FeatureLab 2022

 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 addressed to 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. Each film team will have several 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 proposal. 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. Group sessions with the other participants will nurture the unique experience of sharing the development stage with other filmmakers and producers.

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. 

Thanks to a collaboration with Trentino Film Commission the FeatureLab projects will be trained to develop a sustainability plan during the 2^nd module and will have the opportunity to compete for the Green Filming Award. TFL and Trentino Film Commission join forces to offer the winners a contribution of 2.000 € for the expenses connected to the implementation of the Green Film rating system and up to 2000 € to cover the cost of a Green Manager, who will offer a dedicated consultancy to design the film's sustainability plan.

TorinoFilmLab FeatureLab 2022 is organised thanks to the support of Creative Europe - MEDIA Sub-programme of the European Unions and in partnerships with the Polish Film Institute, which is planning to host the 1^st residential workshop, with German Films and with Unifrance.

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 (are considered long features all those films over 60 minutes including fiction feature films, experimental films, animations and documentaries);
- at least a first draft of the script in English (or an analogue document, according to the type of project) must be ready when applying*; * Fiction feature projects must apply with a script (extended treatment is not accepted)
- shooting must not begin earlier than 1^st December 2022.

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 2022, but they are eligible and welcome to take part in other TFL programmes.

Applicants must confirm their full availability for all the residential and online workshops, as well as for 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, online 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. 

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

* Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Iceland, Hungary, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Republic of Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Ukraine.

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

1) Synopsis - 1 page 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 (FULL FILM)
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 in English (or analogue document, according to the type of project), to be attached at the end of the dossier*
* Fiction feature projects must apply with a script (extended treatment is not accepted)
12) Applicants and project main data - for communication purposes, according to the form
 

Click on the "APPLY NOW!" button in the right-side column of this page to access the application form and submit your project. Before starting the application process, you need to create an account on the TFL platform.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: Monday, 17^th January 2022, 2:00 p.m. CET.

*Shortlisted applicants will be notified by the end of March and interviewed online at the beginning of April 2022.

For information: greta.fornari@torinofilmlab.it

The selected projects of the TFL FeatureLab programme must indicate TorinoFilmLab support in the closing credits by displaying the TorinoFilmLab logo, together with the caption "Developed at TorinoFilmLab"; while the awarded ones must indicate TorinoFilmLab support both in the opening and closing credits by displaying the TFL logo, together with the caption "Production Award" or “Co-Production Fund”.

1^st residential workshop: 3^{rd -} 8^th June 2022 (Warsaw, Poland)
2^nd online workshop: 14^th - 23^rd September 2022
3^rd workshop & TFL Meeting Event: 22^nd - 26^th November 2022 (Turin, Italy)