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TRAINING SPECIAL 2015
There are 8 thousand film lovers in this square. We're looking for you. Locarno Summer Academy
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Screen International’s annual report on the training industry this year takes an in-depth look at the significant role played by international film festivals in supporting talent development programmes and nurturing new generations of film-makers. Over the following 20 pages, we cover festival training programmes, labs and workshops aimed at emerging writers, directors and producers from around the world. We report on which initiatives are best suited to different kinds of film-makers, the on-
P2-3 North America
going relationship between festivals and the talent they nurture, and consider what makes an effective, budget-friendly, festival-backed initiative. Former participants reveal the real-world experience they have gleaned, and compare and contrast various training schemes. We also catch up with the training division of Creative Europe MEDIA and explore what kind of projects it is supporting in its new iteration. Louise Tutt, supplement editor
2 Sundance InStItute lab programme, Sundance fIlm feStIval 3 toronto talent lab, toronto InternatIonal fIlm feStIval 4 the hIve lab, adelaIde fIlm feStIval 6 accelerator, melbourne InternatIonal fIlm feStIval
P4-7 Australia and Asia
6 aSIan fIlm academy, buSan InternatIonal fIlm feStIval 7 fIlm bazaar, IndIa 10 nordIc fIlm lab, goteborg fIlm feStIval 13 rotterdam lab, InternatIonal fIlm feStIval rotterdam
P10-18 Europe
14 berlInale talentS, berlIn InternatIonal fIlm feStIval 14 conquerIng the ScrIpt, JameSon dublIn InternatIonal fIlm feStIval 16 reSIdence du feStIval, canneS fIlm feStIval
P20 Creative Europe MEDIA
16 locarno Summer academy, locarno InternatIonal fIlm feStIval 18 bIennale college — cInema, venIce fIlm feStIval 18 net.WorK@lff, bfI london fIlm feStIval 20 creatIve europe medIa
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Training Special 2015 Screen International 1
TrAiNiNg SuNdANce & ToroNTo
North America The relationship between Sundance Labs and Sundance Film Festival has blazed a trail for film-maker development programmes, while Toronto Talent Lab prefers a short, sharp festival infusion once a year Sundance InStItute lab programme, Sundance fIlm feStIval Under its Feature Film Programme (FFP), the Sundance Institute, which staged its first labs in 1981, runs a Screenwriters Lab that sees 12 participants (or ‘fellows’) work on scripts with established writers, and a Directors Lab that sees directors of eight projects work with creative advisers to rehearse, shoot and edit key scenes. The institute also runs Screenwriter Labs in international locations — currently Jordan, Turkey, India and Japan — and offers a Creative Producing Lab & Fellowship. The 800 artists who have gone through the programme (resulting in 375 distributed films) include
Quentin Tarantino, Darren Aronofsky, Paul Thomas Anderson, Damien Chazelle, Guillermo del Toro, Walter Salles, Lynne Ramsay and Andrea Arnold. “It is a year-round customised support system for this curated group of film-makers,” says Michelle Satter, founding director of FFP. “It includes our creative labs, strategic granting at critical moments as a film moves forward, and year-round creative and tactical support. We think of our labs in a holistic way.” Je f f r e y Fr i e d m a n , w h o attended the 2009 Screenwriters Lab with Howl (which he wrote and directed with Rob Epstein),
says: “It’s so rare to be in a situation with established industry people who are not personally invested in a project as their own but who are so committed and generous with their knowledge and expertise.” Saudi film-maker Haifaa AlMansour, who in 2009 attended the Jordan Screenwriters Lab with her script for Wadjda, says
‘We think of our labs in a holistic way’ Michelle Satter, Sundance
that in the Middle East the programme is considered “one of the most credible. Their endorsement is very respected in the Arab world.” Participating was “an amazing experience”, says Al-Mansour. “I had finished the script and I was so adamant about not changing anything but all the advisers told me there were things I needed to change.” There are two separate USbased Screenwriters Labs each year. One is a five-day workshop in January, just before the Sundance festival, and the other is a five-day session in June. The Directors Lab runs for four weeks in May and June. Both are held at s the Sundance Resort, Utah. n John Hazelton
Features developed through the labs are often selected for the festival
2 Screen International Training Special 2015
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toronto talent lab, toronto InternatIonal fIlm feStIval Aim of the initiAtive The lab programme, says founding director Michelle Satter, gives the festival a chance “to see the new short films that have come in from all over the world”. Features developed during the labs are often, though not automatically, selected for the festival. “What’s incredible,” says Satter, “is to have the films we’ve supported through our lab and year-round process premiere at Sundance and have real possibilities for extended distribution after the festival.”
Who cAn Apply The Screenwriters Lab is for writers and writer/directors developing their first or second narrative feature films. The application process is an open one for the January lab but the June session is by invitation only. The Directors Lab is by invitation only and is typically populated by projects previously supported by the Screenwriters Lab. All the labs are open to US and international film-makers and overall about one third of the participants each year come from outside the US. All expenses are paid by the Sundance Institute. “We’re looking for a unique and authentic voice and a distinctive original story that may have a timely aspect,” Satter says. “We’re also looking for a mix of material in the overall slate of projects. We want to represent the broadest spectrum of independent film-making and to make sure the big tent of diversity is part of the selections.” While many participants are found through open submission, “we do a lot of outreach through our international network of film professionals”, Satter says. “We also do targeted outreach for projects. As we see a short that we love, we meet with the film-maker and invite them to submit.”
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Now in its 12th year, Toronto Talent Lab takes place for four days at the beginning of the annual film festival in September. It is led by experienced film-making ‘governors’ who guide 20 emerging film-makers in group discussions that focus on creativity, the artistic process and independent voices. The governors for the 2014 edition included Jim Stark, Claire Denis, Sandra Oh and Ramin Bahrani. The Talent Lab is designed to connect Canadian film-makers with emerging talent from other
countries. Recent participants include Elan Mastai (The F Word, aka What If), Jeff Barnaby (Rhymes For Young Ghouls), Moon Byoung-gon (Palme d’Or-winning short Safe) and Juan Andres Arango Garcia (La Playa DC). The lab’s small size gives participants the opportunity to discuss in-depth issues with some of the most innovative film artists working in cinema. “The lab is designed to be inspirational, to give permission to the new generation to take risks, be bold and daring, as this is the
Aim of the initiAtive Toronto Talent Lab helps the festival identify emerging talents, explains Justin Cutler, director of TIFF’s Industry Office. “Our main focus is to mentor the next generation of filmmakers and this is the perfect opportunity for us to meet them on a very intimate level,” he says. For the lab, Cutler adds, being associated with the festival “provides an incomparable artistic experience for the film-makers. We want them to be completely immersed in the world’s best cinema and that can really only happen in a festival environment”. Icelandic film-maker Vera Solvadottir, who attended the 2014 lab with her project The Party, says: “What impressed
work we champion as an organisation,” says TIFF director and CEO Piers Handling. Canadian film-maker Jordan Canning (We Were Wolves), who took part in 2011, says the programme is “pretty special and sought after. It’s something I’d had my eye on for a few years and had applied to in the past. There’s a wealth of international talent [at the festival] and the lab does an amazing job of bringing them in to talk with all these emerging s film-makers.” n John Hazelton
Who cAn Apply me most were the people giving us lectures [that year], Mike Leigh, Juliette Binoche, Darren Aronofsky.” The lab was also “a great thing to do networking-wise”, Solvadottir says. However she adds there was a feeling among some participants that the programme “could maybe have focused more on the projects that people were doing”.
‘This is the perfect opportunity to meet new film-makers on a very intimate level’ Justin Cutler, TIFF
Half of the places on Toronto Talent Lab are open to nonCanadian directors and writers. Applicants need to have made at least two shorts and not more than one feature and they usually have had at least one short screen at a major festival. Anyone can apply, though Cutler says TIFF works “closely with national promotion agencies around the world and experienced producers, asking for their suggestions”. There are no application fees and participants receive a free industry pass to the festival and up to five nights of accommodation. Travel costs are not usually covered but there is assistance on a case-bycase basis.
Training Special 2015 Screen International 3
TRAINING ADELAIDE
Australia and Asia Labs in Asia and Australia are helping to forge invaluable networks, providing mutual encouragement and practical production support
AIM OF THE INITIATIVE
THE HIVE LAB, ADELAIDE FILM FESTIVAL The HIVE Lab brings together Australian film-makers wanting to take a nontraditional approach to film-making and experienced Australian artists from wider disciplines interested in applying their skills to film. The first four-day lab was held in February 2011 as part of Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) and the second in October 2012 as part of Melbourne Festival. Discussions are now ongoing about a third iteration to take place in Adelaide. “Participants get to know each other by talking about what they’re doing in theatre, dance, film and so on,” says Amanda Duthie, director and CEO of AFF. “Everyone is in the same business but they use different processes and different creative muscles.” Duthie points to HIVE success stories such as multimedia artist Lynette Wallworth’s feature-length documentary Tender, best television documentary winner at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) awards in January; and I Want To Dance Better At Parties, the best short film prize-winner at 2014’s Sydney Film Festival. The latter, a half-hour drama/ documentary hybrid, was from cowriter-directors Matthew Bates (Shut 4 Screen International Training Special 2015
‘The lab has tapped into the amazing guest list we have at the festival’ Amanda Duthie, Adelaide Film Festival
Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure) and Gideon Obarzanek. “We’re now talking about a virtualreality contemporary dance piece,” says Bates. “I never would have met [Obarzanek] without HIVE and that alone was worth it. We talk every week about something — recently a show he was choreographing in Vegas — and he will be a collaborator for life.” Film-making participants have included Glendyn Ivin (Last Ride), Amiel Courtin-Wilson (Ruin), Bryan Mason (Life In Movement) and Ashlee Page (The Turning). Non-film-making participants to date have been photographer Bill Henson, comedian Eddie Perfect, composer and musician Richard Tognetti, and dancer and choreographer Meryl Tankard. “The lab has tapped into the amazing guest list at the festival,” says Duthie. “After a lot of hard yakka during the day, everyone goes to premieres each night.” The HIVE Lab fell out of sync with the (biennial) AFF when the film festival moved from February to October — hence the second lab being held during Melbourne, which is a wider arts festis val. A third event will return to AFF. ■ Sandy George
Importance is placed on the conversations that participants have with each other, while also engaging with mentors and being inspired by AFF. Festival guests take part in case studies, discussions and various creative exercises. “Adelaide Film Festival gets to premiere the work and gives our audiences engagement with different kinds of art and artists,” she says. “This year we will show hybrid film Spear, choreographer Stephen Page’s feature debut, and Rose Myers’ Girl Asleep, which has been adapted from a stage play. Our investment in these two features from our existing production fund [Adelaide Film Festival’s Investment Fund] was A$800,000 [$625,000].” AFF’s federal partners in the HIVE Lab are the Australia Council, ABC TV Arts and Screen Australia. All costs are covered by the partners.
WHO CAN APPLY Participants must have already made a significant impact on the Australian cultural landscape, and must present a concept for a film-based project. To apply and participate is free, with travel and accommodation provided for out-of-state participants. » www.screendaily.com
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Training Melbourne & busan
With alumni who include some of Australia and New Zealand’s leading contemporary directors — Sophie Hyde (52 Tuesdays), Justin Kurzel (Snowtown), David Michod (Animal Kingdom) and Taika Waititi (What We Do In The Shadows) — the fourand-a-half-day Accelerator workshop is a proven film-maker development hothouse. “Accelerator helps talented shorts directors become tomorrow’s feature film-makers,” says Mark Woods, industry director at Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF). Accelerator is run by MIFF’s 37°South Market. Now in its 12th year, it features screenings, director conversations and craft-based sessions on topics that include editing, casting, acting, cinematography, sound and costume design, plus pitch coaching and funder introductions. “The business sessions are part of making the transition to features,” says Woods. Writer-director Jonathan auf der Heide, who took part in Accelerator 2008, confirms those industry moments were invaluable. “Relationships with sales agents and distributors were a big talking point, an area rarely covered at film school, and it’s a big learning curve,” he says. “I was heading into the shoot
AccelerAtor, melbourne internAtionAl film festivAl
Who cAn Apply Open to 15-18 directors who have a short film selected for MIFF and a feature in development. Five to eight further directors who do not have films at MIFF are often admitted via partnerships with various Australian and New Zealand film agencies, and sometimes international directors are invited. Participants pay their own costs.
for Van Diemen’s Land the following week and it was invaluable to hear from producers and directors who had already trodden the path and to get candid advice about the pitfalls and realities of bigger budget films, and the resultant pressure of putting bums on seats to recoup the money.” Being part of an international film festival provides the film-makers with privileged access to leading creatives. “We saw films from international film-makers, then the following day, over lunch, had candid
AsiAn film AcAdemy, busAn internAtionAl film festivAl
Renowned for fostering new talent from around Asia, the Asian Film Academy (AFA) is hosted by Dongseo University, Busan Film Commission and Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). It runs for 18 days, overlapping with BIFF so the two short films produced by participants during the academy can be screened at a graduation ceremony at the end of the festival. AFA celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2014 with special events and returning alumni such as inaugural AFA participant and Indonesian director Edwin, whose Postcards From The Zoo 6 Screen International Training Special 2015
screened in Berlinale Competition in 2012, and class of 2010 participant Abu Shahed Emon from Bangladesh, whose Jalal’s Story was selected for BIFF’s New Currents competition last year. Consisting of workshops, masterclasses and short-film production, AFA is marked by the calibre of the world-class filmmakers it attracts to mentor the participants, with ‘deans’ such as Bela Tarr, Im Kwon-taek, Hou Hsiao Hsien, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Abbas s Kiarostami and Jia Zhangke. n Jean Noh
discussions with them about aspects that couldn’t be disclosed in a public Q&A,” says auf der Heide. “You feel you have a backstage pass to the festival and every minute is packed to the brim with screenings, chats, premiere drinks, lunches and panel discussions. I loved it.” Accelerator takes place in the middle of the three-week long MIFF. It is bookended by events introducing the short-film directors to the s industry and the festival awards. n Sandy George
Aim of the initiAtive In line with the festival’s mandate to discover, promote and support Asian talent, AFA fosters emerging filmmakers and helps them to establish an invaluable Asian film-makers’ network. “They don’t just forget you after the participation; they help the participants to achieve their desired dream,” says film-maker Abu Shahed Emon, who secured post-production support after his script was selected as one of two to be made into a short film during his AFA cycle. Over the years, Emon has secured feature script development funding and post-production support from Busan’s Asian Cinema Fund; had a project selected to Busan’s Asian Project Market; and screened short The Container at BIFF, which also received support from the AFA Fellowship Fund. “Every time, BIFF helped me with things, which gave me the courage, the motivation and positive energy to make my debut film. They were always beside me through this whole time,” he says. Many AFA alumni point to the camaraderie and networks they establish with each other, which extend well beyond the programme’s 18-day duration. It results in mutual encouragement, exchange of ideas and information, and even production collaborations.
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Aim of the initiAtive
IndIa
Accelerator helps MIFF build relationships with short-film talent who will later bring new feature content to the festival. It introduces them to the industry and, crucially, to audiences. “Shorts are very popular with MIFF audiences and MIFF,” says the festival’s industry director Mark Woods. Participants are encouraged to stay in touch with each other and share experiences. “I couldn’t recommend Accelerator enough,” says filmmaker Zak Hilditch. “It was great to return to the festival two years later with my film These Final Hours and share my war stories with the latest batch of Accelerator film-makers.”
Film Bazaar’s various film-maker labs are the first of their kind to focus on talent and industry development in India. Liz Shackleton reports
‘Accelerator helps talented shorts directors become tomorrow’s feature film-makers’ Mark Woods, MIFF
Who cAn Apply Any film-maker over the age of 18 with a ‘UN-defined Asian nationality’ can apply. Participants must have experience in directing, producing, cinematography, editing, production design or sound on at least two short films. The AFA selection board will consider applicants with filmmaking experience other than the above mentioned (eg, for actors or assistant directors) on a case-bycase basis. Participants have to be able to communicate in English, although they do not need to be fluent. “We look at the talent and skill in an applicant’s portfolio,” says Pak Dosin, the programmer who heads up AFA. AFA covers all travel, accommodations, meals and equipment costs for participants.
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L
aunched in 2012, NFDC Labs is a year-round extension of the various labs that India’s National Film Development Corp (NFDC) holds during its annual co-production event, Film Bazaar, which takes place in Goa each year, alongside the government-organised International Film Festival of India. Although delegates to each event can access the other, officially they are separate entities. Film Bazaar features a co-production market, Work-in-Progress Lab, Screenwriters Lab and Producers Lab. Each is focused on film-makers with some experience. Only the Screenwriters Lab runs longer than the event’s four-day duration as organisers struck on the need for a year-round programme of labs, some of which cater to newer talents who need a longer or less intensive schedule to hone their craft. New initiatives include the National Script Lab, which runs for six months including workshops with e-mail and Skype sessions in between. The current session, which ends in March 2015, is focusing on youth and children’s stories. “Newcomers need to be nurtured over a longer period and may find the Film Bazaar labs too intensive. But we want them to participate in Film Bazaar so they understand the business aspects of film,” says Leena Khobragade, who has been co-ordinating the labs since their founder, Marten Rabarts, was appointed to head Netherlands’ Eye International in January.
unique moments Film Bazaar and NFDC Labs are the only initiatives of their kind in India, which has huge mainstream industries but has not traditionally focused on industry development. “It has been a great learning experience,” says Vicky Barmecha, who took part in this year’s National Script Lab. “[The lab] has helped me take my script to
Film Bazaar is held at the Goa Marriott in Panjim
‘The idea is to allow participants to find their voice’ nina Lath Gupta, nFdC
another level. This workshop has given me a new way, a new process, to deal with a story.” Both Film Bazaar and the labs are part of NFDC’s mission to work on industry development across all areas: from script development and technical disciplines to the creative and business aspects of being a film producer. NFDC also runs residential Directors Labs, which last a few weeks and have been mentored by film-makers such as Udayan Prasad (My Son The Fanatic) and National Film School of Denmark’s Arne Bro. Meanwhile, the Romance Screenwriters Lab, launched last year, focuses on romance and women-centric stories, which tend to be more commercial than projects in the other strands. “The idea is not about teaching as such but to allow participants to find their voice,” says NFDC managing director Nina Lath Gupta. “We also aim to help film-makers understand what works and doesn’t work in the marketplace.” The labs also feed into each
other. Mumbai-based film-maker Hitesh Bhatia was at Film Bazaar’s Screenwriters Lab last year with his debut feature script Char Log Kya Kahenge after taking part in one of NFDC’s Directors Labs. Film-makers who are Indian or living abroad but of Indian origin can apply, paying a $32 (rup2,000) application processing fee. Filmmakers selected for the Film Bazaar labs usually have a few productions under their belt, while participants in the extended NFDC Labs can be total beginners or those moving into a new area such as editorturned-writer Ranjeet Bahadur and actress Konkona Sensharma who took part in the recent National Script Lab. “It has been a stimulating experience,” says Bahadur. “I have been an editor of some very successful films but Oddball is my first script. My initial draft got positive feedback from friends and colleagues but I felt there was something missing. I wasn’t sure which direction to take. Being a first-time writer I needed some expert advice. The NFDC Lab has some very experienced and passionate mentors. In the first workshop they were able to sink their teeth into the script. I learned to write more visually and to have confidence in the audience. Simple advice such as, ‘Your characters don’t know they are in a s movie,’ was very helpful.” n
Training Special 2015 Screen International 7
Actor Jack O’Connell strides out in Warp Film’s multi-award winning ’71. Photo credit: Dean Rogers
Warp Films and Creative Skillset Fuelling the next generation of training There is a prevailing misconception training only happens through conventional courses or workshops. While still immensely valuable, training is much more than this – it is about empowering business.
For Warp, long-term ambition is a mindset. The impact of receiving Creative Skillset’s investment has meant freedom to look at their whole company’s development in a way specifically suited to them.
Gavin Humphries, Film Partnership Manager at Creative Skillset explains: ‘We believe companies should own their training. Only they know what they need and they’re using our funding to do this. We provide them with the freedom to develop and grow.’
‘For a rapidly growing company like Warp, the support of Creative Skillset has helped us develop the skills of our people to match our ambitions’ says Alex Marshall, C.O.O.
One company Creative Skillset have worked with closely to achieve this is award winning Warp Films.
SS8085_ScreenTrainingGuide_5.indd 1
‘When planning for the future of the business, it is great to know that our staff can access training’ says Finance Director, Niall Shamma. ‘The funding has been essential to facilitate this.’
Ismar Badzic
‘We believe companies should own their own training’
By looking at the whole company from a skills perspective, they have been able to develop Warp’s core culture. ‘You get better by doing,’ says Head of Production Barry Ryan. ‘We need people who are efficient, thorough and creative. And we need to identify and encourage those people. For us, it was the opportunity to develop the right production team that allowed us to foster the right culture.’ The cultural move for Warp has also been a commercial one. They have always been focused on moving from the typical film company experience built around individual productions by investing in a sustainable business model.
ADVERTORIAL
what I learned both in the day to day running and long term planning of the company.’
With Creative Skillset business funding in place, Warp were also able to invest in other skills such as marketing, IT and financial to power their business. For Warp, it’s time to diversify and go global. Founder and MD Mark Herbert says ‘Since starting Warp Films in 2002, Creative Skillset has helped us build our business, expand into high-end TV and compete on the international stage.’ Warp Films used a Creative Skillset company award to support a whole suite of activities including a move into high-end TV, which they knew their staff could branch into readily. This allowed the company to be agile but remain focused on their core work, film production, building on success of films such as ’71 while crossing into international TV co-production with The Last Panthers. With an international market in mind, Niall also spent time in Los
Libby Durdy from Warp now runs her own production company
Angeles with Creative Skillset supported ‘Inside Pictures’ giving him a 360 degree view of the global film business. ‘You come back with a different mindset,’ says Niall, ‘My personal experiences on Inside Pictures proved invaluable. I regularly apply
‘We can plan confidently for business growth’ Niall, Finance Director
Most of all, business support has given Warp the freedom to develop and retain staff with new perspectives to help drive their brand. When intern Ismar Badzic recognised that Warp’s social media presence and digital assets were lacking, Creative Skillset’s funding meant the company could properly invest in Ismar, harnessing his digital skills. In return, Ismar reinvests in Warp’s development as a company, saying ‘I’m very grateful for the trust Warp have shown and the freedom the Creative Skillset funding allowed them to give me the chance to do what I love for a company that I’m passionate about.’ For business funding opportunities call the Creative Skillset Film Team on 020 7713 9873 or visit creativeskillset.org/ businessfunding.
’71. Photo credit: Dean Rogers
19/03/2015 10:09
TRAINING GOTEBORG
Göteborg Film Festival
AIM OF THE INITIATIVE
EUROPE European festivals are a chance for rising stars to learn from world-class filmmakers and for festivals to forge relationships with the next generation of talent NORDIC FILM LAB, GOTEBORG FILM FESTIVAL Nordic Film Lab embraces and supports film-makers who have the potential for an international career. The four-day event in Gothenburg during the late-January festival consists of masterclasses, screenings, workshops, presentations and networking activities. The participants interact with major filmmakers attending the festival, who in recent years have included the likes of Ulrich Seidl and Joshua Oppenheimer. After the festival, the participants come together two more times: first in Copenhagen during CPH PIX and then in Oslo. They also have the chance to present a project at the Nordic Film Lab Discovery event, which takes place at the end of the lab, at the following year’s Göteborg Film Festival. Marie Kjellson, who produced Ruben Ostlund’s Cannes hit Force Majeure, which won Göteborg’s best film award this year, attended the lab in 2010, at an early stage in her
‘It was all about networking for me, getting to know each other and share experiences’ Marie Kjellson, producer
career. She had just produced her first short, Incident By A Bank. “It was all about networking for me, getting to know each other and share experiences,” Kjellson recalls. That may sound a little vague and impractical, as if the lab is nothing more than a glorified talking shop that allows participants to swap business cards and see a few films together. In fact, its approach works remarkably well. Time is spent allowing participants to present their own film projects and to discuss them at length within the group. Participants
10 Screen International Training Special 2015
to have come through the lab in recent years include Gabriela Pichler, director of Eat Sleep Die (winner of the Critics’ Week award in Venice), and Axel Petersen, director of Avalon. In Kjellson’s case, the contacts she made through the lab continue to prove valuable. “Five years later, I am producing a Norwegian director who was in the lab in 2014. Our Norwegian co-producer was in her group and has a company with one of the participants from my year,” she says. “You build a platform for future collaborations.” Danish participant Samanou Acheche Sahlstrom, who won a Dragon award for best Nordic film in Göteborg for In Your Arms, a project he took to the lab in its early stages, describes it as a chance to share information and insights. “It was an intimate and generous process where all participants showed genuine interest in and respect for each s other’s projects,” he says. ■
Nordic Film Lab was set up in 2008 to boost the careers of talented young Nordic film-makers while also galvanising Göteborg Film Festival. The lab is a networking event that underlines the festival’s reputation as “the most important annual meeting place for the Nordic industry”. At its inception, the event was limited to Swedish participants and did not extend beyond the festival, but in 2010 the lab was expanded to include Danish and Norwegian participants and to run over the year. “Göteborg is a meeting place for the audience and for the film industry,” says Tobias Akesson, project co-ordinator of Nordic Film Lab Discovery.
WHO CAN APPLY Nordic Film Lab is open to 15 invited producers, scriptwriters and directors from Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Finland and Iceland may also be included in the future. Participants should be working on their first feature film, or have just completed it. The selection of participants is made by Göteborg Film Festival in collaboration with the Danish Film Institute, the Norwegian Film Institute, the Swedish Film Institute and Film i Vast. Nordic Film Lab covers all costs for the participants associated with the event.
»
Geoffrey Macnab www.screendaily.com
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The UK’s Independent Cinema Office works with cinemas and film festivals to bring a wider range of films to a wider range of audiences. Find out more - www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk/training/dyff15
21 - 26 JULY 2015 MOTOVUN, CROATIA
Locarno Summer Academy
Applications now open!
The sixth edition of the Festival del film Locarno training program will once again give the opportunity to young filmmakers, film critics, industry professionals and students to live the Festival experience and meet its guests. Enjoy Locarno’s qualities as a unique meeting-place and privileged setting for thinking about cinema! Abel Ferrara Partners Ernst Göhner Stiftung; Università della Svizzera italiana; Centro didattico cantonale; Indiewire; Film Society of Lincoln Center; Swiss Association of Film Journalists; cineman.ch Film Comment; Zürcher Hochschule der Künste; Federal Office of Culture; Europa Cinemas; Europa Distribution; Europa International
Filmmakers Academy (5 – 15 August) Critics Academy (5 – 15 August) Industry Academy (5 – 12 August) Submissions for all Academies will be open until 22 May. www.pardo.ch/Education
ROTTERDAM TRAINING
ROTTERDAM LAB, INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ROTTERDAM
WHO CAN APPLY
International Film Festival Rotterdam
The producer-focused Rotterdam Lab welcomes around 60 participants to a programme of talks, speed-dating sessions with established professionals and networking events. Like International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), the lab is an intimate and relaxed affair. “The numbers spiked to 70 one year but that was too many. It’s good to have a smaller number. The participants get closer,” says lab coordinator Nienke Poelsma. The speakers this year included Italian director Alice Rohrwacher
and producer Carlo Cresto-Dina, who presented a co-production study of The Wonders, former Doha Film Institute finance director Paul Miller, and Bettina Brokemper, founding CEO of Cologne-based Heimatfilm. “There was a good balance of professionals and lots of interesting and informative panels,” says 2015 attendee Ruth Carter of Dublin-based Parallel Films. “The guest speakers were candid about their experiences and informative in a way that was both
empowering and humbling,” says UK producer James Cotton of Cotton Reel Entertainment, who also took part this year. Some 700 producers have attended the lab since its creation in 2001, including Swedish producer Erik Hemmendorff (Force Majeure), India’s Guneet Monga, who participated in 2011 and returned to CineMart the following year to present The Lunchbox, Malaysia’s Sharon Gan and Germany’s Titus Kreyens berg. ■ Melanie Goodfellow
AIM OF THE INITIATIVE The lab was created as a natural extension of IFFR’s “supportive festival” philosophy, says lab coordinator Nienke Poelsma, aimed at nurturing independent film production and rising talent. It runs for five days during the festival at the same time as IFFR’s CineMart co-production market to give attendees maximum exposure
to the industry side of the festival. “The most important element is that the participants are among the industry. They are invited to all the CineMart functions,” says Poelsma. “As a UK-based producer looking for co-production opportunities, the lab was helpful in fostering friendships between producers from all over the globe,” says producer
James Cotton. “I pitched various ideas depending on who I was speaking to. ‘Oh, you’re Swedish? Yeah, there’s this book I’m chasing the rights to...’ was followed by, ‘Colombian? Great tax rebate... could the terrain double for so and so?’” The lab also sends five alumni to the Producers Workshop run by Cannes’ Marché each May.
The attendees are nominated by the lab’s international partners, which include the Independent Filmmaker Project in New York, the UK’s Creative Skillset, the Irish Film Board, the Swedish Film Institute, German Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Kenya’s One Fine Day Workshop and Mexico’s Guanajuato International Film Festival. The partner organisations cover the participation fee and sometimes transport costs; IFFR provides accommodation. “We don’t invite absolute beginners but rather people with at least one feature film credit. We advise them to come with a project in development,” says lab co-ordinator Nienke Poelsma.
‘The most important element for participants is that they are among the industry’ Nienke Poelsma, IFFR »
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Training Special 2015 Screen International 13
Training Berlin & DuBlin
Peter Himsel
Berlinale talents, Berlin international film festival Who can apply
Darren Aronofsky addresses the Berlinale Talents 2015
“The initiative is for film-makers who are five to 10 years into their careers. Their average age is 32 and they have done films already,” says programme manager Florian Weghorn. “Learning and networking should be a lifelong experience and not something you only do at the beginning of your career.” There is an open call from July to September, and around 2,500 filmmakers apply annually. The festival provides accommodation and can also help with transport costs.
Berlinale Talents is a six-day programme of masterclasses, panel discussions, workshops, project labs and networking events aimed at 300 emerging film professionals from a variety of film disciplines. It is built around a central theme, which this year was ‘2015: A Space Discovery’. “It wasn’t specific to outer space but rather the idea of space in general,” says programme manager Florian Weghorn. Berlinale jury president Darren Aronofsky gave a talk about the
space and spatial perception in The Fountain and Black Swan, while film-makers Walter Salles and Sebastian Schipper discussed the art of making films in which motion, or passing through space, is a key part. Further speakers this year included Canadian composer Howard Shore, documentary maker Marcel Ophüls and feature directors Joanna Hogg and Ursula Meier. Alongside the central programme, attendees join labs and workshops specific to their area of expertise.
US director Micah Magee, who attended in 2011, says the programme helped get her debut feature Petting Zoo off the ground at script stage. The finished film premiered in Berlin’s Panorama this year and is next screening at SXSW. “Talents helped a lot, just to give the project an official stamp of approval,” she says. “After the campus I was able to get a few small artist grants. Until then I had applied s for about 20 but received none.” n Melanie Goodfellow
conquering the script, Jameson DuBlin international film festival This new two-day symposium devoted to screenwriting will be overseen by renowned script editor Angeli Macfarlane. Director Lenny Abrahamson will join a seminar on picking the right stories, writer and film-maker Hossein Amini will deliver a keynote speech, and playwright Eugene O’Brien and director Ian Power will host a discussion on writing styles. There will also be panels with Juanita Wilson, director and co-founder of Octagon Films, and producer Ed Guiney of Element Pictures. The initiative builds on Jameson Dublin International Film Festival’s Story Campus screenwriters lab, which ran from 2012-14 and featured talks by Robert Towne, Tobias Lindholm and Peter Morgan. The two-day event runs at the
end of the festival. “My hope is that after that kind of intense exposure to the film programme and the particular films we’re bringing, the participants will be in a space where they’re ready to engage with questions of structure and form,” says festival s director Grainne Humphreys. n Melanie Goodfellow
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Story Campus 2014
aim of the initiative Berlinale Talents is committed to creating networks and fostering collaborations by bringing emerging talent into contact with the established professionals who are present at the Berlinale and European Film Market. “What also makes Berlinale Talents unique is the fact it is multidisciplinary so we can bring together people from different fields,” says programme manager Florian Weghorn. Talents can keep in touch via a dedicated online database and many alumni retain long-term relationships with the festival. A record 62 films involving 86 Talents alumni were among the 450-title selection this year. “I felt a sense of belonging that I’d never quite had before,” says Indonesia-based actor and producer Edward Gunawan, who attended in 2013. He was developing Thai film How To Win At Checkers (Every Time) and managed to join with Thai producer Maenum Chagasik, who was also attending Talents. “Maenum eventually worked on the film as our Thai co-producer and line producer,” says Gunawan.
Who can apply Conquering the Script is open to writers resident in Ireland as well as those outside the country with strong Irish links. There is a small fee of $78 (€70) for the two days. For now, the festival does not help out with accommodation or transport costs.
aim of the initiative “I thought we should focus on a specific sector and screenwriting made sense,” says festival director Grainne Humphreys. “It’s an area for which there are traditionally few resources for training or creating awareness in Ireland even though we have a strong literary heritage. Rather than looking west to New York
and LA, we wanted to look to Europe.” Humphreys points out the festival is a fairly new one at just 13 years old. “When I came on board eight years ago, I wanted to set up an industry programme running parallel to the festival, utilising some of the guests to do masterclasses,” she says. “In Ireland, it really is a unique
opportunity to see the films and then meet the talents behind the films in the space of 48 hours.” The symposium will focus on a new generation of Irish screenwriters who may have also applied to the Irish Film Board’s Catalyst Project aimed at supporting emerging film-makers.
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SCREENWRITING | DEVELOPMENT NETWORKING | TRAINING
TRAINING FOR MENTORS PROJECTS & PROCESS
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING SCRIPT DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP
Workshop for professionals working as mentors in the field of script and story development (fiction and documentary), such as screenwriters, developers, consultants, script editors, filmmakers, producers, commissioning editors, trainers and decision makers. Four-day session, round-off after a three-month coaching period.
Three-month process guided by experienced advisers for European screenwriters and teams of writers, producers or directors with a project in development. Seven-day session, coached development period, follow-up session.
APPLICATION DATE: 1ST JUNE 2015
APPLICATION DATE FOR THE SPRING WORKSHOP 2016 1ST DECEMBER 2015 Requested: Feature film projects and creative documentaries
FOR THE WORKSHOP IN BAVARIA | GERMANY 16TH – 21ST OCTOBER 2015
With the support of The Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Media, Energy and Technology.
CONTACT SOURCES 2 Köthener Straße 44 | 10963 Berlin + 49 30 886 02 11 | info@sources2.de | www.sources2.de
FAMU – PRAGUE’S NATIONAL FILM ACADEMY – WAS RANKED THE NUMBER ONE FILM SCHOOL IN EUROPE BY THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER! FAMU INTERNATIONAL PROVIDES A VIBRANT, CREATIVE AND INTELLECTUAL ATMOSPHERE, PACKED WITH TALENTED STUDENTS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE. DIRECTLY ENROLL IN FAMU: × MFA PROGRAMS IN ENGLISH DIRECTING AND SCREENWRITING (FAMU INTERNATIONAL) × CINEMATOGRAPHY (CINEMATOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT): TWO-YEARS MASTER IN CINEMATOGRAPHY × ACADEMY PROGRAM: ONE YEAR OF INTENSIVE FILMMAKING AND INSPIRING INSTRUCTION, WITH A MAJOR-FOCUS ON: DIRECTING, CINEMATOGRAPHY, DOCUMENTARY, EDITING, SCREENWRITING OR PHOTOGRAPHY × SPECIAL PRODUCTIONS: ONE SEMESTER PRODUCTION AT FAMU STUDIO OF A PROFESSIONAL-LEVEL SHOWPIECE (35MM CINEMATOGRAPHY, 16MM DIRECTING) × BFA AND MFA PROGRAMS IN STILL PHOTOGRAPHY WWW.FAMU.CZ × SHOULD YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE CONTACT JITKA HEJTMANOVÁ FAMU.INTERNATIONAL@FAMU.CZ, +420 234 244 366
Training Cannes & LoCarno
Residence du festival, cannes film festival An initiative of Cannes Film Festival’s Cinéfondation, Résidence du Festival is a four-and-half-month residential programme in which six film-makers live together in an apartment in central Paris while working on the screenplay for their next film. There are two sessions per year, running October to mid-February and from the end of February to July. “The most important thing is the residents have the necessary tranquillity to devote themselves to writing their screenplay and that they don’t feel alone,” says general manager Georges Goldenstern, who chaperones and advises the residents on where they can go for advice. “It’s about self-discovery and exchange. Sometimes they help out each other, sometimes they turn to me.” Participants are not expected to have finished their screenplay by the end of their stay, although many continue to consult Goldenstern once they have gone home. “There are no deadlines or expected outcome. The potential result depends solely on the writerdirector,” says Hungarian writerdirector Laszlo Nemes, who has completed a residency to work on his debut feature Son Of Saul. “The
aim of the initiative The Résidence is an integral part of the Cinéfondation’s role in fostering new talent on behalf of Cannes Film Festival. Founded in 1998, Cinéfondation also oversees the selection of 15-20 short and medium-length films from film schools all over the world. The films are then screened in official selection at Cannes, as well as at the Atelier co-production and financing forum, which is aimed at projects by film-makers at any stage of their career.
Cannes Film Festival
Résidence provided first and foremost spiritual support, where I started believing my project could one day be made and that it might reach audiences worldwide. It gave me the framework and tranquillity that I needed to write.” The six residents receive a monthly $890 (¤800) grant, free passes for a number of Paris cinemas and optional French-language lessons. Goldenstern aims to connect the residents with established directors — Bruno Dumont, Leos Carax and Catherine Breillat are popular requests — and there are also a number of cultural excursions. Beyond writing, the residents also
present their projects to international producers, financiers and sales agents at a dedicated pitching event at the festival in May as well as at International Film Festival Rotterdam’s CineMart or Locarno’s Open Doors, depending on the Résidence. Past residents include Nadine Labaki, Corneliu Porumboiu, Vladimir Perisic and Sanjeewa Pushpakumara, and more recently Julia Murat and Jordan Schiele. “Of the 152 film-makers who attended the 25 sessions from 2000 to 2013, 100 of their films have been completed and 38 are in preparas tion,” says Goldenstern. n Melanie Goodfellow
Festival del film Locarno
locaRno summeR academy, locaRno inteRnational film festival Launched in 2010, the Locarno Summer Academy runs throughout the 10-day August festival to nurture emerging creative and executive talent. As well as the main Filmmakers Academy, the programme also includes a Critics Academy (for upand-coming film critics and journalists), Documentary Summer School and Cinema And Youth programme (for local college students). New for 2015 is the Industry Academy, aimed at those in distribution, exhibition, sales and marketing. Run by local film-maker and journalist Stefano Knuchel, the Filmmakers Academy is a boutique programme of lectures, roundtables, labs, workshops and case studies with well-established names attending the festival, which have included Agnes Varda, Abel Ferrara, Werner
Agnes Varda with academy students
Herzog and Pedro Costa. “We help them focus on finding their identities as film-makers and finding the right support to defend their kind of cinema,” Knuchel says. This year 15 film-makers will be invited to take part in the academy, instead of the usual 25. “I want to know every single one of them and their work,” says Knuchel, who believes this intimacy and the programme’s tailor-made approach
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make it unique. Participants can screen one of their short films to their fellow attendees and the public. “They can put on their CV they had a public screening at Locarno and they also get to experience a real audience,” says Knuchel. Paraguayan film-maker Marcelo Martinessi took part in the Filmmakers Academy in 2013 having made two shorts (Karai Norte and Calle Ultima), both of which had played at Berlin. He describes the experience as “essential for meeting people and expanding my network and an ideal setting to rethink my work”. Networking and socialising are also important. “We don’t start until 10am each day because we want the film-makers to go out together and s make connections,” says Knuchel. n Sarah Cooper
Who can apply The programme is open to promising young international film-makers with at least one short or feature-length film under their belt, and who are working on a new feature-film project. Cinéfondation covers travel and accommodation costs and also offers a small monthly bursary. There are two open calls each year, in the summer and spring. “Most film-makers apply spontaneously without being asked,” says general manager Georges Goldenstern.
aim of the initiative There is a strong link between the festival and the academy, with participants in the academy often involved in the festival’s other strands. Head Stefano Knuchel believes the presence of the academy attendees at the festival provides a welcome injection of young blood to Locarno.
Who can apply Open to directors from around the world, attendees are expected to have made at least one short (preferably more), and no more than one feature. Film schools are asked to submit their best students. It is free to attend and accommodation is provided though attendees must cover their flights.
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SCRIPTTO SCREEN VFX for producers, directors and creatives from conception to completion
For application details and further information, please contact: Sorcha Loughnane T: +353 1 6775301 E: sorcha.loughnane@screentrainingireland.ie
www.screentrainingireland.ie
The Strategic Company Development Programme for the Screen Industries
To apply for the course and to get further information please contact Helen McMahon at: T: +353 1 679 8040 E: helen.mcmahon@screentrainingireland.ie
www.screentrainingireland.ie
Training Venice & London
Biennale College — Cinema, veniCe film festival
Venice Film Festival
Biennale College — Cinema was launched by Venice Film Festival in 2012. Keen to support new filmmakers, the initiative gives 12 teams of emerging directors and producers the chance to participate in highlevel workshops led by ex-ARTE France Cinema executive Michel Reilhac, who is head of studies at the Biennale College. He works with a group of industry experts. The training element is combined with the chance of finance as three feature-length micro-budget works — budgeted at $55,000 (¤50,000) each — are commissioned each year, to be premiered at the next edition of the festival.
who Can apply In the first round, 12 project teams are chosen on the basis of synopses or video presentations. The festival looks for projects that can be realised for $165,000 (€150,000). They want work that is fresh, experimental and original. Applicants can come from anywhere in the world. The project they bring to the college must be their first or second long-form work, whether it is in documentary, fiction, animation or transmedia. There is no age or language restriction and the film can be shot anywhere.
net.woRK@lff, Bfi london film festival The internationally focused develo p m e n t p ro g ra m m e N ET. WORK@LFF gives 15 emerging UK writers, directors, writer-directors and producers an opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of a film festival through masterclasses, private screenings, networking events and one-to-one meetings with film-makers and industry experts in town for BFI London Film Festival (LFF). It was launched in 2014 to replace LFF’s industry development initiative, Think-Shoot-Distribute. The programme is run by Creative England on behalf of the BFI, LFF and other regional NET. WORK partners. It is part of the BFI’s year-round NET.WORK initiative to support promising writers, directors and producers, and turns the spotlight on emerging
UK film-makers with international potential. Taking place over three-and-a-half days in October, during the middle weekend of LFF, the festival mentors in 2014 included Oscar-winning Danish director Susanne Bier, US director David Robert Mitchell, US producers Helen Estabrook, Bruna Papandrea and Teddy Schwarzman, US talent agent Bec Smith and UK writer Nick Hornby. They were joined by international financing, sales and packaging experts including Claudia Blümhuber, Kristen Figeroid and Kirsten Niehuus. “NET.WORK@LFF was a great opportunity to plug directly into people at a high level,” says writer-director-producer Tina Gharavi, who was nominated for a Bafta for her debut s feature I Am Nasrine in 2012. n Geoffrey Macnab
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aim of the initiative Some significant arthouse films have already come through the scheme. Memphis, directed by the US film-maker Tim Sutton and produced by John Baker, screened at Sundance in 2014. Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy, directed by Thailand’s Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit and produced by Aditya Assarat, screened at Venice in 2013. Following a call for applicants in May, the selection is announced during the film festival in early September to be followed by a 10-day workshop in October in Venice. In mid-November, three projects are chosen to go forward and receive production financing. These go into a further script development workshop in December, followed by a production workshop in January. The film-makers have six months to complete the films in time for Venice Film Festival in September. Venice continues to support the nine other film-making teams. They are given extensive feedback and their projects may be picked up for Torino Film Lab meetings and other s similar events. n Geoffrey Macnab
Biennale College provides the festival with access to new work from talented young film-makers. If the films made through the college go on to achieve international success, Venice will be credited with its role in nurturing and producing the projects. “The success of the Biennale College is beyond our best expectations,” says Venice festival director Alberto Barbera. Participants are equally upbeat. “The Biennale College — Cinema programme was a brilliant way for our film Blood Cells to be developed and eventually financed,” says UK producer Samm Haillay. “When I first put the programme to the directors, Joseph Bull and Luke Seomore, I impressed on them that if selected we should treat this as serious project development and not just a way of potentially financing the film. Joseph, Luke and their writing partner Ben Young really did engage fully with the development process and consequently the film was enhanced considerably and they got their just rewards.”
aim of the initiative “It creates an environment in which the international film-makers attending the festival can share their experiences with emerging British film talent,” says Clare Stewart, head of festivals and exhibitions for BFI. “For those international film-makers, NET.WORK@LFF is an opportunity
to meet the brightest and the best in young British film talent at a critical stage in their careers.” In 2015, organisers plan to give the programme a more fluid structure to allow for more one-onone time between participants and the international experts.
how to apply The programme is aimed at UK film-makers with a body of work. Participants are chosen by a panel of representatives from Creative England, Creative Scotland, Ffilm Cymru Wales and Northern Ireland Screen. Participants make a contribution of $460 (£300), although bursaries are available. Travel costs are covered for those outside London.
BFI London Film Festival
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Training CrEaTivE EuropE MEdia
MEDIA kicks off training regime Beyond festival support, financial backing from the European Commission’s revamped Creative Europe MEDIA programme is vitally important to many of the region’s training initiatives. Martin Blaney reports on how it has chosen to spend its first full training budget
C
reative Europe MEDIA is the new name for the European Commission’s support of the continent’s film and audio-visual development, distribution and promotional activities. It is part of Creative Europe, encompassing all of Europe’s cultural and creative industries. All courses and training programmes cofinanced by the MEDIA programme ran until September or December 2014, under one, two or three-year contracts. All projects supported by the new iteration of Creative Europe MEDIA have received funding for two years with the aim of providing stability. “A good balance between the continuity of established projects and innovation from projects with fresh new ideas and approaches,” is how Lucia Recalde Langarica, head of unit for the Creative Europe MEDIA sub-programme, describes these training opportunities. Some 59 projects were selected for MEDIA funding, totalling $8.8m (¤7.9m) for the two-year period. In total, 114 applications were submitted for co-funding from MEDIA, with the largest number coming from Germany (17), followed by France (14), Italy (12) and the UK (11).
Maximum impact This time around MEDIA has invested in more programmes, although the percentage it now contributes towards some returning programmes may have changed. “Some beneficiaries are getting less money than in the past and this was done to maximise the overall impact of Creative Europe MEDIA support for the training schemes,” says Langarica. MEDIA’s co-financing ranges from 24% for the Atelier Ludwigsburg-Paris up to 75% for the Baltic Bridge East by West (B’EST). “Our main objective is to equip audiovisual professionals with the skills required to operate in the digital economy and society and to participate in networks and an extended value chain,” says Langarica. More emphasis has been put on strengthening the capacities of professionals to develop new business models and releasing models to maximise the dis20 Screen International Training Special 2015
tribution of European works, as well as on projects that build and engage audiences. Notwithstanding a slight administrative delay following the transition from MEDIA 2007 to Creative Europe at the beginning of 2014, producers and programmers generally welcomed the new submission process. For the first time, applications were submitted entirely online. “That took a bit of time to get used to, but it supports the efforts to go paperless,” says Ellen Winn Wendl, managing director of the script development initiative eQuinoxe Europe.
‘Our main objective is to equip audio-visual professionals with the skills to operate in the digital economy and society’ Lucia Recalde Langarica, Creative Europe MEDIA
Emphasis on results Kristina Trapp, CEO of producers’ training programme EAVE, says applications had to be presented in a more businessoriented way than before. “We had to use tools such as benchmarks, SWOT analysis, positioning and to explain in a more detailed way our methods of evaluating results and techniques of follow-up,” she says. “There was more emphasis on statistics and concrete results of the programme as well as on the impact of the initiatives in terms of professionals, companies and the audiovisual industry in general.” EAVE received a $515,000 (¤460,000) grant for its producer workshops and $137,000 (¤122,500) for the Puentes Europe-Latin America producers workshop. It also secured co-funding for two other associated initiatives, Ties That Bind and B’EST. MEDIA Mundus, the EU’s 2009 effort to support co-operation between audiovisual professionals in Europe and the rest of the world, has been folded into the Creative Europe MEDIA sub-programme. This has resulted in a cut in the number of projects it supports. In 2013, MEDIA Mundus supported seven training projects including ACE co-production labs and Interchange (development and co-production in the Arab World), which it no longer supports. Just four former Media Mundus projects have been selected in this new round: Ties That Bind, Puentes, B’EST and Crossing Borders. The latter is administered by Documentary Campus to develop docus mentaries between Europe and Asia. n
‘There was more emphasis on statistics and concrete results of the programme as well as on the impact of the initiatives’ Kristina Trapp, EAVE
‘Applying online took a bit of time to get used to, but it supports the efforts to go paperless’ Ellen Winn Wendl, eQuinoxe Europe
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Image: ON THE EDGE, directed by Sohail Kamali