10 · 05 · 23 MORELIA PRO presents Story LAB at the 21st FICM Share with twitter Share with facebook Share with mail Copy to clipboard As part of the 21st edition of the Morelia International Film Festival (FICM), MORELIA PRO will once again hold its Story Lab. Story Lab was born out of FICM's efforts, through MORELIA PRO, to create activities for training and professional updating. In recent years, special emphasis has been placed on strengthening workspaces to fine-tune screenplays, one of the foundations upon which the stories we see on the screen are built. MORELIA PRO is a section of the festival dedicated to training and career-upgrading activities that contribute to strengthening the film industry and filmmaking in the region through initiatives of dialogue and reflection among young creators. Its aim is to contribute to the training and further professional development of Mexican filmmakers, as well as to promote specific areas of the film industry in Mexico. These activities are designed to reinforce the various elements involved in the conception, realization, and distribution of films. These initiatives are made possible thanks to the generous support of the Mexican Film Institute (IMCINE), the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo's Cultural Center, the Michoacán Government, the Michoacán Ministries of Tourism and Culture, the Morelia City Hall, Cinépolis, and Netflix. This year, MORELIA PRO is developing Impulso Morelia, a nine-year-old initiative that has created a space for analysis and dialogue with international film experts on films in progress, a Development Film Lab for Indigenous Filmmakers of Latin America which allows participants to improve their projects in their early stages, and the Story Lab, which returns in 2023 and consists of a workshop to refine screenplays with the help of industry experts. About Story Lab Founded by renowned Mexican producer Bertha Navarro (Reed: Mexico Insurgente, Pan's Labyrinth, The Devil's Backbone, Cabeza de Vaca and Cronos, among many other emblematic films of Ibero-American cinema), who pioneered this type of workshop in Mexico with the aim of strengthening the quality of screenplays produced in Spanish. Story Lab has found a space to grow within FICM and has been a part of the festival's activities since 2017. Combining personalized work sessions with group sessions on key elements in the craft of screenwriting, experts in the film industry will provide their personal insights on the stories, looking to guide and support the writers in improving the proposals that we will surely see materialize in the coming years in a wide variety of high-quality Mexican films. This year, Story Lab will take place from October 23 to 27, bringing together eight feature-length fiction projects by young Mexican filmmakers: Acapulco, by Natalia García Agraz Canciones para el futuro, by Aura García-Junco y Kyzza Terrazas Dios y la cumbia del Diablo, by Carlos Lenin La dote, by Alejandro Andrade Pease En el camino, by David Pablos En legítima defensa, by Samara Ibrahim y Elisa Miller Normal, by Santiago Fábregas y Kim Torres Palizada, by Michelle Garza, Abia Castillo y Clyo Mendoza The film industry experts joining us in this edition of Story Lab are: writer and screenwriter Laura Santullo (La Zona, La demora, Un monstruo de mil cabezas, El otro Tom); playwright, screenwriter and actress María Renée Prudencio (Club Sandwich, Tercera llamada, Los adioses, La caída); director, producer and screenwriter Lucía Carreras (Tamara y la Catarina, Nos vemos papá, Año bisiesto, La jaula de oro, Todo el silencio); screenplay consultant and editor Ruth Atkinson; essayist, professor, and screenwriter Arturo Arango (El libro de la realidad, Lista de espera, Aunque estés lejos, Café amargo, Perejil); director and screenwriter Carlos Cuarón (El misterio del Trinidad, Sólo con tu pareja, Y tu mamá también, Besos de azúcar, Rudo y Cursi, Amalgama); screenwriter Mauricio Katz (Station Eleven, ZeroZeroZero, Perry Mason); and writer, playwright and screenwriter Santiago Roncagliolo (Abril Rojo, Memorias de una dama, La noche de los alfileres, Y líbranos del mal). The 21st FICM will take place from October 20 to 29 with screenings in Morelia, Michoacán, as well as virtual screenings through Canal 22 and Filmina Latino.
