FULL CIRCLE LAB

PHILIPPINES 2023

Full Circle Lab Philippines is a capacity-building program aimed at supporting Filipino and Southeast Asian filmmakers. The fourth edition of the Lab takes place in the Philippines, from March 27 to 31, 2023, with an online follow-up in September 2023 during the Philippines Film Industry Month.

Full Circle Lab Philippines is co-organised by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) and Tatino Films.

AIMS

–> Identifying, nurturing and training creative talents in the Philippines and in South-East Asia;
–> Supporting Filipino & South-East Asian film projects along their development & post-production processes – in order to enhance their artistic and audience potentials with a focus on storytelling;
–> Fostering the internationalisation of the Filipino film industry, and positioning the Philippines as a creative hub in the South-East Asian region.
Fan Girl by Antoinette Jadaone, Full Circle Lab Philippines, 2019

AJOOMMA,directed by He Shuming
and produced by Anthony Chen (Singapore/Korea)

MODULES

The Lab is composed of four modules:

  • Fiction Lab
  • First Cut Lab
  • Creative Producers Lab
  • Story Editing Lab

The Fiction Lab nurtures 8 feature films in development. It combines works in plenary, groups and individual consultations. Each project is followed by two mentors, one focusing specifically on script development – Mmbatho Kau – and the other on production issues – either Naomi Levari or Patrick Mao Huang.

The Story Editing Lab’s goal is to train film professionals capable of accompanying authors and directors during the whole creative process, primarily at the script development stage. Together with the Creative Producers Lab initiated in 2021, this addition reinforces the priority of Full Circle Lab Philippines to focus on skills training and building a sustainable audio-visual ecosystem.

The Creative Producers Lab is an essential tool to develop the whole ecosystem of the Filipino and South East Asia film industry. The Creative Producer Lab trains up to 8 junior producers in the key areas of this profession: project development, legal & financial issues, and company development, to enhance the production value of the films. Participants are mentored by producer Juraj Krasnohorsky.

The First Cut Lab is open to 3 feature films at the editing stage and helps creative teams to reach the film they envision, fostering their artistic and circulation potentials. Under the supervision of Wim Vanacker, this Lab involves international advisors, with Benjamin Mirguet as editor consultant.

CALENDAR

November 11, 2022: Applications Deadline for Fiction, Creative Producers, and Story Editing Labs

December 5, 2022: Applications Deadline for First Cut Lab

February 1, 2023: Deadline for submission of the cut

February 15, 2023: Announcement of selected projects and talents

March 27-31, 2023: Full Circle Lab Philippines on-site labs

CALL FOR PROJECTS – GUIDELINES

How to apply

Full Circle Lab Philippines is open to filmmakers from Philippines and South-East Asia countries: Brunei, Cambodia, East-Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Applications for Fiction Lab, Creative Producers Lab, and Story Editing Lab must be submitted by November 11, 2022. Meanwhile, applications for First Cut Lab must be submitted on December 5, 2022, while the film cut may be submitted until February 1, 2023.

Applications and requirements must be sent to projectlab@fdcp.ph with the subject:

Full Circle Lab Philippines 2023 [(Lab Category) Application]
ex. Full Circle Lab Philippines 2023 [Fiction lab Application]

Selection

The submission materials of all eligible applicants will be reviewed by the FDCP Selection Committee and will be shortlisted.

The FDCP Selection Committee and Full Circle Lab mentors shall confer to select the final selection, ensuring the diversity of the lineup.

Selected participants will be announced by January 2023
on FCL PH’s social media pages.

Fiction Labs

Open for projects in the early stage of development to pre-production stage in any of the following formats: feature films, series, or animation.

Applicants must submit the following:

  • Duly accomplished application form
  • Dossier of the project including:
    • Logline
    • Short Synopsis
    • Sequence Treatment
    • Director’s and producer’s intention notes
    • Production budget and financial plan
  • Director’s and producer’s letter of intent
  • Director’s, producer’s and screenwriter’s filmographies
  • Production company profile and filmography
  • Rights to Adaptation (if applicable)
  • High-definition profile photos (.jpg format)

All requirements must be submitted in separate PDF documents.

Note:

  • Projects shall have a director, writer, and producer attached.
  • Projects shall have financing or at least a projected financing in place
  • The director and producer shall attend all the sessions of the lab.
  • The lab is open for projects that have not yet entered the pre-production stage.

For submissions and inquiries, drop a message to projectlab@fdcp.ph

 

Creative Producers Lab

Open to producers who will have the chance to be mentored on topics covering the different key areas of this profession—project development, legal & financial issues, and company development.

Applicants must submit the following:

  • Duly accomplished application form
  • Letter of intent
  • Filmography
  • Production company profile and filmography
  • Project dossier (if available)
  • High definition profile photo (.jpg format)

All requirements must be submitted in separate PDF documents.

Note:

Producers with or without current affiliation with production companies are equally welcome to apply.

For submissions and inquiries, drop a message to projectlab@fdcp.ph

 

First Cut Lab

Available for projects in the editing stage. Participants will receive expert advice from editor-consultants and industry advisors chosen according to the specific needs of each film.

Applicants must submit the following:

  • Duly accomplished application form
  • A minimum of 30 minutes of scenes from the film with
  • English subtitles. Scenes can be separate and can be in the
  • rough cut.
  • Dossier of the project including:
  • Logline
  • Short synopsis
  • Director’s and producer’s intention notes
  • Director’s and producer’s letter of intent
  • Director’s, producer’s, and editor’s filmographies
  • Producer’s filmography and production company profile
  • High definition profile photo (.jpg format)

All requirements must be submitted in separate PDF documents.

Note:

The film’s producer, director, and editor must attend the whole duration of the Editing Lab.

For submissions and inquiries, drop a message to projectlab@fdcp.ph

 

Story Editing Lab

Open to aspiring script consultants, scriptwriters, heads of development in production companies, or commissioning editors of broadcasters, who will work hand-in-hand with the Fiction Lab groups. Each participant will work primarily with the script and production mentors of his group, but he/she will also receive expert advice and lectures from mentors from the other groups.

Applicants must submit the following:

  • Duly accomplished application form
  • Letter of intent
  • Filmography
  • Production company profile and filmography
  • High definition profile photo (.jpg format)

All requirements must be submitted in separate PDF documents.

For submissions and inquiries, drop a message to projectlab@fdcp.ph

 

Qualifications

  • Must be from a Southeast Asian Country: Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia, East-Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam
  • Must submit the application form and all supplementary requirements.
  • Must be fully vaccinated and willing to travel to the Philippines.
  • Must be willing to comply with necessary COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Autobiography, directed by Makbul Mubarak
(Full Circle Lab 2021)

MENTORS

 

Full Circle Lab Philippines is led by Matthieu Darras and Izabela Igel on behalf of Tatino Films.

From left to right: Olga Zhurzhenko (Ukraine), Meiske Taurisia (Indonesia), Mmabatho Kau (South Africa), Ayman El Amir (Egypt), Helen Beltrame-Linne (Brazil/Sweden), Iza Igel (Poland)

FICTION

Mmabatho Kau - Full Circoe Lab Philippines 2021

MMABATHO KAU

Script Consultant

In her 20-year strong creative journey, Mmabatho has worked as a producer, broadcaster (SABC, Kwese TV, TopTV), development executive as well as a script consultant. 

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Roles that have harnessed her love for story and helping writers find their voice as storytellers. Her catalogue of work, as a script consultant, ranges from novel adaptations to politically potent films brought to life through titles such Kalushi: The Solomon Mahlangu Story and the sequel to Happiness is a Four Letter Word – Happiness Ever After. Mmabatho’s creative flair has also been injected outside South Africa as a consultant on the award-winning Lesotho based film This is not a Burial, it’s a Resurrection (Venice Biennale College Cinema 2019, Visionary Award winner Sundance 2019).

In 2017 Mmabatho was invited to co-mentor in REALNESS, a Pan-African writing residency. Beyond Realness; she has mentored on the Canal+  Poland Series Lab (2021), The Philippines (Full Circle Lab 2019 and 2020), Maisha Producers Lab (Uganda 2019), Jumpstart PRODUIRE AU SUD (South Africa 2019 and 2020), For Film’s Sake- Attagirl Lab (Australia 2020), The Pro Series Lab (Kenya 2020), BoostNL (Netherlands Film Festival/IFFR 2020), Dramatic Producer’s Lab (Ethiopia 2019). In addition to being a mentor, she has had the honour of being invited to participate in The Torino Script Lab (2018), EAVE (European Audio Visual Entrepreneurs 2020) and The Rotterdam Producer’s Lab (2020).

PATRICK MAO HUANG

Producer Consultant

Born in Taiwan, Patrick Mao HUANG studied in American Film Institute – Directing Program and Columbia University Graduate Film School – Creative Producing Program.

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He founded production/distribution/sales company Flash Forward Entertainment in Taipei in 2002.

Being praised for his diversity and distinguished eyes to spot new talents, Huang’s films span from narrative feature, documentaries, animation, short to drama series. All of them were selected by renowned film festivals worldwide and released globally. With great knowledge and experience for the international market, Huang always focuses on international co-production between east and west and has extensive skills on structuring film finance combining soft money and private funds. Huang’s latest film Moneyboys, an official selection of 2021 Cannes Un Certain Regard, is a co-production among Austria, France, Taiwan, and Belgium. Pierce, a Singapore/Taiwan/Poland co-production, is in pre-production to be shot entirely in Taiwan. Several co-productions with different partners from France, India, Bangladesh, Mainland China, and Czech Republic are in the advanced development stage and scheduled to go into production next year. 

Huang is also a veteran film distributor, and often being a mentor or a guest speaker in filmmakers’ workshops or conferences such as Producers Network, Ties that Bind, CineMart, EFM Producers Hub, Produire au sud Taipei, Busan Asian Film School, When East Meets West, Sino-European Project Lab of Bridging the Dragon, FDCP Film Industry Conference and Project Market in Philippine, and TAICCA School run by Taiwan Creative Content Agency. Huang often serves as a jury or project selector for festivals, funding programs, screenplay competition and project markets such as Shanghai International Film Festival, Taipei Film Festival, YGIFF in Wuhan, Supporting Funds from BAMID of Taiwan Ministry of Culture, Taipei Film Commission, HAF, CNEX Chinese Doc Forum, TAICCA School x MPA Script to Screen Film Workshop and Pitching Session, and the Project Market at the One International Women’s Film Festival in Chengdu China. HUANG also works as a festival programmer occasionally.

Filmography as a Producer 

2022 – Pierce (Singapore/Taiwan/Poland) – Pre-production; family drama

2022 – 96 Minutes, (Taiwan/China) – Pre-production; action thriller

2021 – In the Morning of Le Petit Morte, (Taiwan) – Pre-production; erotic drama 

2021 – As River Goes By, (China), Pre-production; fantasy coming-of-age

2021 – Moneyboys, Cannes Un Certain Regard

2020 – Blessed Winter, (Austria/France/Taiwan/Belgium), China 86358 Short Film Festival – Best Film 

2020 – Alikis, Osaka Asian Film Festival – Spotlight

2018 – A First Farewell, Berlinale Generation Kplus – Grand Prix of International Jury, Tokyo International Film Festival Asian Future – Best Film, Hong Kong International Film Festival – Firebird Best Chinese Film, Best Director, Hainan International Film Festival  

2018 – Suburban Birds, New Directors New Films, FIRST International Film Festival – Best Narrative Feature, Locarno Film Festival – Filmmakers of the present Competition, Macao International Film Festival – NETPAC Award

2018 – An Impossibly Small Object, IFFR – Big Screen Competition, DC Chinese Film Festival – Best Narrative Feature, Rome Film Festival, Shanghai International Film Festival 

2018 – Mama Pingpong Social Club, PiFan – Puchon Choice Competition, DC Chinese Film Festival – Best Narrative Short  

2016 – The Road to Mandalay, Venice Film Festival – FEDEORA Award for Best Film

2014 – Ice Poison, Berlinale – Panorama, Taiwan entry for Oscars’ Best Foreign Language film

2013 – Amour et Patisserie, Film France – Producer of the Year Award, 3 Golden Bell Award nomination (Drama Series, Actress, Screenplay)

2011 – Return to Burma, IFFR – Tiger Competition

2009 – Baseball Boys, (Feature Documentary), Vision du Reel – Competition

2006 – Eternal Sunshine, BIFF – New Currents Competition

2005 – A Fish with a Smile, Berlinale Generation Kplus – Best Short Film Awards

2003 – My Wedding, 6 Golden Bell Award nomination (TV Film, Directing, Actress, Supporting Actress, Screenplay, Cinematography)

 

Patrick Mao Huang Pimpaka TOWIRA Advisor Full Circle Lab Philippines 2021
Mmabatho Kau - Full Circoe Lab Philippines 2021

HELEN
BELTRAME-LINNÉ

Script Consultant

Helen Beltrame-Linné is a Brazilian screenwriter and script consultant with a wide artistic and corporate background. Helen graduated from Brazil’s most prestigious Law School and worked as a corporate lawyer…

read more

Lately factual credits include the feature-length debut Sole by Carlo Sironi an italian- polish coproduction handled by Luxbox. He is a member of Eave, Eurodoc, Producers’s Network and Berlinale Talents. He shares his expertise teaching production at IED in Rome and tutoring project in development workshop such Full Circle Lab.

NAOMI LEVARI

Producer Consultant

Naomi Levari is a producer and script editor, co-founder of Tel Aviv based Black Sheep Film Productions Ltd. 

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Her tailor-made film and TV productions include Chained (Berlinale), Stripped (Venice IFF), Fig Tree (TIFF), One Week and a Day (Cannes), Mama’s Angel (Series Mania), winners of numerous awards, distributed in multiple territories earning the love of the audience and critics alike.

In 2018, Naomi co-founded the Berlin-based production company Electric Sheep GmbH focusing on socially related content.

Naomi is known for her customized approach and engagement in every aspect of film making, establishing herself as a sought-after lecturer and mentor.

MEISKE TAURISIA

Producer Consultant

She entered film industry in 2004, and co-founded babibutafilm in 2007. She produced Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly (2008, Rotterdam-Fipresci Award), Postcards from the Zoo (2012, Berlinale), The Fox Exploits the Tiger’s Might (2015, Cannes), to name a few. 

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In 2016 she co-founded Palari Films and produced Posesif (2017, SGIFF), Aruna & Her Palate (2018, Culinary Cinema, Berlinale). Both films won awards at Festival Film Indonesia such as Best Director, Best Actor & Actress, Best Scenario Adaptation & Best Supporting Actor.
Aside from producing film, in 2013 she founded Yayasan Cipta Citra Indonesia, a foundation that focuses on supporting the independent film scenes in Indonesia in various formats. Kolektif, a distribution program for independent films; Kinosaurus, a micro cinema; LOCK, a film lab for young and rising filmmakers, and several other programs.

STORY EDITING

Mmabatho Kau - Full Circoe Lab Philippines 2021

MMABATHO KAU

Script Consultant

In her 20-year strong creative journey, Mmabatho has worked as a producer, broadcaster (SABC, Kwese TV, TopTV), development executive as well as a script consultant. 

read more
Roles that have harnessed her love for story and helping writers find their voice as storytellers. Her catalogue of work, as a script consultant, ranges from novel adaptations to politically potent films brought to life through titles such Kalushi: The Solomon Mahlangu Story and the sequel to Happiness is a Four Letter Word – Happiness Ever After. Mmabatho’s creative flair has also been injected outside South Africa as a consultant on the award-winning Lesotho based film This is not a Burial, it’s a Resurrection (Venice Biennale College Cinema 2019, Visionary Award winner Sundance 2019).

In 2017 Mmabatho was invited to co-mentor in REALNESS, a Pan-African writing residency. Beyond Realness; she has mentored on the Canal+  Poland Series Lab (2021), The Philippines (Full Circle Lab 2019 and 2020), Maisha Producers Lab (Uganda 2019), Jumpstart PRODUIRE AU SUD (South Africa 2019 and 2020), For Film’s Sake- Attagirl Lab (Australia 2020), The Pro Series Lab (Kenya 2020), BoostNL (Netherlands Film Festival/IFFR 2020), Dramatic Producer’s Lab (Ethiopia 2019). In addition to being a mentor, she has had the honour of being invited to participate in The Torino Script Lab (2018), EAVE (European Audio Visual Entrepreneurs 2020) and The Rotterdam Producer’s Lab (2020).

HELEN
BELTRAME-LINNÉ

Script Consultant

Helen Beltrame-Linné is a Brazilian screenwriter and script consultant with a wide artistic and corporate background. Helen graduated from Brazil’s most prestigious Law School and worked as a corporate lawyer…

read more

Lately factual credits include the feature-length debut Sole by Carlo Sironi an italian- polish coproduction handled by Luxbox. He is a member of Eave, Eurodoc, Producers’s Network and Berlinale Talents. He shares his expertise teaching production at IED in Rome and tutoring project in development workshop such Full Circle Lab.

Mmabatho Kau - Full Circoe Lab Philippines 2021

CREATIVE PRODUCERS

JURAJ KRASNOHORSKY 

Producer 

Juraj Krasnohorsky is a film producer based in Bratislava. He lived for 14 years in Geneva, Bilbao and Paris where he studied physics, mathematics, and film. In 2010 he founded Artichoke and released his debut feature film as director Tigers in the City (2012).

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He shifted towards producing films and in 2016 his co-produced animated short film Superbia (2016) by Luca Tóth competed at Semaine de la Critique in Cannes. As a creative producer he currently works on several animated, feature length and documentary films, such as the Eurimages supported 2D/3D animated feature film for adults White Plastic Sky (in production) by Tibor Bánóczki & Sarolta Szabó and animated stop-motion feature film for children Of Unwanted Things and People (in production), winner of the Eurimages Co-production Development Award at Cartoon Movie 2019. Juraj is an EAVE alumni and head of studies of the CEE Animation Workshop.

 

FIRST CUT LAB

BENJAMIN MIRGUET

Editor

Benjamin Mirguet is an editor, trainer, director, festival programmer. As an editor, he was involved in projects as Batalla En El Cielo by Carlos Reygadas…

 

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…Meteora by Spiros Stathoulopoulos, 40 Days Of Silence by Saodat Ismailova, Dau by Ilya Khrzhanovski, Deadweight by Axel Koenzen, The Sky Trembles and the Earth Is Afraid and the Two Eyes Are Not Brothers by Ben Rivers, Together Forever by Lina Luzyte and Rey by Niles Atallah, premiering in international festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Locarno, Rotterdam and Karlovy Vary.
Since 2015, he runs First Cut Lab together with Matthieu Darras.
In 2017, he developed and served as tutor for the Trailer Workshop in Istanbul.
In 2018, he was editing tutor for 5 projects in QUMRA (Doha Film Institute), a workshop dedicated to films in postproduction. He was part of the selection committee for Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes in 2010 and 2011.
He also collaborated with CPH:DOX Copenhagen Documentary Film Festival programming team in 2011.

WIM VANACKER

Editor

After studying psychology in Belgium, Wim Vanacker moved to Dublin to work as a psychologist in the field of drug addiction. Three years later, he started studying at EICAR where he made two shorts : Endgame and The Naked leading the Blind.

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After graduating, he discovered NISI MASA – European Network of Young Cinema where he became the Head of the Script Department and the Project manager of the MEDIA funded project, European Short Pitch. He founded Sireal Films where he produced the VAF funded short empire and he’s a member of the Selection Committee for the Official Short Film Competition of the Cannes Film Festival and he works as a script consultant, creative advisor, tutor and guest speaker for many film festivals and projects in development. As a writer/director, he’s currently developing the short films [ˈsɪə.ri.əl ] and Psycho Revisited.

PARTNER

Full Circle Lab Philippines in an initiative of Film Development Council of the Philippines and Tatino Films.

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