In partnership with Refinery Cape Town and the South African Guild of Editors (SAGE), the Encounters South African International Documentary Festival invites South African filmmakers to submit their documentary films for the 2nd Encounters Rough Cut Lab. The festival will be held in Cape Town from Wednesday 29 until Friday 31 May 2019.

A maximum of three South African projects, consisting of one director and one editor, whose films are in post-production, will be selected to spend three days working on their film with internationally experienced homegrown editors Megan Gill, Ronelle Loots and Khalid Shamis. Projects will receive world class expertise and insight on story and technical challenges.

Prizes will be generously awarded by The Refinery in the form of free days for Grade or Online. This call is only open to projects with an assembled rough cut

Submissions Details:

* A one-page synopsis maximum.
* A biography of the director and editor.
* A post-production schedule and predicted timeline for completion.
* An online screener link and password to the viewable rough cut.
* A one-page document from the director and another one-page document from the editor outlining the difficulties experienced with the film’s current structure and/or problematic areas in the story.
* A write up of what has been achieved up to this point. No less than five weeks must have been spent in edit prior to the lab.
* Films need to be independently produced, non-commissioned and feature-length – 70 mins or above.
* All available footage accessible on a USB 3, firewire or thunderbolt hard drives.
* Indicate software and software version used.

Send To: kamva@encounters.co.za with Rough Cut Lab in the subject line. Submissions Deadline: On or before 4pm (South African time), Friday 19 April 2019. *Any submissions that do not follow the strict submission details and page limitations will be disqualified

The NFVF will provide travel and accommodation funding for RCL participants living outside of the Western Cape. Participants are responsible for applying for their own funding with the NFVF. SAGE will be available to assist the RCL participants with their applications process if need be.

About the Rough Cut Lab
The 2nd Rough Cut Lab hosted by Encounters in partnership with the South African Guild of Editors (SAGE) and Refinery Cape Town targets films and filmmakers in post-production when access to internationally recognised industry expertise with local insight and advice can prove instrumental to shaping the success of documentary films as they enter the marketplace.

The editors and directors of the three selected South African documentaries currently in the post-production phase will have the opportunity to screen rough cuts of their films and receive comprehensive feedback on story and technical challenges, distribution and marketing strategies from a panel of experienced local editors, post-production experts and international sales agents. These filmmakers will be allocated an experienced editor to offer insight and assist in workshopping the challenges highlighted in the documentary projects.

About Encounters
Encounters is proud to mark 21 years of celebrating South African and International documentaries with local audiences in Cape Town and Johannesburg. In keeping with tradition, the Festival will present the best selection of prize-winning and award-nominated films from the continent and abroad. The selection of the creme de la creme of the documentary community will feature South African and International world-premieres and a programme covering an eclectic spectrum of themes.

Encounters supports documentary filmmakers through an industry programme comprised of workshops, masterclasses, business meetings and presentations focusing on increasing opportunities and transforming the industry. The programme seeks to empower established and emerging filmmakers, film students, practitioners and stakeholders.
https://www.encounters.co.za/

About SAGE
The South African Guild of Editors (SAGE) is a voluntary non-profit organisation for post-production professionals. With more than 100 members, the Guild represents most of the best talent in the feature film, TV drama, documentary and sound editing in South Africa today. SAGE is presently run on a voluntary basis by the members of the Executive Committee, all of whom work as professionals in post-production and give of their free time to maintain the organisation.

SAGE aims to promote the Art of Editing while ensuring that editors are not isolated by hosting a variety of events where post-production professionals meet their contemporaries and are able to share their experiences and expertise. We are represented nationally and continually aim to access new members and support current members as our industry expands.
http://www.editorsguildsa.org/

About Refinery Cape Town
Refinery Cape Town is a full-service post-production facility. We supply end to end customised solutions. Our facilities were designed with stereoscopic, HD, 2K & 4K workflows in mind. We have the latest technology in the market as well as budget-friendly solutions. We are media management specialists front-end film to final mastered deliveries.

We offer a complete, full-service post-production solution for long format projects, tailor-made for every production, from daily deliveries through the editorial process, DI and deliveries and sound 5.1 mixing. Our filmography is an impressive list of local and international feature films, television projects and documentaries.

What we would really like to see is filmmakers engaging with us a lot sooner in the process. Getting us involved at a point that we can really add value, and more often than not assist in saving costs. This is very much key to our involvement in the Encounters Film Festival. To make young filmmakers aware that we have that open door policy and the information they need can be easily accessed. https://refinery.co.za/