In its second year Platform will expand to two streams. Platform: Lab is an incubator to support writers, creatives and producers develop new skills, collaborations and content. Platform: Margins is a separate program to support script and story editors develop their skills and sensibilities in the development room. Across the two streams up to sixteen creatives will be selected and both programs will be staged within the 71st edition of the Sydney Film Festival, culminating in live events – Lab in a public pitch at the SFF Hub, and Margins in a table read and workshop on the Belvoir stage. Both programs aim to give creatives practical experience of development approaches and methodologies that they might otherwise miss in traditional development programs or pathways.
A focus on global perspectives and insights is key to the Platform approach, as well as innovative and immersive sessions, explains creator of Platform and founder of For Film’s Sake, Sophie Mathisen. “Australians often aren’t able to access the same training experiences as global peers who adapt and advance their skills in labs attached to key international festivals and markets. But the outcome of last year’s program and its participants prove that Platform is a viable alternative, providing our best and brightest the means to gather, learn and crucially, create together. Our 2023 alumni have gone on to secure government or industry support in the form of development grants, production investment, placements, employment and even an AACTA award, giving us immense confidence that an expanded Platform will bring more benefit to more talent to enrich our creative communities and industries. I am so grateful to Screen NSW, the WeirAnderson Foundation and Andrew Cameron AM and Cathy Cameron for supporting us to stage this vitally needed program again in 2024. We can’t wait to welcome our selected participants to SFF in June.”
Unlike other initiatives that focus on development of an existing work, both Platform: Lab and Platform: Margins allow creatives the chance to hone their development skills and approaches, making it an invaluable opportunity for both emerging and established practitioners, explains Head of Screen NSW Kyas Hepworth, “What sets Platform apart is the focus on practical and experiential immersion in new methodologies which allows participants to not just listen but truly learn. Whether emerging or established, screen practitioners must continually develop their skills as well as their projects. I am excited to see who will be selected to take part in this innovative and impactful program.”
Platform: Lab will select up to twelve creatives from across Australia to form new collaborative teams and generate new creative projects of any length or format over six days and nights. Design thinking principles will be used to shift focus from project to process whilst feedback from international filmmakers with films in selecting at SFF will target global relevance and reach. This year Platform: Lab will be delivered by UK creator of the BFI Producer Programme Samm Haillay and South African producer and Realness Institute and Torino Film Lab script consultant Mmabatho Kau. Platform: Lab will run from the 10-15th of June, culminating in a public pitch of newly developed projects in the SFF Hub on the 15th of June.
Platform: Margins will select up to four script editors/producers from across Australia to work alongside Belvoir playwrights as they explore adapting their existing theatrical works to screenplay format. Over five days editors will develop story, market and audience insight to better support writers develop script and story materials. Margins will culminate in a workshopped reading with actors drawn from the Belvoir fellows and associates. Margins will be delivered by FFS Executive Director Sophie Mathisen and Assistant Professor of Theatre at the Victorian College of the Arts Chris Mead. Guests will include Robin Mukherjee, playwright and UK screenwriter of Cate Shortland’s award-winning Lore, Yvonne Isimeme Ibazebo, producer of Netflix’s award-winning series Top Boy and 2023’s Disney+ breakout Rye Lane and Marten Rabarts, former head of Amsterdam’s Binger Lab, EYE international and European Film Promotion. Platform: Margins will run from the 10-14th of June, culminating in a live table read and workshop at Belvoir on the 14th of June.
Applications are currently open and close on the 17th of May. Shortlisted applicants will be notified on the 20th of May with interviews taking place that week. Selected candidates will be announced on the 24th of May. All selected candidates will be offered accommodation, lunches and tickets to festival screenings and events as part of the program. Interstate, regional or remote participants may apply for travel support via a limited access bursary for those experiencing financial hardship. Applicants may apply by answering a short questionnaire and submitting a two-minute pitch video outlining their collaborative skills and approach as well as their reason for applying.
Platform is created by For Film’s Sake and supported by principal partner Screen New South Wales and the WeirAnderson Foundation in conjunction with Andrew and Cathy Cameron. Additional support comes from the Sydney Film Festival and the Board of For Film’s Sake.
ABOUT FOR FILM’S SAKE
For Film’s Sake is Australia’s flagship advocacy organisation providing skills training and professional development in production, distribution and cultural exhibition of screen-based media. Most recently For Film’s Sake delivered the first global feature film development lab exclusively for female, trans and non-binary filmmakers, Attagirl, supported by Screen Australia, Telefilm Canada, the British Film Institute, the Swedish Film Institute, the New Zealand Film Commission, Create NSW, Vic Screen, Screen Queensland and Screenwest and Lotterywest. Twenty-eight teams were supported over two years with six awarded cash grants for development and production.
For more information and to make a tax deductible donation to FFS’ mission and activities head to www.forfilmssake.org
