Film: Full Circle Lab Philippines announces selections for 2021 edition

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Full Circle Lab Philippines (FCL PH), a development program organized by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) with Tatino Films, has released their official selections for the program’s four labs to be held online on September 20 to October 1.

A total of 24 projects and participants from the Philippines and Southeast Asia were selected out of a pool of applications: eight (8) feature projects for Fiction Lab, four (4) mini-series projects in development for Series Lab, four (4) feature-length films in the editing stage for First Cut Lab, and eight (8) emerging creative producers for the newly added Creative Producers Lab.

The FCL Philippines, in partnership with FCL director Matthieu Darras and producer Izabela Igel, is a program that continuously supports Filipino and Southeast Asian filmmakers in enhancing their projects to become globally competitive through various labs.

Prominent filmmakers from the Philippines and Southeast Asia, director-producer Antoinette Jadaone, directors Sheron Dayoc and Bui Thac Chuyen, and producers Jeremy Chua and John Badalu, will be rejoining this year’s FCL PH.

“We are pleased to see alumni filmmakers who are participating again this year and to be a part of their projects’ development and future success through the mentorship of FCL brings us pride. To keep the momentum of the Philippine Film Industry Month celebration, we will continue to provide exceptional programs and projects for the development of the industry and the filmmakers,” said FDCP Chairperson and CEO Liza Diño.

Mentors for the ‘fiction’ lab are script consultants Ayman El Amir and Helen Beltrame-Linné, and producers Giovanni Pompili and Meiske Taurisia. Joining the roster are script consultant Mmabatho Kau and producer Naomi Levari for the ‘series’ lab, consultant editors Benjamin Mirguet and Catalin Cristutiu for the ‘first cut’ lab, and producers Juraj Krasnohorski and Igel for the ‘creative producers’ lab.

The third edition of FCL Philippines will be preceded by the annual International Film Industry Conference (IFIC) from September 16 to 19.

Full Circle Lab 2021 Selections

FICTION LAB – PHILIPPINES 

1. “The Gospel of the Beast” (Philippines)
   Director: Sheron Dayoc
   Producer: Sonny Calvento
2. “Killing Time in Manila Traffic” (Philippines)
   Director: Paul Sta. Ana
   Producer: Dan Villegas
3. “RA 8491 or How We Recall Lost Memories in Transit” (Philippines)
   Director: Austin Tan
   Producer: Stelle Laguda
4. “Rookie” (Philippines)
   Director: Samantha Lee
   Producer: Geo Lomuntad

FICTION LAB – SOUTHEAST ASIA

1. “Penumbra” (Singapore)
   Director: Russell Morton
   Producer: Jeremy Chua
2. “Life I Stole” (Malaysia)
   Director: Putri Sugua
   Producer: Cher Kian Tan

1. “The Beer Girl in Yangon” (Myanmar)
   Director: Sein Lyan Tun
   Producer: John Badalu
2. “Picturehouse” (Vietnam)
   Director: Nghiem-Minh Nguyen-Vo
   Producers: Bao Nguyen & Johann Chapelan

SERIES LAB

1. “You + Me = Infinity” (Philippines)
   Director: Jurex Suson
   Producer: Gale Osorio
2. “Sa Aking Mga Kamay: The Rebirth of the Cattleya Killer” (Philippines)
   Creative Producer: Tanya Winona Bautista-Navarro
   Executive Producer: EJ Mallari
3. “Ella Arcangel” (Philippines)
   Director: Mervin Malonzo
   Producer: Emmanuel Angeles
4. “Change of Heart” (Philippines)
   Director: Petersen Vargas
   Producer: Antoinette Jadaone

FIRST CUT LAB

1. “Best of Show (BOS)” (Philippines)
   Director: Auraeus Solito
2. “Glorious Ashes”
   Director: Bui Thac Chuyen
   Producer: Ngoc Tran
3. “Dreaming & Dying”
   Director: Nelson Yeo
   Producer: Si En Tan
4. “Autobiography”
   Director: Makbul Mubarak
   Producer: Yulia Bhara

CREATIVE PRODUCERS LAB

1. Robert Rodriguez – ERK Production (Philippines)
2. Patti Lapus – Epicmedia Productions (Philippines)
3. Jed Medrano – FBN Media Productions (Philippines)
4. Geo Lomuntad – Project 8 Projects (Philippines)
5. Carlo Catu – YATU Film Productions (Philippines)
6. Angelina Marilyn Bok – Xeno Pictures (Singapore)
7. Xuan Trang Nguyen Thi – LAGI Productions (Vietnam)
8. Jeanne Sombatwattana – Vertical Films (Thailand)

The international film lab’s aces from its previous editions, namely “John Denver Trending” by Arden Rod Condez, “Fan Girl” by Jadaone, “Ang Babae at Baril (The Girl and the Gun)” by Rae Red, and “Hayop Ka! (You Son of a Bitch!)” by Avid Liongoren have competed in prestigious festivals around the world. “Fan Girl” had its world premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival, “Hayop Ka!” recently competed in the Annecy Film Festival, while “John Denver Trending” competed in the New Currents section of the Busan International Film Festival in 2019.

Other alumni that made their mark are Carlo Catu’s “Purple Sun,” which is one of the selected projects in the 2020 Ties That Bind, Joseph Mangat’s “Divine Factory” Docs-in-Progress awardee at 2020 Cannes Docs Online of Cannes Film Market, E. Del Mundo’s “Sam” recent Locarno Open Doors winner, Jordan dela Cruz’ “The Perilous Odyssey to Mount Gulsuk” 2019 Tribeca Film Institute Network Market attendee, Xeph Suarez’ “Dancing the Tides” participant of 2021 La Fabrique-Cannes Film Festival, and Dayoc’s “6th Finger” 2021 Berlinale Talents Project Market participant.