Cinekid Unveils Six Directors LAB Projects

Cinekid is set to welcome eight participants from seven countries for the inaugural edition of Cinekid Directors LAB, a new coaching program for directors with children’s film projects in the advanced stages of development.

During Cinekid Directors LAB, an international group of directors will focus on the final steps they need to take prior to preproduction, coupled with the special and specific skills required for working with children. Above all, the program offers hands-on coaching by established experts. The first edition of the Directors LAB will take place in April 2020 in Amsterdam.

The selection consists of six projects (five live-action and one animation film). The group of participants consists of six alumni of various editions of Script LAB, Cinekid’s workshop for writers of children’s films. New to Cinekid is the German-Luxemburg co-production Bille and Zottel, written and directed by Eileen Byrne and produced by Paul Thiltges Distribution and Filmfee.

Dutch directing and writing duo Berend and Roel Boorsma return to Cinekid with The Wondrous Journey of Little Sophie, a stop-motion animation film that participated in the very first edition of Cinekid Script LAB in 2014. Three projects participated in the 2018 edition of Script LAB: Sea Sparkle, The Beanie and 12 Hours to Destruction. Norwegian project Free participated in the 2017 edition and was presented at the Junior Co-production Market in 2018, as was The Beanie in 2019.

Nienke Poelsma, head of Cinekid for Professionals, comments: “We’re thrilled to start this new training initiative that supports the next step in the development of a project, especially aimed at directors. We want to provide filmmakers with a safe environment in which they can explore, experiment and work towards the actual shoot of their film.”