The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) furthers its programs to encourage Filipino filmmakers to develop and elevate their films and stories by international standards by bringing the First Cut Lab to Manila this April.
First Cut is an international project development and editing lab dedicated to refining long feature fiction films in the editing phase that can transcend global borders. Now on its fifth year, it has helped develop film projects from countries such as Slovenia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, and Russia—many of which have made their premiere in A-list film festivals, including Toronto, Berlinale, and Cannes.
Two (2) Filipino film projects in post-production stage will be screen tested and assessed regarding their progress and direction, while six (6) to eight (8) projects in development will undergo an intensive four-day project development workshop that focuses on script and production. Deadline for submission of entries is on March 11, 2019.
Selected participants will be personally mentored by international consultants that consist of award-winning producers, script consultants, screenwriters, and film editors.
There will be a three-day film conference during the Lab with an open call to the public to maximize their opportunity to learn valuable insights from the international mentors and inspire more filmmakers to develop their projects more intensively and carefully to ensure a quality output.
Workshop sessions include Script Development, PH Context: Armi and Carlo with Their Journey from Torino to Cinema du Monde, Creative Producing, and How to Put Together a Project Brief for International Submission.
A series of lectures will be conducted by world-class mentors, including Co-Producing with Europe with producer consultant and film distributor Giovanni Pompili from Italy, Distributing Non-European Films in Europe with producer and distributor consultant Izabela Igel from Poland, Developing Original Content Locally – South Africa Case with producer, broadcast and development executive, and script consultant Mmabatho Kau from South Africa, and Labs, Markets, and Festivals – A Panorama with former TorinoFilmLab artistic director Matthieu Darras from France.
