FeatureLab 2021

FeatureLab focuses on artistic and creative aspects as well as on production and promotion strategies in the development of 1^st and 2^nd feature films. It is aimed at teams of director and producer (together with a scriptwriter, if on board), working on projects that are already at an advanced stage. The programme takes place over a period of 6 months.

10 projects are selected to benefit from individually tailored tools. Participants first gather for a 1-day presentation and exchange-meeting, which includes the first group sessions. The following days are dedicated to individual encounters with various trainers, who are internationally experienced in the main areas of filmmaking: alongside having script consultations, the participants work with experts from the fields of directing, cinematography, sound, post-production, but also of production, financing & sales, and audience engagement. Some of the trainers will be selected according to the particular needs of the projects, following a tailor-made Lab proposal for the two workshops. The diversity of approaches and the enriching experience that comes as a result of the exchange with other colleagues will help the teams to boost the project development process throughout their participation in the programme.

A final presentation of the projects during the TFL Meeting Event in November concludes and completes the training and development process: all participants present their projects publicly to an audience of international producers, sales agents and other film industry professionals, have one-to-one meetings with Decision Makers, and are granted visibility thanks to the TFL Catalogue and network. 

Moreover, the projects are assessed by an international Jury awarding production grants, and compete for a variety of collateral awards (for further details see the pages dedicated to Funding > Production Awards and Funding > Collateral prizes).

TFL FeatureLab 2021 is organised thanks to the support of Creative Europe - MEDIA Sub-programme of the European Union and Austrian Film Institute - who is planning to host the 2^nd workshop in September -, and in partnerships with Ayuntamiento de Madrid and Comunidad de Madrid.

FeatureLab is dedicated to creative teams of director and producer (together with a scriptwriter, if on board) from all over the world, developing a 1^st or 2^nd feature film project. 

Conditions of eligibility:
- the project must be the director’s 1^st or 2^nd feature film;
- at least a first draft of the script (or an analogue document, according to the type of project) must be ready when applying*;
- shooting must not begin earlier than December, 1^st 2021.
^{* Fiction feature projects must apply with a script (extended treatment is not accepted)}

Only one project application per year, per filmmaker, can apply. However, a project that is refused one year, can be resubmitted another year if the project has gone through substantial changes. The same project cannot be submitted a third time if rejected the second time around.

Considering that only 1^st and 2^nd feature films are eligible to take part in the programme, filmmakers who have participated in a previous edition of FeatureLab/Framework cannot apply to FeatureLab 2021, but they are eligible and welcome to take part in other TFL programmes.

Applicants must confirm their full availability for all the workshops and the final TFL Meeting Event.

The working language of all workshops, meetings and events is English; thus, a good knowledge of English is essential in order to participate and all written material, all versions and drafts of the project, must be translated.

Participation fee: 3.000 (+ VAT, if due) Euro per team of 2 people. Extra fee of 2.000 Euro (+ VAT, if due)  if a scriptwriter or a co-writer also attends the programme).

^{This amount covers workshop training, on-line sessions, hotel and part of the subsistence during the workshops. Participants must pay their travel costs. In many countries scholarships are available for this training.}

A number of partial scholarships, covering tuition costs, will be assigned to participants coming from European low audiovisual capacity countries according to Creative Europe – MEDIA criteria*.

^{* Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Portugal, Republic of Serbia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.}

The requested materials – to be submitted all together in 1 single PDF (10 MB max.), and all in English – are:

PDF 1:

1)     Synopsis – 1page max.
2)     Intention note about the project – 3 pages max.
3)     Artistic concept & audio-visual reference
4)     Web links to previous film(s) of the director
5)     Biographies of director, producer & writer (if on board)
6)     Production company profile – 3 pages max.
7)     Detailed budget (Euro)
8)     Financing plan (Euro)  -  including structure of co-production (names & countries of companies, and percentages of financing from each country) according to the form
9)     Detailed development and production timetable
10)  Marketing & distribution strategy – 3 pages max.
11)  Script (or analogue document, according to the type of project), to be attached as last element, at the end of the dossier*
^{* Fiction feature projects must apply with a script (extended treatment is not accepted)}
 

Deadline for applications: Monday, January 18^th, 2021, 12:00 p.m. CET (Midday).

^{* Shortlisted applicants will be notified by the end of March and interviewed online at the beginning of April 2021.}

For more information please contact: greta.fornari@torinofilmlab.it

^{The Selected projects of the TorinoFilmLab FeatureLab programme must indicate TorinoFilmLab support in the closing credits by displaying the TorinoFilmLab logo, together with the caption "Developed at TorinoFilmLab".}

^{The Selected and Awarded projects of the TorinoFilmLab FeatureLab programme must indicate TorinoFilmLab support both in the opening and closing credits by displaying the TorinoFilmLab logo, together with the caption "Production Fund" or “Co-Production Fund”.}

1^st workshop: 31 May - 5 June 2021 (online)
2^nd Residential workshop: 13 - 18 September 2021 (Austria)
TFL Meeting Event: November/December 2021 (Turin, Italy)