IFP Sets Narrative Filmmaker Lab Projects

A scene from Miller "Jaguar X" Koepenick's "The Myth of Time." Image courtesy of IFP.

Ten new narrative features at the rough cut stage have been selected to participate in IFP’s 5th Independent Filmmaker Lab, which takes place next week. The Lab is an immersive, free mentorship program for low-budget (under $1 million) first feature films that have shot “all or a substantial amount of footage but have not completed post-production.” The goal of the program is to connect mentors with projects before they are submitted to film festivals.

67 documentaries and narrative features have participated in the Lab between 2005 and 2008.  Of the 38 narrative films that have been through the program, 65% have been completed and premiered at major US and international festivals, including “Zero Bridge” (2008 Venice International Film Festival and making its US premiere in competition at the upcoming Los Angeles Film Festival), “The New Year Parade” (2008 Slamdance Grand Jury Narrative Prize winner), and “Half-Life” (2008 Sundance Film Festival and Tokyo International Film Festival).  Additionally, 30% have gone beyond the film festival circuit to reach audiences through theatrical, ancillary, web or DVD distribution.

Drawing from a national candidate pool, 20 projects (10 documentaries and 10 narratives) are selected annually for a year-long fellowship which includes: one-on-one mentorship; five days each spring/summer in NYC participating in workshops designed to assist with technical, creative and strategic advice needed to complete the films; and during IFP’s Independent Film Week in September, participation in pre-scheduled meetings with potential buyers, financiers and festival programmers as well as presentation as part of a Lab “Sneak Preview” Showcase.

“IFP has made a long-term commitment to supporting artists at the work-in-progress stage,” says Michelle Byrd, Executive Director of IFP, in a statement. “By focusing intensively on only 20 projects per year we are seeing a measurable impact from the Labs while ensuring that the development of the next generation of diverse artists continues to sit squarely at the center of IFP’s mission.”

As part of IFP’s ongoing commitment to diversity, the Independent Filmmaker Labs also seek to ensure that at least 50% of the participating projects have an inclusive range of races, genders, sexual orientations, ethnicities and physical abilities in key creative positions. This year’s Lab Projects particularly highlight the work of female and diverse directors; 40% of participating directors are women and 30% are diverse voices.  40% of projects come to the program from directors working outside of New York and Los Angeles.

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“In today’s challenging and increasingly competitive festival and marketplace environment, emerging and experienced filmmakers alike are struggling to reach audiences,” says Amy Dotson, IFP Deputy Director and supervisor of the Narrative Lab, in a statement. “Now more than ever, the Labs play a critical role in championing diverse filmmakers by helping them complete their films and connecting them with the key festival programmers, distributors and industry who can help take these talented storytellers and their films to the next level.” Each project has three participating Fellows, typically the director, producer, and editor or post-supervisor. In 2009, the Narrative Lab Fellows include projects representing genres including drama, supernatural thriller, horror, and experimental - “reflect U.S. independent filmmaking at its best, showcasing original, unusual ideas as well as finely-crafted, traditional pieces,” notes IFP. For five days next week, these filmmaking teams will participate in workshops in which they receive advice on technical, creative, and post-production issues. There are two tiers of mentorship support: via the program’s Lab Leaders who lead each of the five-day-long intensive sessions, and workshop leaders who provide technical, creative and strategic support to help bring films to completion.  The 2009 Narrative Lab leaders are producers Scott Macaulay (“Raising Victor Vargas,” and editor of IFP published Filmmaker Magazine) and Gretchen McGowan (“The Limits of Control”). The Labs are being hosted by Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn. The selected projects for the 2009 Narrative Lab and Lab Fellows are listed on the following page, with descriptions provided by IFP.   (1 of 2)  Next Page › posted on June 1, 2009 |Share