April 2006 | Fact Fiction Lab
plus follow-up Lab
A Screenwriters Lab for writers / journalists and documentary makers wanting to make feature films from factual material
The increasing popularity of feature documentaries and films reflects the desire of audiences for more considered and profound explorations of real life, based on well researched factual material - there is a renewed appetite to engage with the big political and social issues that concern us all. In designing this Lab, PAL opened up its process to include professional documentary filmmakers and journalists, as well as screenwriters to extend the language, craft and vision of factually- based filmmaking. The British Council’s bursary funding added a welcome international perspective to the Lab.
2008 saw the launch of Franny Armstrong’s The Age of Stupid which she worked on at the Lab.
“I’ve found it really difficult to come up with any constructive criticism. This is, of course, a massive compliment. The Lab was extremely well-organised and thought through, the participants a great mix, the mentors inspiring, the formal discussions fruitful, the unplanned ones even more so, the ideas enlightening, the films eye-opening… The most useful thing for me personally is that, when we meet again in November, I’ll be able to play a rough cut of my new film to the group. I intend to bring several notebooks to fill with all their suggestions and have no doubt that the final film will be dramatically improved as a result of the mauling. That in itself is priceless.” Franny Armstrong
Lab Director
Jenny Thompson
Mentors
Howard Dratch - writer
Marleen Gorris - director
Gavin MacFadyen - investigative journalist / filmmaker
Roy Battersby - writer
Saskia Bramall - comedy script executive
Roger Smith - writer
Participants
Franny Armstrong - documentary filmmaker
Holly Aylett - Lab consultant
Susan Benn - PAL Director
Chris Durlacher - writer/director
Robin Eccles - IT specialist
Taghreed Elsanhouri - documentary filmmaker and filmic artist
Ken Fero - director/producer
Peter Gilpin - Lab chef
Bruce Goodison - documentary filmmaker
Xiaolu Guo - filmmaker and novelist
Jeni Howland - Lab co-ordinator
Audrius Juzenas - documentary filmmaker
Misha Manson-Smith - director and editor
Sean McAllister - documentary filmmaker
Chris McQuarry - actor
David Noy - writer/director
Jonathan Ruffle - screenwriter
Henry Singer - documentary filmmaker
Tomas Tamosaitis - director
Oscar Wright - storyboard artist
Visitors
Luke Alkin - executive producer, BBC
Simon Beaufoy - screenwriter
Paul Howson - Director of Film, British Council
Kate Laird – Combined Arts Officer, ACE
David Kelly - producer
John Lee - Monitoring and Evaluation Co-ordinator, Film Team, Skillset
Angus Macqueen - Head of Documentaries, Channel 4
Jolyon Symonds - Partner, Holy Cow Films
John Battsek - producer
David Hill – editor
Funded by
Skillset
Film London
British Council
BBC
Channel 4 British Documentary Film Foundation
Darlow Smithson Productions
Spanner Films
V Good Films
