FULL CIRCLE LAB
NOUVELLE-AQUITAINE
HESSEN 2026
Full Circle Lab Nouvelle-Aquitaine Hessen is a capacity building international training program, which aims at supporting and accompanying the writing, development and post-production of 10 feature films closely connected to the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region in France and Hessen Region in Germany.
The lab is addressed to both emerging and more experienced filmmakers, French, German and international projects.
It relies on the local cinema ecosystem of festivals’ initiatives, and residencies such as the clos-FIFIB, the Biarritz Bal Lab, the Poitiers Film Festival and fosters synergies with filmmakers and producers active in the region.
The program is financially supported by Alca Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Hessen Film & Medien and takes the form of residential and online workshops.
> Accompanying projects closely connected to the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region in France and Hessen Region in Germany, and supporting their feasibility, and international potential in a tailor-made way.
> Supporting the whole cinema ecosystem in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Hessen Regions in an integrated manner and accompanying 5 projects at scriptwriting stage (the Development Lab) and 4 projects in editing phase (the First Cut Lab).
Aims
of the program
1st module
Development Lab
During the 6 months of the Lab, the four selected projects focus on script & project development.
Module & structure
The Development Lab selects 5 projects, which will have the chance to attend two residential workshops, each lasting four full working days, and 1 industry event.
Full Circle Lab Nouvelle-Aquitaine Hessen is open to teams of scriptwriter/director and producer. Both of them will attend the workshops.
An individual follow-up
During the last months of the program, projects are followed individually.
According to their needs, a participation to a specific co-production forum or film industry event will be suggested and/or facilitated, either in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine or Hessen Regions or internationally.
Three on-site sessions
The first workshop takes place at Villa Valmont in the outskirts of Bordeaux, on July 6th-10th 2026, and offers analysis of the treatment together with main rewriting axes, consultancy on overall production plan and development strategy.
The second workshop takes place in Hesse region (precise location to be confirmed), on September 14th – 18th 2026, and offers analysis of the script and consultancy on the full presentation in addition to the financial elements, distribution and sales.
The third phase takes place in Poitiers during the Poitiers Film Festival where the participants pitch their projects at the TAP – Théâtre Auditorium on December 4th, 2026 and meet French producers, sales agents and distributors.
A great flexibility
The limited number of participants & projects will allow great flexibility in the agenda, moving between plenary and group sessions, and individual consultations when needed.
Module & structure
The First Cut Lab is open to the filmmaker, producer and editor of the project and it takes place online.
The exact dates of the workshop are chosen in agreement with the selected teams to best answer the needs of their films. The workshop takes place during the period from May 29th to November 31st, 2026.
Each film is accompanied by First Cut Lab for a period of roughly 3 weeks, even though the core of the Lab takes place over two consecutive days.
Tools provided for future
After the workshop, the film team receives a memo of the discussions and all suggestions, to serve as a road map in the further editing.
Tailor-made chosen advisors
The core is an in-depth discussion where the filmmakers get to test their questions and dilemmas with carefully chosen film industry experts.
An editor consultant helps the teams throughout the whole process with preparatory and follow-up meetings.
For more details
First Cut Lab is an international initiative, regularly joining Full Circle Lab for unique collaborations.
To know more about this module, discover all the information here.
2nd module
First Cut
Lab
This second module selects 4 feature films in the editing phase, supported by the Nouvelle-Aquitaine and the Hessen Region for their production.
CALL FOR PROJECTS – GUIDELINES
How to apply
Full Circle Lab Nouvelle Aquitaine Hessen is for feature films closely connected to the Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Hessen area. The program is open to teams of writer/director and producer that fit at least one of the following criteria:
For Nouvelle-Aquitaine:
- Authors/directors based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine;
- Producers from Nouvelle-Aquitaine;
- Projects supported by the Nouvelle Aquitaine Region or by the appointed departments;
- Projects supported in the context of festivals (the clos-FIFIB, the Biarritz Bal Lab, the Poitiers Film Festival residencies such as Jump in) and partner residencies (La Prévôté, Chalet Mauriac, La Maison Bleue, Atelier Claude Miller).
- Only projects that benefited from support (grants or programs) in 2024, 2025 and 2026 are eligible.
For Hessen:
- Authors/directors from Hessen or based in Hessen;
- Producers with a production company based in Hessen;
- Only projects that benefited from support (grants or programs) in 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 are eligible.
Applicants for both the Development Lab and First Cut Lab should submit their entire application package in one pdf file by March 31st, 2026.
For any information request, please contact: info@fullcirclelab.org
Selection
The participants & projects are selected by a committee including the Program Managers and Tutors.
Fees
The participation fee of Full Circle Lab Nouvelle Aquitaine Hessen is €1.800 per project at development stage and €1.000 per film in editing phase (+VAT if applicable).
The participation fee includes accommodation during the workshops for a maximum of 2 persons per project. Participants cover their travel costs.
The projects associated with the Hessen region are exempt from paying the participation fee.
Development Lab
We are looking for 6 projects in development and we will be accepting works at different stages of development: a treatment is compulsory; however, a script is not. Projects should not have entered pre-production phase yet. Projects must have a producer attached. Both producer and writer/director must attend the Lab.
The applicants shall submit the following materials gathered into one PDF document (in English only):
- The application form;
- Synopsis (1 page)
- Director’s statement (up to 2 pages)
- Producer’s note (up to 2 pages)
- 10-page treatment
- Script (if available)
- Moodboard (if available)
- Biographies of the scriptwriter, director and producer
- Profile of the production company
- Links to previous films.
To the email address: info@fullcirclelab.org
Deadline for application: March 31st, 2026.
First Cut Lab
We are looking for 4 projects already shot and in the editing phase. The film’s producer, director, and editor must attend the whole duration of the Editing Lab.
Applicants must submit the following gathered into one PDF document (in English only):
- The application form
- A minimum of 30 minutes of scenes from the film. Scenes can be separate and can be in the rough cut
- Logline (50 words)
- Synopsis (1 page)
- Director’s statement (up to 2 pages)
- Producer’s statement (up to 2 pages)
- Biographies of the director and the editor
- Producer’s Biography & Production company profile
To the email address: info@fullcirclelab.org
Deadline for application: March 31st, 2026.
Calendar
in 5 steps
Timeline
1 – March 31st, 2026 – Deadline for application.
2 – May 17th, 2026 – Announcement of selected participants & projects at Cannes Film Festival.
3 – July 6th-10th, 2026 – First Development Lab residential workshop at Villa Valmont, Lormont.
4 – September 14th-18th, 2026 – Second Development Lab residential workshop in Hesse Region, Germany.
5- December 3rd-4th, 2026 – Industry Day during the Poitiers Film Festival in Poitiers.
Tutors
& mentors
Matthieu Darras
CEO of Tatino Films
Matthieu Darras designs and leads several programs of film/talent development and consultancy that are active worldwide: the First Cut Lab, the Pop Up Film Residency, and the Full Circle Lab. Previously, he founded and directed the European Network of Young Cinema NISI MASA, wrote for the film magazine Positif, and was the artistic director of the TorinoFilmLab.
He also worked for major film festivals in Europe: as a programmer for the Cannes Critics’ Week, as a consultant for the Venice Film Festival, and as a delegate for the San Sebastian Film Festival.
He also directed the Bratislava Film Festival.
Myriam Sassine
Head of program and Producer Consultant
Myriam Sassine produced award-winning films such as Costa Brava Lebanon by Mounia Akl, 1982 by Oualid Mouaness, Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano by Cyril Aris and Diaries from Lebanon by Myriam El Hajj. In 2016, she co-founded Maskoon Fantastic Film Festival, the only genre festival in the Arab region. In 2025, she partnered up with producer Sophie Erbs and joined the French production companies Gaïjin and Sarmadi. Also in 2025, she was honored with the Raimondo Rezzonico Prize at Locarno Film Festival, awarded to independent producers who have played a major role in international production.
Yemi Chabi
Program Manager
After graduating with a degree in Film Studies from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge (UK), Yemi Chabi worked at Coproduction Office as a Marketing and Acquisitions Coordinator. She was notably responsible for the press kit of Michelangelo Frammartino’s film Il Buco (Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, 2021), and contributed to developing the company’s classics catalogue. She also worked as a freelance script consultant on award-winning films such as Wei Shujun’s Striding into the Wind (Cannes, 2020) and Jessica Hausner’s Club Zero (Cannes, 2023).
In 2021, she continued her studies in narrative techniques at the Scuola Holden in Turin (Italy). From 2023 onward, she has worked as a copywriter and researcher, contributing to the development of Lou Ye’s Unfinished Film, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024. Since 2024, she is the Head of Development at Kometa Films and a programme manager for various development labs and residencies at Tatino Films. She was also selected as a Story Editor Trainee for the TFL NEXT Screens of Tomorrow 2024 program.
Philippe Barrière
Script Consultant
Born in 1978, Philippe Barrière has a Masters in philosophy and formal logic at La Sorbonne University.
Script consulting is way for him to combine his interest for analysis and his passion for cinema.
Over the past years, Philippe Barrière has had several relevant experiences in the field of script consulting such as head of the development for Mille et une Productions or, since 2010, as an independent script consultant.
He is notably the co-author with Rubaiyat Hossain of Made in Bangladesh (Toronto 2019). He teaches scriptwriting in different film schools in Paris, and works on several script development workshops, such as La Scénaristerie, Cannes Talent Unlimited and Le Groupe Ouest.
Franziska Müller
Script consultant
Franziska is a Berlin-based script consultant, development mentor, screenwriter and creative producer – an expert in the process of creating deeply authentic stories. She studied Médiation Culturelle et Communication and Scenic Arts, participated in Berlinale Script Station, Torino Film Lab and draws on over 20 years of experience in the development of feature film and serial content.
Franziska participated in writing Sven Taddicken’s The Most Beautiful Couple which premiered at TIFF in 2018. She consults production companies, distributers, broadcasters, streamers, film funds, such as Constantin Film, ZDF, Netflix, BKM, Eurimages, and collaborates with organizations such as Netflix Writing Academy/dffb, Masterschool Drehbuch, MA Serial Storytelling/ifs international filmschool Cologne, Serial Eyes/dffb, Netflix Grow Creative/Tatino Films.
Fred Burle
Producer Consultant
Fred Burle was born in Brazil and has lived in Berlin since 2010. He completed his production studies at the dffb Berlin. Fred participated in the renowned EAVE Puentes program in 2020. Fred is a partner at One Two Films, with a number of high-profile projects under his internal leadership, such as Peter Hujar’s Day by Ira Sachs (Sundance, Berlinale 2025); Cannes Winner and 4x Oscar nominated The Secret Agent by Kleber Mendonca Filho; and Calle Malaga by Maryam Touzani, Audience Award Winner in Venice 2025. Fred was also selected to represent Germany at the renowned “Producer on the Move” program in Cannes 2025. Fred is been teaching at various film schools, is on the board of trustees of the dffb and a member both the German and the European Film Academies.
Alexis Hofmann
Industry consultant
Alexis Hofmann holds degrees in modern literature, film history, and from La Fémis After a stint at the CNC (National Center for Cinema and the Moving Image), he joined HAUT ET COURT DISTRIBUTION and then MEMENTO, where he focused on programming and marketing. In 2006, he joined BAC FILMS as a programmer, becoming marketing manager in 2009, and then director of acquisitions from 2014 to 2025. Since late 2025, he has been developing feature films in production at SPECIAL TOUCH STUDIOS.
Partners
& financial
support
Alca, the cultural agency for publishing and cinema in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region, supports creation and production of fiction, animation and documentary films through fundings, artists-in-residence program, partnerships with Labs and international market and a regional film commission.
It also stands by film professionals from the region for national and international film festivals, coproduction events and to support distribution and promotion.
Hessen Film & Medien is the first point of contact for film funding in Hesse, Germany, and strengthens the regional film and media industry. It supports film and media professionals and those who want to shoot and produce in Hesse while planning and shooting their projects. Hessen Film & Medien promotes both the artistic and commercial quality of film and series productions and offers support throughout all production stages from treatment to shooting and distribution. Its goal is to pave the way for artistic daring and it stands for the promotion of young talent, diversity, social and environmental sustainability as well as transparent structures.
In collaboration with
