23/01/2013 - The mini-budget feature-length films, debut or second works, will be presented at the coming Venice IFF

The selection has been made of the 3 projects that will proceed to the second phase of the Biennale College – Cinema, consisting in a workshop that will make it possible to actually make a mini-budget  film, with funding of 150,000 euro each.

The 3 projects, chosen at the end of the first workshop among the 15 previously selected projects from all around the world (presented by a team of one director and one producer) are: Memphis (USA), Tim Sutton (director) and John Baker (producer); The Year of June (Thailand), Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit (director) and Aditya Assarat (producer); Yuri Esposito (Italy), Alessio Fava (director) and Max Chicco (producer).

The goal is to present the 3 feature-length films, debut or second works, at the coming 70th Venice International Film Festival (28 August – 7 September 2013), directed by Alberto Barbera and organized by the Biennale chaired by Paolo Baratta.

The second workshop of the Biennale College – Cinema for the 3 selected teams (composed this time of a maximum of 5 people) will be held from February 18th through March 6th 2013 in Venice (Director Alberto Barbera, Head of Programme Savina Neirotti). This will be an intensive workshop dedicated to direction and pre-production, which will explore the visual aspects of the 3 projects. Each team will work with a mentor-director and a certain number of tutors/trainers for each different area, to ensure that at the end of the workshop the teams are ready to start, to shoot and to edit the film over the next five months, under the supervision of a team from the Biennale College – Cinema.

The Biennale College – Cinema is a higher educational workshop for the development and production of micro-budget audiovisual works, launched at the 69th Venice International Film Festival 2012. At the close of an international call for participation, the initial submission counted 433 projects from 77 countries from around the world. 15 of these projects were selected, and their teams (one director and one producer) participated in the first workshop in Venice from January 7th through 17th 2013.

The 12 projects that will not participate in the second workshop may benefit in any case from an online follow-up, and opportunities may open up for them to find co-producers in collaboration with the New York IFP, with the Dubai International Film Festival and with the TorinoFilmLab.

The Biennale College – Cinema is a programme organized by the Biennale di Venezia in partnership with Gucci. It is supported by the Ministry for the Cultural Heritage and Activities – General Direction Cinema – and by the Regione del Veneto, and held in collaboration with the New York IFP, the Dubai International Film Festival and TorinoFilmLab.

(Translated from Italian)