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RECASTING:


An Online


Film Development


Lab



Recast and reimagine film as a political and cultural tool to shape our lives.


Course Leader: Suzy Gillett
Film curator, producer, consultant and educator with over twenty years’ experience leading international development labs (Low Budget Film Forum, iFeatures, Film Garage, Adapt for Film, Lagos Lab).
Suzy has served on the selection committees for Torino Film Lab, Circle Women Doc Accelerator and Eurimages, and was Course Leader for the Barbican Young Programmers, nurturing today’s new curators.
As a filmmaker, Suzy wrote Chéramy, a feature film developed with multiple European funding bodies — she understands the creative process from both the writer’s and producer’s side.

 About the Lab


Recasting is an online development programme designed to reimagine film as a collaborative, political and cultural practice.
The course offers a supportive, critical environment to develop your feature or short film project — fiction, documentary or hybrid — through collective discussion, feedback and mentorship.

Participants will share work-in-progress, receive peer and leader feedback, and build a creative network that continues beyond the lab.

We value experimentation, generosity, and dialogue.

Key Dates

FEATURE FILM LAB


(Fiction, Documentary, Hybrid)
12 January – 15 June 2026
Follow-up sessions: 8 September & 5 October 2026
Sessions: 7–9pm GMT, first or second Monday of each month on Whereby.com

Cost: £375
Payable in full or 3 instalments of £125
Teams of two: second participant receives 50% discount
Two bursary places (50% discount) available for unwaged or BYFP/LFS/Friend alumni

SHORT FILM LAB


(Experimental, Drama, Documentary, Hybrid)
8 January – 11 June 2026
Follow-up sessions: 10 September & 8 October 2026
Sessions: 7–9pm GMT, second Thursday of each month on Whereby.com

Cost: £180
Payable in full or 3 instalments of £60
Teams of two: second participant receives 50% discount
Two bursary places (50% discount) available for unwaged 

Course Outline


Each lab runs over six monthly online workshop sessions with a small cohort of up to 10 participants.
Projects may be fiction, documentary, or hybrid — at any stage of development.

You will:

  • Receive constructive peer and mentor feedback on your work-in-progress
    (up to 5,000 words for features / 2,000 for shorts)
  • Submit your work at least twice during the programme
  • Participate in a supportive online community of filmmakers
  • Optionally book one-to-one mentorship or script feedback for a final draft (£250 features / £120 shorts)

Sessions are recorded only with participants’ consent.
Confidentiality and mutual respect are core to the programme.

Learning Environment


The lab runs via Whereby.com.
You’ll need reliable internet access and commitment to monthly group feedback.
Each participant’s project will be discussed in rotation, encouraging both giving and receiving feedback — essential to sharpening your own critical and editing skills.

This lab can act as your creative producer or peer collective, offering the rigour and reflection needed to move your project forward.

Eligibility & Ethos


Projects at any stage are welcome, but first-time writers with fresh, modern ideas are prioritised.
We do not accept projects that reproduce sexist, racist or gratuitously violent tropes.
We encourage filmmakers who seek to expand representation, explore form, and engage critically with the world through cinema.

Application Details


Applications Open: 24 September 2025
Deadline: 1 December 2025 (Midday)
Offers Made: 15 December 2025
Payment Due: 20 December 2025

Each lab is limited to 10 participants. Early applications are strongly encouraged.
If both groups fill up, additional sessions will be offered on alternate dates.

APPLICATION FORM 

“Recasting is a space to think politically, work collaboratively, and imagine new cinematic futures.”







 


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