Clinik.Kathmandu

Fiction Lab

Fiction Writing and Production workshop held as two events in Kathmandu
Clinik.Kathmandu announces call for applications to the 2019 ‘Fiction Lab’ first held in the month of June. This is the fifth season of the lab and we are accepting 10 fiction projects from filmmakers/writers with a first draft or story outline available in the form of a treatment.

The Fiction Lab is held as two stage workshops in Kathmandu. It is mandatory that upon acceptance to the program, a candidate must be present for both the workshops. The first workshop is held in June with the second scheduled to be held in November with the dates flexible and can be moved depending on the preparedness of the projects.

The program is for filmmakers from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka. The application is also open for practitioners based in diaspora.

In the labs held since 2014, the program has supported 30 films of which 8 have been materialised. We are pleased that project ranges in our workshops have included pashto, bhoti, meitei, burmese, assamese, tulu among other minority and or indigenous local languages whose promotion are of high priority to the programs objective.

First Workshop ( 10 days) - June

This workshop is held as a 10 day script analysis process. Selected projects will spend close to 20 hours of close advisory sessions with script experts during their time as they are asked to revisit the core value and meaning of why the project was developed. An analysis of the script is done on the basis of the Treatment at hand - therefore we recommend the treatments to be revised before submission or for the program to be advised if a revised edition is available before the workshop in case of selection. Participants should expect to spend time working with themselves in group and invidual sessions reflecting on their writing. By the end of the workshop every participant should have in mind a timeframe they will now require to complete a first or second draft depending on the current stage of the project.

Second Workshop (5 days) - November

This workshop is when participants reunite with a demoreel or an assortment of video footages that best represent a project pitch material. It is recommended that the projects appear with their producers if available. Projects will meet advisor filmmakers, producers, market representatives and sales experts in a bid to re-evaluate the market potential of the project and how best they should analyse the markets they aim at targeting the film to. This workshop will be held in Kathmandu and not at Ehwa.

Who is this program for ?

The Clinik.Kathmandu Fiction Lab is useful to filmmakers primarily but not limited to those working on their first or second feature who seek to understand further about the vastness of the industries evolving new market opportunities including co-production. We recommend filmmakers with a firm professional background to apply who undrstand film not merely as a technical instrument but as a medium close to them and storytelling. Filmmakers who have their projects in a structured production platform with some sort of financial backing will gain better due to the immediate exposure it can provide to the project.

Benefits of being at the Clinik.Kathmandu program

Clinik.Kathmandu is the world's only South Asia specific permanent program on film development. Its intention to support cinema is motivated to encourage local filmmakers find better ground and visibility based on growing market patterns without having to compromise on cultural knowledge and local industry foundations. We encourage local industry participation in all projects that appear so local film industries are the first to benefit from the development of the projects that appear. This is done through a strong network with local producers, and filmmakers across the region.

The program maintains a good global presence and recommends filmmakers to key platforms across the globe. We have been in the talent development industry since 2011. (visit partners page for details on collaborations)

Things to remember

Clinik.Kathmadu is largely a non-funded activity. Whenever funds are available for participation, separate calls are made on top of the usual call. This unique nature of our operation means participants pay for their participation at our workshops. However we are not a profit making company, none of the programs we conduct generate financial benefit to any of our other operations except the event for which you have paid. All funds are collected in a manner only to support the completion of the event and no more.

When you pay, you need to keep in mind that the program requires you to come two times to Kathmandu in a year. To support this, your accomodation in Nepal for the first workshop is free and food will be provided on 'pay as is' basis meaning you only pay for the exact bills of what was purchased. The second workshop will be held in Kathmandu city due to the need to accomodate more so the program can benefit from further visitors. When you make your payments you must pay entirely for the first workshop and partially for the second workshop as well. Details of the payment behaviour will be notified over email once you have shown interest.

Applicant Skill Level – Advanced
3 – 10 years of work background with prior professional experience in film or television as a key creative.

Entry Requirements are
- Story Treatment (Scripts and not required but may be submitted as a secondary document)
- Synopsis and Logline provided in individual sheets
- Directors Intention (Minimum 1000 words)
- CV of the writer/director
- CV of the producer (if available, not mandatory)
- Two work samples (no longer than 10 minute in TRT)

Workshop Fees

The workshop fee has been divided to represent the two workshops separately. An Application fee of 20 USD must be paid together with the application form to process the application.
Workshop 1 - 450 USD
Workshop 2 - 200 USD

Deadline for application is 5th of March. 2019. Application package requirements and process have been further clarified in the Program Catalog and an application form is available for download. The lab will be held in June.

Program advisors for first workshop will include Jolein Laarman, Giovanni Robbiano, Kshitiz Adhiraj with others to be decided.

Industry Partner

Apply Now to South Asia's exclusive script and production development program

Applications for Clinik.Kathmandu 'Fiction Lab', is Now Open.
Last date of application is 5th March. 2019

Application requirements are
•Application form
•CV of the writer /director
•CV of the producer (Not Mandatory but preferred)
•10 pager treatment of the proposed project with logline and synopsis (provided as separate documents)
•Directors intention note/ creative statement
•A letter of authorization from a production company if the project is attached to any company (not mandatory)
•2 online links of recent work samples from the director with maximum TRT of 10 minutes each
•Optional submissions could include mood boards, graphic references or demo reels
•Application fee of 20 USD

We no longer accept postal submissions unless asked for. Please use the email links.

Program Catalog 2018

Application Form