The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) has selected eight (8) projects in development and two (2) projects in post-production for the First Cut Project Development and Editing Lab for Feature Films happening from April 11 to 17, 2019.

The First Cut Lab, an international project development and editing lab, is designed to help filmmakers elevate their film projects in development and in the post-production stage by global standards. The Lab was first launched in 2015 at Trieste’s When East Meets West. Now on its fifth year, the program has supported 25 films from countries like Lithuania, Russia, Slovenia, Poland, and Ukraine. Many of these films have made their premiere in A-list film festivals, such as Cannes, Berlinale, and Toronto.

Accepted feature projects for this year’s First Cut Lab under projects in the development stage include Dancing the Tide by Xeph Suarez, Everybody Leaves by Phyllis Grande, Fan Girl by Antoinette Jadaone, Purple Sun by Carlo Catu, Karaoke News by John Paul Su, Thanatos by E. Del Mundo, Babae at Baril (The Girl and the Gun) by Rae Red, and The Perilous Odyssey to Mount Gulsuk by Jordan dela Cruz. On the other hand, selected feature projects in post-production are Hayop Ka! (You Son of a Bitch!) by Avid Liongoren and John Denver Trending by Arden Rod Condez.

Feature Projects in Development Stage

Dancing the Tide

Director: Xeph Suarez

Producers: Roderick Cabrido and Omar Sortijas

Logline: ASTRI, a 16-year old Sama Badjao transwoman, is forced to leave her long-time boyfriend, TAMBULAH, to marry a woman betrothed to her even before she was born.

Everybody Leaves

Director: Phyllis Grande

Producer: Alemberg Ang

Logline: Set in present Japan, a Japanese-Filipina exchange student spends her last months searching for her father while cleaning the houses of people who died lonely deaths.

Fan Girl

Director: Antoinette Jadaone

Producers: Dan Villegas and Bianca Balbuena

Production Companies: Epicmedia and Project 8 cor. San Joaquin Projects

Logline: An obsessed teenage fan finds herself inside a mansion with her celebrity idol she thought she knew and learns exactly why they say never meet your heroes.

Purple Sun

Director: Carlo Catu

Producer: April Batican and Bianca Balbuena

Production Companies: Epicmedia and Dreamscape Entertainment

Logline: Purple Sun is a love story between two Filipino men and a Japanese woman set in the majestic landscape and unique culture of Japan. It is a film about the cross-cultural understanding between Filipinos and Japanese in regards to love, sex, and their way of living.

Karaoke News

Director: John Paul Su

Producer: Manet Dayrit

Logline: When a staged karaoke lounge hostage operation goes awry, an investigative journalist must use creative means to unravel and expose the truth.

Thanatos

Director: E. Del Mundo

Producer: Pamela Reyes

Logline: A troubled teen, Samboy, recruits his best friend to be part of a militia that will massacre 58 people.

Babae at Baril (The Girl and the Gun)

Director: Rae Red

Producer: lana Bernardez

Logline: A local department store saleslady has had enough of being an underdog when she finds a gun right on her doorstep one night. Her life drastically changes as she discovers how much power owning a gun can give you.

The Perilous Odyssey to Mount Gulsuk

Director: Jordan dela Cruz

Producers: Alemberg Ang, Arleeen Cuevas, John Badalu, and Siege Ledesma

Production Companies: VY/AC Productions and Cinematografica

Logline: When the life of his pregnant girlfriend is threatened by a mysterious illness, Joseph, a reluctant teenage father-to-be, embarks on a quest to save his beloved. His surreal odyssey begins in the Philippines, transitions to the soul-devouring labor camps of Arabia, and ends at the peak of mythical Mount Gulsuk.

Feature Projects in Post-Production

Hayop Ka! (You Son of a Bitch!)

Director: Avid Liongoren

Producers: Joyce Bernal, Piolo Pascual, Erickson Raymundo, and E. Del Mundo

Production Company: Rocketsheep Studio

Logline: Nimfa the pretty pussycat is a perfume sales kitty at a department store. Her boyfriend, Roger the macho mongrel, is a janitor. Nimfa meets Inigo the bourgeoisie business dog and chemistry ignites! Will Nimfa and Roger’s love keep them together, or will Inigo’s high society charms tear them apart?

John Denver Trending

Director: Arden Rod Condez

Producers: Sheron Dayoc and Sonny Calvento

Production Companies: What If Films Philippines and Southern Lantern Pictures (With Support from Outpost Visual Frontier and Tinker Bulb Productions)

Logline: A 14-year-old farmboy’s life is upended when a video of him brutally attacking a classmate went viral.

Selected participants will undergo intensive lab sessions and will be personally mentored by international speakers consisting of award-winning screenwriters, script consultants, film editors, and producers, including ​Matthieu Taponier, Mmabatho Kau, Izabela Igel, and Giovanni Pompili. First Cut Lab director, former TorinoFilmLab artistic director, and film festival programmer Matthieu Darras will also guide the Lab participants in creating the best version of their film.

On the other hand, two (2) documentary projects will be selected for the First Cut Lab Docs and will be announced in the next coming days. Four (4) grantees of SineSaysay Documentary Lab and Showcase will also participate in the Doc Lab.