Welcome to the conscious filmmaking lab!
This opportunity is connected to the Taskovski #Docs Connect training program, an international, tailor-made professional training and networking hub led by award-winning industry experts.
This is a 5-day journey that will take place between the 17th and 21st of October 2024. The Lab includes industry lectures, practical workshops, and mindfulness sessions, all in a residential setting. 15 participants from Europe and the Mediterranean will live and work together, guided by the main mentor and an experienced professional Irena Taskovski.
We will be approaching this lab through a unique combination of four different layers:
PRACTICAL INDUSTRY KNOW-HOW
Topics: Development and looking for a core of the story I Pitching I Festivals and distribution strategies I Impact strategies
Methodology: Coaching, case studies, group sharing, discussions.
Outcome: Learn how to pitch to attract finance for your project, and acquire practical skills to bring the projects from idea to screen, with a strong emphasis on distribution and impact.
INDUSTRY NETWORKING
Activities: Participants can join the MediMed market (accreditation not included). We offer a unique chance to be guided by an industry specialist on the best ways to engage in meetings with targeted international players and enjoy informal networking opportunities.
Outcome: Meet new partners and discover funding possibilities for your projects.
SELF CARE, WELL-BEING & MENTAL HEALTH
Activities: Mindfulness in movement I Self- awareness I Practice of being in your body – that ignites productivity, creativity, connection, and community.
Methodology: Individual and group exercises, exploring social awareness, how you connect to yourself, colleagues, work, do you like to lead or be led, etc.
Outcome: Gaining tools for stress relief, self care, and creative recharging for your everyday life. Connecting and empowering your ideas.
CONSCIOUS LEADERSHIP
Activities: The question is not whether you lead, but how you lead? Establishing your values and Your leadership style. Conscious leaders are guided by a set of values that prioritize the well-being and growth of their people, the sustainability of their business, and the impact they have on the world.
Methodology: Talks I Individual and group exercises.
Outcome: Participants will identify their values, refine their leadership style, and create plans to implement conscious leadership in producing and filmmaking.
You can read more about this opportunity in the brochure and APPLY HERE.
MORE DETAILS BELOW
Gallery
Our private home during the Lab will be at Séncies – Can Girona, a traditional Catalonian farmhouse, within walking distance (30min) from the center of Sitges. It’s surrounded by nature and filled with the essence of the beautiful Garraf National Park.
- 5 rooms x 2 people in single bed
- 1 room x 4 people in single bed
- 2 rooms x 2 people in double bed
*All rooms are equipped with heating, bedding, and towels.
4 shared bathrooms
3 terraces I Workshop venues I Gardens and forest
We will provide our own catering, where Laia, our cook, creates magic and wonders with food.
- Vegetarian
- Sustainable cooking
- Local suppliers
- Seasonal products
- Mindful eating
Head tutor – IRENA TASKOVSKI
Award winning producer and distributor, CEO & founder of Taskovski Films Ltd.
For 20 years Irena has been working as mentor, consultant / expert on marketing, sales, financing, and impact distribution for many film institutions e.g. HBO Europe, TRT world, Asian Cinema Fund, Dok.incubator CZ, Sources Germany, Head Tutor at Emerging Producers – at Ji.hlava IDFF CZ.
Head of Studies & Founder of the #DocsConnect training program for conscious filmmakers, producers and distributors.
Mindfulness & Embodied and conscious leadership coach: 5Rhythms mindfulness in motion & movement facilitator I Coach for personal and professional growth for film industry members I Passionate environmental, peace, and human unity activist I Mental health ambassador for film industry professionals I Mother of 10 year old son.
Selected filmography as producer & distributor: The Golden Thread, Ukrainian Sheriffs, Surire, Who Will Be a Gurkha, Czech Dream.
Guest mentor – ALBA SOTORRA CLUA
Award-winning Director and Producer
Alba has received two Gaudí Awards and a Digital Broadcast Award. She is an European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs professional training graduate, and a founder of Alba Sotorra Cinema Productions which she established in 2015. She focuses on amplifying diverse perspectives and addressing social and political issues.
Guest mentor – IIKKA VEHKALAHTI
Executive Producer
Guest mentor – JORGE CABALLERO
AI Specialist
Jorge holds an MSc in Interactive Media and is pursuing a PhD in cinema and artificial intelligence. He is the co-founder of a production company GusanoFilms. As a filmmaker, he has directed and produced numerous films and interactive, immersive projects that have received awards and selections at prestigious film festivals worldwide, including IDFA, SXSW, Cinéma du Réel, Visions du Réel, Biarritz, Cartagena, Malaga, Thessaloniki, and many others. He has also won Colombia’s national Documentary Award twice.
TOTAL: 1.700€*
*This fee applies only if we have 15 participants.
*This fee doesn’t include insurance and travel costs to reach Sitges.
The fee includes:
- 5 days of high case studies, masterclass, group discussions
- 1 to 1 mentorship
- hands-on work on your projects
- Industry Networking
- Mindfulness workshops
Residential:
- Accommodation for 5 days/4nights in a private house
- 3 Meals + afternoon snack + Coffee breaks + drinks (non-alcoholic)
- Materials
- Technical equipment for lectures
We offer 2 scholarships for a tuition fee of 500€ for participants from low-income countries:
Group A: Czech Republic, Estonia, Romania, Greece, Croatia, Portugal, Poland.
Group B: Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Hungary, Latvia, Cyprus, Malta.
Third countries considered as Group B, subject to the conditions being fulfilled for their participation in MEDIA: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Republic of Serbia, and Ukraine.
For now, the following opportunities are available for exploration:
- Creative Scotland via Professional Development Fund Festivals Fund for individual support
- Croatian Audiovisual Centre
- National Film Center Latvia through NFC open competition or State Capital Foundation
- North Macedonian Film Agency (application through Filmski Sovet)
- Swiss Films
- CNC Moldova
- The Tamayouz Foundation (Morocco) for women filmmakers
- Polish Film Institute
- And more …
You are entitled to a full refund if you cancel your participation before the 5th of August.
If cancellation happens after the 5th of August, there will be no refund unless a replacement is found by the applicant who had to cancel their participation.
If the selected applicant does not pay the participation fee by the deadline, their place will be automatically assigned to the next person on the waiting list.