Focusing on supporting local up-and-coming filmmakers, the Bosphorus Film Lab (BFL), the industry section of the sixth Bosphorus Film Festival, will run from 27-31 October. The BFL is organised in partnership with Turkey’s national pubcaster TRT, and in its Pitching platform, it will present ten projects that are on the lookout for co-production partnerships, while six projects will be screened as Works in Progress. The workshops will include advice from consultant Hayet Benkara. In addition, this year, the BFL is introducing two new awards for both sections, which encompass post-production services and distribution support.

The selection of the Pitching section includes:

Bir Umut - Ümit Köreken; producer: Nursen Çetin Köreken
Bir Düş Gördüm - Murat Çeri; producer: Serkan Önal
Değnekten At - Korhan Günay, Canan Çelik; producer: Bulut Reyhanoğlu
Eşik - Bünyamin Bayansal; producer: Bünyamin Bayansal
Fırtına Kıyısı - Samiha Khelifa Yılmaz; producer: Samiha Khelifa Yılmaz
Graft - Ahmet Küçükkayalı; producer: İnci Oarr
Yedinci Ocak - Haydar Şişman; producer: Ümran Safter
İsimsiz Mektup M.M. - Doğancan Aktaş; producer: Doğancan Aktaş
Rahmet - Emre Sert, Gözde Yetişkin; producer: Suzan Güverte
Turna Misali - İffet Eren Danışman Boz; producer: Eyüp Boz

The participants in the Work in Progress section are:

Belonging [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Burak Çevik
scheda film] - Burak Çevik; producer: Selman Nacar
Biz İki Kişiyiz - Hakkı Kurtuluş, Melik Saraçoğlu; producer: Aslı Erdem
Ceviz Ağacı - Faysal Soysal; producer: Faysal Soysal
Kapan - Seyid Çolak; producer: Seyid Çolak
The Hive - Eylem Kaftan; producer: Canol Balkaya
Omar ve Biz - Mehmet Bahadır Er; producer: Mehmet Bahadır Er

During the BFL, a series of panel talks will also aim to help both the participants and the local and international film professionals to adopt a broader approach to the different stages of film production. Some of the topics that will be discussed include the production and distribution of movies, an insight into directing actors, the principles of scriptwriting, an overview of project development platforms, and the co-production processes for independent filmmakers.

Finally, apart from Sergei Loznitsa and Bent Hamer, who will both receive honorary awards during the sixth Bosphorus Film Festival (see the news) and will present their works during specialised master classes, seasoned Portuguese producer Paulo Branco will also lead a filmmaking class.