Port of Spain, 30th July 2021: The Trinidad and Tobago Film Company Limited (FilmTT) has recently completed the workshop phase of its Business of Film: Script to Screen Programme. The programme, which began in June of this year, is a collaboration between local and international agencies: FilmTT, ExporTT, TTT and Stage 32, and is intended to position filmmakers at a greater advantage in trade and export through access to business opportunities and professional growth. The workshops aimed to bridge key industry gaps by providing filmmakers with the guidance and opportunity to enhance their scriptwriting skills, and a deeper understanding of production tools, marketing and distribution.
Twenty-two (22) participants were selected for 5 Workshops facilitated by Stage 32 Educator Jason Mirch. The virtual workshops were conducted via Zoom and focused on the main production areas: Scriptwriting, Pre-production, Production, Post-production and Marketing. A regional perspective was infused through five (5) guest presentations by film professionals, Tenielle Newallo, Lisa Wickham, Oliver Milne, Dike Samai, Louris Lee-Singh and international sales agent Jack Sheehan, who provided a range of experience and expertise. Each session was followed by a practical assignment that provided participants with additional guidance and feedback.
“As an experienced filmmaker, I cannot express how important it is to keep learning and updating that expertise – FilmTT’s Script to Screen program fulfils that objective. Filmmaking is a reasonably complex process, so it is not easy to break it down in just 7×2 hour sessions, but Jason and the guest speakers did a great job doing so with short film examples, slideshow walkthroughs, robust Q&A sessions, and practical exercises, making it accessible to beginners and seasoned professionals alike.” – Participant and Filmmaker, Ryan C. Khan (www.ryanckhanfilms.com).
The next phase of the Programme, the Short Film Pitch, will begin on August 6th, 2021. Eligible workshop participants’ scripts will be shortlisted by a panel of local and international film professionals and the top three pitches will be awarded Development Funding from FilmTT.
For more information, visit www.filmtt.co.tt/scriptworkshops. To keep up-to-date with this and other initiatives, follow/like FilmTT’s Facebook and Instagram pages: @discoverfilmtt.
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