Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap will be serving as directing mentor along with fellow filmmakers Anthony Chen, Ifa Isfansyah, Joko Anwar, and Ho Yuhang for the ongoing Malaysian Development Lab for Fiction Feature Films (mylab) initiative at the Busan International Film Festival.
The directing mentors will work with the filmmakers of mylab and participate in conversations and exchanges on cinema and filmmaking, reports Variety.
An incubator program for scriptwriters, directors, and producers to work on developing scripts and film projects under lectures and the guidance of regional and international experts in scriptwriting, directing, producing, distribution, and markets and festivals, mylab focuses on projects at an early stage of development, with a team of scriptwriter, director and/or producer attached, targeted at regional or international audiences.
According to Variety, the program is supported by the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS). Other partners include the Singapore Film Commission, Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), Taiwan Content and Creative Agency, and the Korean Film Council. Liza Dino, the former chair of FDCP, is serving as an industry mentor to help young producers navigate the film industry.
Variety further states that the highlights of mylab at Busan include sessions on pitching, producing, editing, sound design, and funding. There will also be a case study on He Shuming’s Singapore-Korea co-production ‘Ajoomma’, produced by Chen, which is in Busan’s New Currents competition and is Singapore’s entry for the Oscars.
Script mentors at mylab include Francoise von Roy (Germany), Samantha Horley (UK), Monster Jiminez (Philippines), and Marten Rabarts (New Zealand), while Raymond Phathanavirangoon (Thailand), Roshanak Behest Nedjad (Germany), Marie Dubas (France), Meiske Taurisia (Indonesia), Bradley Liew (Malaysia/Philippines) and Stefano Centini (Italy/ Taiwan) serve as group leaders.