TorinoFilmLab 2009: Programme and Selection TorinoFilmLab, linked to the Torino Film Festival, is the first Italian laboratory to support worldwide emerging talents through Training, Development and Funding activities. Dedicated to first and second fiction films, TorinoFilmLab is the setting for creating stories and making them grow, and offers the chance to obtain a production grant at the end of the course. TorinoFilmLab is promoted by the key cinema bodies in Torino and Piedmont – the National Cinema Museum and Film Commission Torino Piemonte – in partnership with the advanced Script&Pitch Workshops training course supported by EU MEDIA Programme. Script&Pitch Workshops/Training Programme 2009 Selections are open until 15 December 2008 (www.torinofilmlab.it). The course, which is open to professional scriptwriters and directors worldwide, follows the entire script development process, from the initial idea to a first draft, up to a pitching before producers and sales agents from the international panorama. It envisages three workshops lasting a week each and online sessions between March to November 2009. This programme allows access to the Development Awards, which give automatic admission to the Development Programme over the following year. Development Programme 2009 Projects are selected by the TorinoFilmLab team by scouting. A tailor-made programme on each project is then carried out, working alongside the directors and producers, to focus on script development as well as pre-production aspects. Two workshops, each lasting two days, will be held indicatively in March and September 2009. Projects need to be presented by a producer and must already be at an advanced stage of development. Only projects that have taken part in the Development Programme may qualify for the 2009 Production Awards. For further information: www.torinofilmlab.it. TORINOFILMLAB PROUDLY PRESENTS THE FIRST 8 PROJECTS FOR THEIR DEVELOPMENT AND FUNDING SELECTION. For its inaugural sessions in 2008, the new Italian initiative TorinoFilmLab has selected 8 projects of first and second time European directors from Italy, France, Portugal and Iceland, as well as non-European filmmakers from Thailand, Costa Rica and Uruguay. The TorinoFilmLab-selection offers a balanced mix of first features by emerging talent and second features by filmmakers who have already enjoyed international acclaim with their previous works. The 8 projects chosen by TorinoFilmLab’s selection committee have a budget range between 300.000 € up to 1.800.000 €. The directors and producers of all 8 projects participated in a workshop on October 3rd and 4th, where they received feedback and support for further development. In the final Event on November 23rd and 24th during the Torino Film Festival the projects will be presented to an audience of producers and sales agents invited from all over the world. A Jury composed of TorinoFilmLab’s Advisory Board will assign the Production Awards (from 50.000€ to 200.000€). The awards are given to enable the making of the film, without an obligation to spend the money in Italy. TorinoFilmLab is the first Italian laboratory dedicated to training, development and funding activities. Linked to the Torino Film Festival, it supports emerging talents from all over the world working on their first or second feature films. Promoted by the main film institutions established within Torino and Piedmont – Museo Nazionale del Cinema and Film Commission Torino Piemonte – TorinoFilmLab started in 2008 with an annual budget of 1.000.000,00 Euros for all activities, granted by Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, Regione Piemonte and Città di Torino. The Development Programme The Development Programme offers tailored tools for each selected project through two workshops, one-to-one meetings and online sessions. The goal is to strengthen the scripts, support pre-production activities and increase the opportunities for co- production. In order to be eligible for the production awards, all projects need to participate in the development programme first. The 2008 selection includes 4 first feature films and 4 second feature films, by six male and two female directors. The Training Programme The Programme started in March 2008 in partnership with the European advanced scriptwriting course Script&Pitch Workshops and will also be completed in November: 6 projects among 16 participants will be awarded with the Development Awards, allowing the winners to enter the Development Programme 2009, and thereby continue working with TorinoFilmLab for another year. THE SELECTED PROJECTS AGUA FRIA DE MAR – by Paz Fábrega (first feature film), Costa Rica Paz Fábrega studied at the London Film School and her short films “Temporal” and “Cuilhos” have garnered several international awards. “Agua Fria de Mar”, which has won the Arte Award for best project at BAL (Buenos Aires Lab) and participated in the Sundance director’s Lab, will be produced by Jean des Forêts of the French Les Films du Requin. The film is a co-production between France, Spain, Costa Rica and Mexico. THE FOUR TIMES – by Michelangelo Frammartino (second feature film), Italy Michelangelo Frammartino is known both in the worlds of visual art and filmmaking. The director of “Il Dono” (2003), which won five international awards, now finally presents his second feature film, “The Four Times”. It is produced by Italian company Vivo Film and co-produced with Switzerland and Germany. HIGH SOCIETY - by Aditya Assarat (second feature film), Thailand With his first feature “Wonderful Town” (2007), Aditya Assarat won the prestigious Tiger Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival. His production company is now aiming to create favourable circumstances for local independent directors to work on their projects and get distribution in their native Thailand. HOME AWAY FROM HOME - by Katrín Ólafsdóttir (first feature film), Iceland Katrin studied and worked as a choreographer, and her first short “Slurpinn & Co” was awarded in three renowned festivals. “Home away from home” is produced by the Icelandic Zik Zak Filmworks, working since 1995 with directors such as Fridrik Thor Fridriksson and Dagur Kari. The film will be a co-production between Iceland and Spain. THE MAN WHO HIDES THE FOREST - by Bertrand Mandico (first feature film), France Bertrand Mandico is a director, writer and cinematographer, who already directed 12 short films, as well as video clips and commercials, some of them for Arte France. The film will be produced by Philippe Bober through his French company La Parisienne Production, which has co-produced, among other titles, films by Lars Von Trier and Carlos Reygadas. “The Man who hides the forest” is a co-production between France, Germany and Finland. PUNTA DEL ESTE – by Juan Pittaluga (second feature film), Uruguay Juan Pittaluga is a French resident Uruguayan director who has already directed the feature film “Orlando Vargas” (2005). He also collaborated in the documentary “Mondovino” and is working on a documentary focused on food in Italy (supported by Piemonte Doc Film Fund for development). Juan has already worked with Uruguayan independent production company Laroux Cine on his first feature film. The Co- producers for “Punta del Este” will be Campo Cine (Argentina) and Le Films du Rat (France). RED CROSS – Hugo Vieira da Silva (second feature film), Portugal Hugo Vieira da Silva’s first feature film (Body Rice, 2006) won a special mention from Locarno Film Festival’s jury as well as the Best Director award at Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema. It has been distributed theatrically in France by MK2. The new project “Red Cross” has been developed within Script&Pitch Workshops 2007 and at Binger Filmlab. It will be produced by Helge Albers and his German company, Flying Moon, which has produced internationally renowned feature films and documentaries. “Red Cross” is a co-production between Germany and Portugal. SEVEN WORKS OF MERCY – Gianluca & Massimiliano De Serio (first feature film), Italy ”Seven Works of Mercy” is the first feature film by the brothers De Serio, whose short “Zakaria” was nominated for the European Film Awards 2006. It will also be the first feature film for producer Alessandro Borelli and his company La Sarraz Pictures. “Seven Works of Mercy” is a co-production between Switzerland and France..