New international filmmaking lab launches in Jerusalem

The Sam Spiegel Film & Television School-Jerusalem is launching an international film lab to for writing full-length features. The Jerusalem International Film Lab will launch in December 2011, with an annual budget of $350,000. The Lab will award production prizes worth $80,000 to filmmakers from around the globe.
International scouts will take part in the selection process, and the Lab will also call for more referrals.

Each year the Lab will welcome 12 filmmakers (8 from Israel, 4 international) who are in advanced stages of writing their first or second feature film.
There will be two sessions in Jerusalem in addition to periods of writing. The final scripts will go to a panel of international judges, and during the Jerusalem Film Festival, the top two projects will get production grants of $80,0000.

Members of the Jerusalem Film Lab’s International Advisory Committee include: Olivier Père (Locarno Film Festival), Georges Goldenstern (Cannes Film Festival), Sonja Heinen (Berlin Film Festival), Alesia Weston (Sundance Institute Film Lab), Savina Neirotti (Torino Film Lab), Katriel Schory (Israel Film Fund), and producer Anthony Bregman.

“Creating this new project on the highest level of international standards within the realm of full-length feature films has been very challenging. We have been working towards this goal for the past seven months, and are gratified to have formulated such an ardent coalition of partners and supporters in Israel and worldwide,” said Renen Schorr [pictured], Founding Director of the Sam Spiegel Film & Television School-Jerusalem and initiator of the Jerusalem Film Lab. “I am confident that the Jerusalem Film Lab will spur us to discover, cultivate and encourage international talents. Such an endeavor bolsters the role of Israel and Jerusalem as a pivotal center in the international cinema arena.”

Partners in the Lab include Cultural Administration of the Israeli Ministry of Culture, the Jerusalem Film and Television Fund of The Jerusalem Development Authority, and the Israel State Lottery Council for Culture and the Arts. Supporting entities include the Jerusalem Foundation, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mishkanot Shaananim, the Kronhill Pletka Foundation, the Israel Film Fund, The French institute in Tel Aviv, and the Jerusalem Film Festival.

More info can be found at www.jsfs.co.il