen adaptations.

The program will introduce a single annual award for the best desert noir adaptation, alternating each year between Twentynine Palms and Palm Springs. It will also feature a mentorship lab for emerging screenwriters, matchmaking opportunities to connect authors with international producers, distributors, and platforms, and an annual spotlight on a major noir publisher—beginning in 2026 with Gallimard’s legendary Série Noire.

For more information, contact pz@ideasforfilms.us.