Luang Prabang Film Festival Opens Call for 2018 Talent Lab
The Luang Prabang Film Festival (LPFF) has announced that it is accepting applications for its 2018 Talent Lab, led by Tribeca Film Institute® (TFI). The Lab, which will train Southeast Asian filmmakers on grant writing and project pitching, will be held during the opening weekend of the ninth annual festival, which will take place 7-12 December 2018.
LPFF is a yearly celebration of Southeast Asian cinema held in Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage town in northern Laos that lacks a working movie theater. With inclusivity as core to its mission, all festival events are free and open to the public.
In the third year of an exciting collaboration with TFI, the Talent Lab has been expanded to three days to accommodate additional voices from industry experts. At the conclusion of the workshop, a jury will select one project from the forum to attend the TFI Network market, which will take place in New York City during the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival®.
Hosted annually by TFI, the industry market gives filmmakers the opportunity to build connections with a wide range of industry insiders who can potentially help them advance their projects.
TFI will then mentor the winning filmmaker or filmmaking team through the completion of their project. All participants in the Talent Lab will also receive preferential consideration for any of TFI’s grants.
In addition to the opportunity to attend TFI Network market, participating filmmakers will have the chance to win an Aurora Producing Award of $10,000, granted by Singapore-based media investment firm Aurora Media Holdings.
Founded by Justin Deimen, Terence Kong, and Jeremy Sim, Aurora Media is one of Southeast Asia’s leading media and entertainment asset incubation, investment, and management specialists.
“It’s been fascinating and truly fulfilling for us to work with Southeast Asian talent through the years,” says Deimen, Group Managing Partner at Aurora Media Holdings. “They have the drive, passion, and a unique perspective on storytelling for both niche and commercial films that promises to impact global audiences. We’re proud to be associated with the LPFF Talent Lab and its team as they’ve shown terrific acumen in curating and nurturing these filmmakers, and preparing them for the next level in inter-regional and international co-productions.”
The 2017 Talent Lab had 10 participating film projects from six Southeast Asian countries and was led by TFI’s Manager of Artist Programs, Bryce Norbitz, and TFI’s Senior Director of Artist Programs, Molly O’Keefe. At the end of the project pitching sessions, the Lao feature film project Raising a Beast was selected to attend the 2018 TFI Network market, and the Philippine film project Cat Island received $10,000 USD towards its production.
After a successful two years of the Talent Lab, Tribeca’s renewed involvement demonstrates their commitment to fostering the growth of the region’s film industries.
“It has been wonderful to immerse ourselves in the contemporary Southeast Asian film landscape and do our small part in sharing these essential films with a U.S. marketplace,” says Molly O’Keefe, Senior Director of Artist Programs at Tribeca Film Institute. “We are honored to return for a third year and expand upon the solid foundation we have built with LPFF to share pitching, funding, and general industry experience with talented working filmmakers from the region.”
To read more about the 2018 LPFF Talent Lab, access the Call for Applications here.