Up to six producers from across Canada will be selected to participate in the second consecutive Whistler Film Festival Feature Project Lab, an intense four-day business and marketplace immersion experience presented by WFF in association with Telefilm Canada.
This program will be held from Dec. 2 to 5, during the 2014 Whistler Film Festival + Summit.
Designed to advance Canadian creative talent, the WFF Feature Project Lab focuses on strengthening dramatic feature projects from script to screen by facilitating feedback as well as collaboration on and investment in film projects that have US and international appeal.
“Telefilm Canada is proud to be a key partner of WFF’s Feature Project Lab” said John Dippong,regional director of industry promotion, English market. “The Lab provides an important opportunity for producers to get rigorous market feedback from seasoned veterans at the most critically important stage of their project’s development. It’s a great learning and relationship-building experience that helps build careers as well as individual projects.”
Producers may enter a maximum of three projects. A selection committee consisting of two WFF representatives and two industry professionals, including a key international sales representative, will vet the applications and shortlist candidates for interviews before making final decisions. Once projects have been selected, producers will receive feedback on their packages and some strategy discussions with Lab Facilitators prior to the Lab. Two facilitators will provide high-level strategic advice and counsel to producers over the course of the Lab helping them to address feedback from Industry Advisors.
At the Feature Project Lab in Whistler, producers will receive strategic guidance and packaging feedback from international market experts and sales agents who have relationships with US and International partners; select distributors and financiers most relevant to the projects; and experts in alternative distribution and marketing.
Each producer will be booked into individual and group meetings. Facilitators will lead guest sessions, debrief with producers post-sessions, and discuss next steps in order to help producers determine how best to implement the feedback. Producers will leave with the tools needed to assemble an attractive international package, a refined pitch tailored to U.S. and international industry members, a strategic marketing and distribution plan, and a significantly expanded network of international experts. Ideally, producers will complete the Lab with new investment interest.
Canadian producers are invited to submit an application for the WFF Feature Project Lab by Sep. 30 for consideration. The application form and guidelines are available at whistlerfilmfestival.com.
From Dec. 3 to 7, the Whistler Film Festival (WFF) will celebrate its 14th edition as one of Canada’s leading festivals. Featuring innovative and original films from around the world and opportunities to connect with the people who made them, this year’s five day Festival will be filled with a solid lineup of premieres, star-studded guests, lively celebrations and unique industry initiatives. Find out more at www.whistlerfilmfestival.com.
The Whistler Film Festival gratefully acknowledges the generous support and commitment to the Feature Project Lab, presented in association with Telefilm Canada and sponsored by Astral’s Harold Greenberg Fund, Creative BC, the Canadian Media Production Association and the Canadian Media Production Association – BC Producer’s Branch.
