Tatino Films and Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) have announced the 15 projects that will take part in the fourth edition of Full Circle Lab Philippines, which will take place as an in-person event in Cebu April 26-30.
The selection includes 12 Fiction Lab projects, of which seven are debut features, and three First Cut Lab projects, which are at the editing stage. The three First Cut Lab projects include Malaysian filmmaker Woo Ming Jin’s Stone Turtle (pictured); Singapore-based filmmaker He Shuming’s Ajoomma, produced by Anthony Chen; and Where Is The Lie?, from the Philippines’ Quark Henares (see full list of projects below).
The lab aims to identify, nurture and support film and episodic projects from the Philippines and South-East Asia at different stages of production. The initial on-site residential workshop will be followed by online sessions until September 2022.
In addition to the Fiction Lab and First Cut Lab, the programme includes a Creative Producers Lab, which aims to address the scarcity of experienced creative producers in the region, and a Story Editors Lab, a new initiative to train film professionals to accompany authors and directors in the creative process and design a script and project development path.
Mentors for the Fiction Lab include scriptwriters and script consultants such as Helen Beltramé-Linné (Brazil/Sweden), Ayman El Amir (Egypt) and Mmabatho Kau (South Africa), as well as producers Izabela Igel (Poland), Meiske Taurisia (Indonesia), and Olga Zhurzhenko (Ukraine). Editor consultant Benjamin Mirguet (France) is mentoring the First Cut Lab projects, together with editorial consultant Wim Vanacker (Belgium).
Creative Producers will work under the mentorship of producers Weijie Lai (Singapore/Canada) and Juraj Krasnohorsky (Slovakia), supported by industry advisors Fran Borgia (producer, Singapore), Patrick Mao Huang (producer-distributor, Taiwan), Vincent Quek (distributor, Singapore) and Tran Thi Bich Ngoc (producer, Vietnam).
Tatino Films CEO Matthieu Darras said: “Entering its 4th edition, Full Circle Lab Philippines has become a steady point of reference for the Filipino and South-East Asia audiovisual industries. Professionals of the region can rely upon a safe space, where to develop or to finalise their film projects, but also where to enhance their storytelling & production skills.”
FDCP chairperson and CEO Liza Diño said: “For two consecutive years, Full Circle Lab Philippines was held online due to the ongoing global health crisis. We did not allow the pandemic to deter us from catering to the training and development needs of our filmmakers and answering to the demands of the ever-changing film industry…This year, Full Circle Lab Philippines moves back onsite and we are thrilled to welcome the participants with a diverse line-up of projects.”
Previous Full Circle Lab Philippines projects include Leonor Will Never Die, directed by Martika Ramirez Escobar, which won a special jury prize in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at this year’s Sundance film festival. More recently, two projects that started their development path with Full Circle Lab were selected for Cannes Film Festival 2022’s L’Atelier – Sam, from E. Del Mundo, and The Beer Girl In Yangon, by Sein Lyan Tun.
FICTION LAB:
Between One Lucia And Two Marias (debut) – dir: Tyra Alvarade (Philippines)
Dear Family (debut) – dir: Monica Vanesa Tedja, prods: Gugi Gumilang & Astrid Saerong (Indonesia)
First Breath After Coma – dir: Jason Iskandar, prod: Florence Giovani Chandra (Indonesia)
Mando’s Better World – dir: Joel Ruiz, prods: Monster Jimenez & Margie Templo (Philippines)
Mother Maybe – dir: Sonny Calvento, prod: Krizia Marie Millanes (Philippines)
Pamilya Anakonda (debut) – dir: James Albano, prod: Carmi Raymundo (Philippines)
Posthouse (debut) – dirs: Nikolas Red, Iana Bernardez (Philippines)
Tether (debut) – dir: Gian Arre, prod: Anna Velario (Philippines)
The Scam Of Angels (series) – dir: Arden Rod Condez, prod: Barbara Candano (Philippines)
Unmother (debut) – dir: Jen Nee Lim, prod: Ke Ning Lee (Singapore)
Violet Flower (debut) – dir: Jerome Zamora, prod: Wilfredo Manalang (Philippines)
Wingboy – dir: Writer Grace Ng, prod: Tan Jia Min (Singapore)
FIRST CUT LAB:
Ajoomma (debut) – dir: He Shuming, prod: Anthony Chen, editor: Armiliah Aripin (Singapore)
Stone Turtle – dir: Woo Ming Jin, prod & editor: Edmund Yeo (Malaysia)
Where Is The Lie? – dir: Quark Henares, prod. Armi Rae Cacanindin, editor Benjamin Tolentino (Philippines)
STORY EDITORS LAB:
Jericho Miguel Aguado – Southern Lantern Studios (Philippines)
Paul Sta. Ana – Pelikulaw (Philippines)
Dan Koh – Incantation Films (Singapore)
CREATIVE PRODUCERS LAB:
April Batican – Epicmedia Productions Inc. (Philippines)
Sari Dalena – Kino Arts (Philippines)
Keisha Therese Halili – Micromedia Digital Video Productions (Philippines)
Mary Grace Liew – Foreground Pictures (Malaysia)
Racquel Medina – Southern Lantern Studios & Giya Studios (Philippines)
Kyle Nieva – Screen Asia Corporation (Philippines)
Giovanni Rahmadeva – Qun Films (Indonesia)
Howard Yambao – Eichef Media \ HFilms (Philippines)