Talents Sarajevo 2018

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The Freedom of Chaos
As filmmakers, as artists, and fundamentally as storytellers, it is our place to make order out of chaos – to create narratives that help us make sense of our world, to persuade, to lead, to be heard. By extension, it is for us to determine the models that will allow us to accomplish our noble task. There are tried-and-true structures in place, built by those who have gone before us – but received knowledge is always to be questioned, and making chaos out of order can bring about new and perfect synthesis.
We seem to be living today amid great disorder – in a world where violence, deception, and greed have bastardized models of solidarity, compassion, and understanding. But there is hope: worn-out and irrelevant structures are being challenged; new models are rising on the rubble of the old. Indeed, scandal and outrage in our film industry have inspired an international movement that is allowing previously silenced voices to be heard and listened to.
Emerging filmmakers must persist in asking what models are needed if they are to tell their stories. Do models of creativity need to be retooled to catch up with perpetually evolving technology? Are there better ways to make work when faced with shrinking funding sources with more hands held out seeking backing? Audience appetites are constantly changing; what can be done to satisfy the hunger? Making and viewing films is a communal experience, and one that is predicated on collaboration. What uncharted territory can we explore to find new ways of working together, of sharing knowledge, and of exchanging expertise across borders?


PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

The Talents Sarajevo 2018 programme encompasses four programming streams: a Summit; Project Labs; Studios; and Talent Press.


SUMMIT

The Talents Sarajevo summit programme consists of a range of master classes, moderated talks, interactive panel discussions, and case studies. Approximately 10 to 15 sessions draw on a yearly thematic focus. Summit sessions are often curated in collaboration with other Sarajevo Film Festival screening and industry programmes and platforms, and allow Talent participants to enter into productive exchanges with industry experts in a relaxed, intimate atmosphere.


PROJECT LABS

Pack&Pitch
Participants: 6
Experts: 2
Since 2010, Pack&Pitch has supported emerging directors and producers in preparing their projects for the marketplace. Within the Pack&Pitch framework, participants learn how to analyse and prepare their projects for effective presentation in both written and oral formats. Talents are mentored in group and one-on-one session by pitch trainers, who instruct them in creating one-pagers and analysing projects, and provide insight into the all-important subjects of how to pitch, and to whom.
Over the course of these intensive sessions, Talents prepare written and oral presentations of their projects, which they pitch at the end of the festival to a jury and an audience made up of their peers and industry professionals.

Script Station
Participants: 6
Experts: 3
Script Station sessions provide a space for constructive discussions about specific script issues to support and encourage further development, and bring them to the next level of completion. The lab consists primarily of one-on-one meetings with mentors during Talents Sarajevo, time between sessions for rethinking, and follow-up conversations after the festival.


PROJECT STUDIOS

Acting Studio
Participants: 12
Experts: 1
Acting Studio Talents participate in workshops designed for actors, where they exchange insight, rethink their craft, and enhance their acting skills. They are also prevailed upon to develop their artistry within the Film Stage Studio programme, where they help realise three scenes written and directed by six other Talents, and deliver the final product to an audience at the culmination of the programme.

Camera Studio
Participants: 5
Experts: 1
The Camera Studio consists of a series of workshops, expert-led discussions, and interdisciplinary sessions that allow Talents cinematographers the time and space to consider their craft, as well as see it from the point of view of other cinema professionals, bringing them to a new level of understanding of the possibilities of the camera.
The Talents Sarajevo Camera Studio is supported by the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo.

Editing Studio
Participants: 3
Experts: 1
Editing Studio participants attend workshops, expert-led discussions, and interdisciplinary sessions that allow them to explore their ideas around the possibilities of the cutting room. Cross-disciplinary sessions provide food for thought about the role of the editor in the filmmaking process.

Film Stage Studio
Participants: 30
Experts: 1
The Film Stage Studio provides Talents with a cross-disciplinary experience that brings together actors and writer-directors in a series of casting exercises, scene workshops, and rehearsals culminating in a live performance. Over the course of the five-day lab, Talents explore the nature of dramatic structure, character development, and visual forms. The Film Stage Studio develops creative interaction among participants in a safe workshop environment.


TALENT PRESS

Participants: 5
Experts: 3
Talent Press sessions are tailored for emerging film critics and journalists from Southeast Europe and the Southern Caucasus. Film criticism is considered as a tool for contextualising filmmaking practices within the region and in relation to other European countries, as well as for the further enhancement of film language. Participants review and report on films and events throughout the festival, for web, print and radio. Coached by three film critics via group and one-on-one sessions, Talents further develop their ability to articulate their impressions and insights for the Talents Sarajevo website and those of its media partners.