OPEN CALL FOR ENTRIES!!!!!
After the magical experience in the Peruvian Amazon jungle in 2022, Creators Lab by Playlab films returns with its new LAB the Apichatpong Weerasethakul Lab : in Mexico. As before, 50 emerging filmmakers from around the world will be able to enhance their creativity and work on their short films with one of the most innovative and decisive voices in contemporary cinema, Apichatpong Weerasethakul. The mystical and ancestral Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico will be the place to unlearn and reimagine filmmaking with our hands, our mind and our soul.
There will be twelve days of meditating, sharing meals and walks, and letting thoughts emerge in a horizontal dialogue to create an environment in which creative directors, of diverse nationalities and contexts, will give birth to fifty short films. All of this, under the guidance of the Apichatpong Weerasethakul experience and a fascinating methodology, created by Master Abbas Kiarostami, adapted by Werner Herzog, and now revisited and reinforced by the great Thai director himself.
The Lab will take place between August 2 and 11, 2023, in a space carefully thought out and designed by the PlayLab Film team. Our base will be SHAMBALANTÉ, a place in the Yucatán Peninsula, one hour from the city of Mérida, that draws on sacred geometry, ancestral techniques and modern eco-technology to achieve harmony between the ages and act as a sanctuary of relaxation and healing. It is the perfect epicenter to open the senses, listen to the silence and feel the memory of the territory, all while finding one’s own rhythm to imagine and create.
HOW TO REGISTER?
On May 1, the international call for entries opens, where 50 filmmakers from around the world will be selected to participate in the Apichatpong Weerasethakul Lab: Filming Mexico.
KEY DATES:
- Launch of the Call for Entries: May 5, 2023
- Closing date: June 10, 2023
- Publication of the list of selected candidates: July 1, 2023
- Deadline for payment of tuition fees: July 10, 2023
- Start of the Workshop: August 2, 2023
- Closing date of the Workshop: August 11, 2023
DURATION AND PAYMENT
WHEN
- August 2-11, 2023
GUIDED BY.
- Apitchatpong Weerasetakul
DURATION
- 12 days – Experiential learning
LOCATION AND LODGING
- Shambalanté, Yucatán, Mexico
STAY INCLUDES.
- Lodging for 12 days (11 nights)
- 3 meals a day for 12 days
REGISTRATION AND FEES
During the workshop, counseling sessions with Apichatpong will comprise of both individual and group sessions. The fee includes transportation from the airport and from the hotel to the airport, as well as daily transportation during the lab.
The fee also includes a pre-production book created by Playlab Films with different locations for filming and the corresponding permits. Additionally, local casting with natural and professional actors will also be provided, and there will be a group of guides and translators ready to help if needed during the different processes.
Ten of the short films will be selected for distribution at International Festivals and all participating directors will then be able to take part in an internal call to present up to two future feature film or series projects at the Playlab Films ProductionLab.
In addition to this, the complete color grading for five of the short films will be done by the collaborating company MOONLIGHT.
COST
- 5,600 euros
- *Once the fee has been paid there will be NO refund. If the selected director has not paid his/her registration fee by the deadline, his/her place will be automatically assigned to the next director on the waiting list.
To register, please go to the Lab’s website:
