02/02/2010

For its third edition, in 2010, the TorinoFilmLab (TFL) has selected 11 projects for its Development Programme.

Linked to the Turin Film Festival (TFF), the Lab is the first such Italian initiative dedicated to training, development and funding for up-and-coming filmmakers. Its selection balances a mix of projects from the world over – both debut features by emerging talent and second features by directors who have enjoyed international acclaim with their previous work.

Promoted by the main film institutions of Turin and Piedmont – the National Cinema Museum and the Film Commission Torino Piemonte – the TFL was established in 2008 with support from the Ministry of Culture, the Piedmont Region and the City of Turin.

At the Lab’s final event of the year, to be held November 28-30 during the TFF, the projects will be presented to an audience of producers and sales agents invited from around the world.

The TFL selection committee has invited five filmmakers, out of 50 submissions, to participate with their first or second feature film project in its 2010 Development Programme and to compete for one of the Production Grants (that range from €50,000-200,000).

First up is Aida Begic, whose debut feature Snow [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] won the Grand Prix in the Critics’ Week at Cannes 2008. Her second project is entitled Bait (Bosnia and Hercegovina).

After winning the ARTE Award at the 2009 Buenos Aires Lab, and participating in the Binger Film Lab Writer's Programme, Jazmín López will come to Turin with her debut feature project Leones (Argentina). Another first feature project is Il Sud è Niente (“The South is Nothing”) by Italy’s Fabio Mollo.

Liew Seng Tat, the Tiger Award-winning director of Flower in the Pocket (Rotterdam 2008), will bring his new project, In What City Does It Live? (Malaysia). Lastly, Martin Turk, after having participated in TFL's training Script&Pitch workshops in 2007, is back with Feed Me With Your Words (Slovenia). Both project were developed at the Résidence du Festival de Cannes.

Moreover, both Leones and Feed Me With Your Words are currently at the CineMart of the 39th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

In addition to these five projects, six of the 20 Training participants from 2009 were granted a Development Award – acceptance into the Lab’s Development Programme – and will thus work with the TFL for another year. They are:

- Darkness at Noon by screenwriter-director Massoud Bakhshi, Iran (producer Mohammad Afarideh for Bon Gah Cultural Center)
- Dead Sea by screenwriter-director Ihab Jadallah, Palestine/France (producer Lucas Rosant for MPM Films)
- The Scream of the Butterfly by screenwriter-director Kirsi Marie Liimatainen, Finland (producer Kaarle Aho for Making Movies)
- Heavy Water by screenwriter-director Fabrice Main, France
- Wolf by screenwriter-director Bogdan Mustata, Romania (producer Marcian Lazar)
- Wall of Fog by scriptwriter-director Tobias Nölle, Switzerland.

The Development Programme offers tailored tools for each selected project through three 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.

A jury comprising TorinoFilmLab's Advisory Board will assign the Production Grants (from €50,000-200,000) to a number of Development projects during the final event of the year. The awards are given to enable a film’s production, without an obligation to spend the money in Italy. In order to be eligible for the Production Awards, all projects need to first participate in the Development Programme.