This special online ‘First Cut Lab’ was designed to assist two feature films (fiction/documentary) from Qatar or the MENA region and two short films from Qatar in the editing phase.
The main goal was to foster the artistic potential of the selected rough cuts and, at the same time, to increase the sales, festival, and circulation potential of the completed films.

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

They screened their full rough cut in a private session and received expert feedback on their edit from international film advisers, as well as tailor-made advice from consultant editors. The discussions were moderated by editorial consultant and First Cut Lab Director Matthieu Darras.

Advisers chosen were:

Bob Moore (Canada) – Co-President and Creative Producer for EyeSteelFilm

Olena Decock (Canada) – Industry Programmer: Conference and Funds for
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival 

Stephanie Fuchs (Austria) – Festival Manager for Autlook Filmsales

Consultant editors from First Cut Lab chosen were:

Benjamin Mirguet (France)

Sebastian Sepulveda (Europe – Chile)

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.

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