From Hammer to His House, the UK has a long and storied history of great contributions to genre cinema – and now you’ve got the chance to be part of it, with the UK Next Wave Genre Lab initiative.
Described as”an innovative development initiative delivered by Film Constellation, Maskoon Fantastic Film Festival, Tatino Films, through the BFI Creative Challenge Fund, made possible with National Lottery funding”, the UK Next Wave Genre Lab will soon be accepting submissions from UK-based writers, directors and producers working on their first, second, or third feature film.
Said creatives must work in the genre arena, with a strong emphasis on horror, thriller, fantasy, science fiction, and action-led projects.
The initiative includes a number of exciting workshops and classes helmed by some of modern horror’s biggest names, including Mike Flanagan (Midnight Mass, The Haunting of Hill House, the upcoming Exorcist movie), director Carlota Pereda (Piggy, The Chapel), producer Patrik Andersson (Midsommar), SFX legend and FANGORIA Chainsaw Award-winner Dan Martin (Possessor, Infinity Pool, Stopmotion, Tarot) and writer Jenna Bass (Good Madam) to name but a few.
A Cardiff-based in-person workshop will provide also 5 projects selected among the 12 projects with in-depth training and mentorship across development, marketing, legal and international distribution.
According the ScreenDaily, The Lab was one of the first recipients of the BFI’s National Lottery Creative Challenge fund, aiming to decentralise project development and support across 2023 to 2026.
Submissions open on July 19 – you can find out more details and how to apply over on the UK Next Wave Genre Lab official site!
