First Cut Lab Beirut DC was a consultancy program designed for 3 feature films in editing phase that are directed and/or produced by filmmakers from the Arab world.

The selected teams (director/producer/editor) were offered a creative framework, both benevolent & challenging, where to open up new perspectives and to explore the whole artistic potential of their films.

They screened their rough cut in a private session, and received expert feedbacks from three international film industry advisors, as well as tailor-made advice from consultant editors. The discussions are moderated by First Cut Lab Director Matthieu Darras.

Advisers chosen were:

Karim Aitouna (France/Morocco) – Producer for Haut les Mains Productions
& Waq Waq Studio 

Mila Aung-Thwin (Canada) – Producer & Co-founder for EyeSteelFilm

Maria Bonsanti (France) – Director of EURODOC

Rebecca De Pas (France/Italy) – Programmer for Vision du Réel

Antonia Girardi (Chile) – Programmer & Scriptwriter

Peter Kerekes (Slovia) – Director & Producer

Yuliya Kim (Kazakhstan/France) – Executive Director & Producer for Almaty International Film Festival

Consultant editors from First Cut Lab chosen were:

Jacques Comets (France)

Cătălin Cristuțiu (Romania)

Sébastien Winkels (Germany)

Once the workshop was over, the participants received a report & a roadmap that can serve as guidance for further editing. Eventually, the ambition of First Cut Lab is to enhance the audience opportunities of the films.

The Lab took place online, and each film will be workshopped within the period from 15. February to 15. April 2021.

The Lab was organized in cooperation with Beirut DC organization, in the run-up to the 5^th edition of Beirut Cinema Platform.

Partners: