Drama mini talent lab

As the International Festival of Drama is celebrating its 15th year of continuous presence in the promotion, dissemination and support of short films and their creators and the Festival is also placing special emphasis in the educational and training of new and established filmmakers.

The Festival is proud to announce the establishment of a new training program targeted for young creators, that aims to bring together new and older filmmakers and film lovers from Drama, Greece and the rest of the world together to exchange ideas learn and most importantly create.

The Drama mini-talent Lab is an innovative proposition of the festival which aims to bring together creators from all over the world, through original and collaborative workshops, and placing them in an interactive educational process.

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Ι. From a small concept to the big screen:

How to verbalise a concept and transform it into a film that is worth making. All day seminar,

Of ideas, screenplays, and…intentions

Including:

• brainstorming of ideas / concepts and screenplays,
• pitching techniques,
• general simulation techniques about the production process and• the sourcing of funds and methods

for the production of a short film, beginning from the basic idea and the screenplay.

The young creators will be taught to verbalise their muddled thoughts into short and succinct ideas through the utilisation of original communication techniques.

Ideas, just like films, have no…fixed duration! Beginning from a simple word, or a simple image, a screenplay can emerge with a final length of one minute, or three hours…The story itself, the way it evolves, once we begin narrating it, the characters of the story, are often the factors that will determine the life span of an idea. They could be dead on arrival or begin a trip that will end on the screen.

To participate in this seminar, bring along your one line idea or your 600 page script and be ready to speak about your labour of love over and over again until you can express it in a few words and a glance.

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ΙΙ. A Stranger in Drama

British director and well-known actor Leon Herbert will offer his guidance in the creation of a short “on-site” film, entitled “A stranger in Drama”

This interactive film laboratory can be attended by directors, students and cinema lovers who will be selected from a short story that they will submit based on the central theme.

The prominent features of the film will be the city of Drama and it’s reception of a stranger (or vice-versa) depending on your creativity and imagination. The result of this collaborative effort will be a short fiction film with maximum length of 6 minutes.

All participants selected will be expected to assume and perform with diligence the respective role that will be assigned to her/him in the film crew that will be created during the course.

Film Making is teamwork and be prepared to be part of a Team.

The film, will be shot and edited during the duration of the festival and will be screened during the closing ceremony on September 26.

The film will be shot in Drama, utilizing the human resources of the city and the Festival, along with its neighborhoods.

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ΙΙΙ. Master Classes

The two parallel educational programs will be accompanied by master classes conducted by Greek and International Guests of the Festival.

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The Drama mini-talent Lab aims to familiare filmmakers with the different stages of producing a film, from the development stage to the final cut, as well as bringing filmmakers together, regardless of their age, nationality and cinema orientation.

Let us help talent find its way in the world of cinema…

Educational program coordinators:

Barbara Dukas – Stathis Paraskevopoulos

Barbara Dukas is a director and an educator. She was the director of the Film Department and the Cultural Academy of the Private Vocational School “Akmi”. She has been involved with cultural education since 1986.
Stathis Paraskevopoulos has been working in various positions in the audiovisual field for 20 years. Since 2000 he has been teaching screenwriting, television programming, pitching and …clear thinking.

In 2008 they jointly created "Movies don’t grow on trees”, an alternative approach to cinema education.

British director and well-known actor Leon Herbert will offer his guidance and support in the laboratory entitled “A stranger in Drama”

Leon Herbert is a well-known Hollywood actor, having participated in many films, such as Scandal, Alien 2, Batman, etc.

He achieved worldwide fame as the first black Jesus Christ on the big screen.

After a successful acting career, Leon Herbert worked as a screenwriter and director in Britain. He wrote and directed for the cinema and the theater and earned his fame as a supporter of young and talented filmmakers, as well as an acting coach.

He is currently preparing his film, entitled “Julius Caesar”, based on the Shakesperean play of the same name, set in the streets and neighborhoods of current-day Northern London.

Entry forms and Information

Short Film Festival of Drama
Sophia Georgiadou
Program Coordinator
Emm. Benaki 71
10681 Athens
tel: 210 3300309, 210 3302818
kinfest@dra.forthnet.gr
www.dramafilmfestival.gr