First Cut Lab Switzerland was a consultancy program designed for two/three feature films in editing phase from Switzerland. The program was made in collaboration with the Solothurn Film Festival (20.1 – 27.1 2021), within its new program section dedicated to the filmmaking process called “A l’atelier”, organized with the support of the Migros Culture Percentage’s Story Lab.

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 rough cut in a private session, and received expert feedbacks from three international film industry advisors, as well as tailor-made advice from a consultant editor.

One film team was working with editor consultant Agnieszka Glinska, with discussions moderated by First Cut Lab director Matthieu Darras, and one film team was working with editor consultant Catalin Cristutiu, with discussions moderated by editorial consultant Wim Vanacker. Film industry advisors were defined according to the profiles of the films selected.

Once the workshop was over, they 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 potential of the films.