Experts convene in Brisbane to discuss creating new lab for Asia Pacific

A proposed lab would be modelled on other initiatives such as the Sundance Labs, Binger Labs and EAVE producers workshop.

Herman Van Eyken, head of Griffith Film School, which is hosting the event on Saturday, said: “There are a number of successful emerging filmmaker hothouse models from which our Think Tank can draw inspiration. In the US there is Robert Redford’s not-for-profit Sundance Institute; in Europe there is Amsterdam’s Binger Laboratory and the Cannes Producer Network’s EAVE workshops; and in Korea, the Busan International Film Festival and Donseo University both conduct a sidebar initiative to their prestigious Film Festival, called the Asian Film Academy. However there still appears to be a gap in the education and professional training sectors in the Asia Pacific region, which we at Griffith University would like to now address.”

Guests set to participate in the talk are Peggy Chiao from Taiwan, Asian industry veteran Philip Cheah, APSA’s artistic director Maxine Williamsson, Professor Ki Yong Park from South Korea, NFTS head Nik Powell from the UK and Lord David Puttnam (via screen) also from the UK.

Van Eyken adds: “Initially it would be a series of workshops, master classes and mentorships, based around long-form projects developed within a cross-cultural environment and delivered by world-renowned directors, writers and producers.The project would draw upon visiting international talent from the Asia Pacific Screen Awards and would give film talent new and profound insights into cross cultural, industry standard cinema, animation and television production from across the Asia Pacific and Europe,” he said.