How often do film enthusiasts get an opportunity to gain insights about the ins and outs of a Film Festival - of how Festivals shortlist the top films, how the programming works, and what all it takes to curate a good Film Festival? Not very often, if you ask us.
Keeping this in mind, Diorama International Film Festival is teaming this year with the UK Asian Film Festival "Tongues on Fire", to set up an Emerging Curators Lab to nurture a new generation of cinema audiences to appreciate and distinguish South Asian Films from all over the world.
Attention all film enthusiasts based in India or the UK!- this workshop is a chance for you to take your love for cinema to a whole new level by being able to contribute to curating films for the festival. Read on to know more about the program.
What is UKAFF - Emerging Curators Lab (ECL)?
The Emerging Curators Lab (ECL) is an annual workshop initiated as part of the UK Asian Film Festival (UKAFF) to nurture a new generation of film curators and audiences and showcase a diverse spectrum of South Asian cinema. Emerging curators have the opportunity to gain information about film curation, develop their curatorial skills and watch a selection of new feature films submitted to the UK Asian Film Festival from which they will select a film that will be screened as the 'Emerging Curators' Choice' and receive a special award at UKAFF 2022.
Details of previous editions of ECL: https://www.tonguesonfire.com/news/the-bfi-young-curators-lab
PROGRAM AGENDA FOR ECL 2022
The 2022 edition of ECL will take place in a hybrid format, in two phases with a total of 5 events in the UK and India. Phase 1 will have 3 events in the UK - ECL Workshop, Hybrid Young Curators Choice Film Screening which will be run by academic and industry experts to introduce film curation skills with the participants; and an online mini-conference SandPit (UK + India) and Phase 2 will have the remaining 2 events in India - a three-day Workshop, and Grand Finale Symposium. Curators from both countries will gain insight into each other’s creative industries, streaming platforms, film festival curation practices, funding, distribution strategies, and benefit mutually from transnational perspectives whilst building bridges between UKAFF and Diorama.
The project through bespoke hybrid workshops - both online and offline - in the UK and India will establish shared practices in the creative industry of both countries, capacity building and knowledge transfer between the selected UK and India Young Curators and corresponding festival partners UKAFF and Diorama. The outcomes will act as a catalyst to promote creative awareness and the development of sustainable and effective UK-India public engagement strategies.
Program Objectives:
Promote and increase the accessibility for young curators especially from marginalized and minorities like LGBTQIA+, women, and people of different social groups.
Facilitate opportunities for young people from diverse communities to meet, learn from and be inspired by established professionals.
Provide a forum for discussion on issues that affect contemporary society through arts and culture
Support young people to develop skills in arts and cultural management through training and supervision.
Program Details:
As mentioned above, the ECL will consist of 5 events split between India and the UK in 2 phases. Phase 1 will include 3 UK based events with face to face participation in the UK and virtual attendance in India. Phase 2 will include 2 India-based events with virtual participation from Indian Young Curators and virtual attendance in the UK.
As part of Phase 2, the Diorama-led 3 days workshop will provide a bespoke insight into multiple funding, exhibition and distribution strategies in India. The workshops will involve UKAFF and DIFF facilitators, international South Asian film festival curators, film distribution companies, digital streaming platforms, creative industry representatives and cultural organisations, and will be centered around curating diverse content including female-focused, LGBTQ+ and neurodiversity themes, Indian and international streaming platforms, archive material and new technologies. The 3-day workshops will be made simultaneously accessible online to UK young curators.
WHO IS THIS PROGRAM FOR? WHO CAN APPLY?
Anyone residing in India or the UK is eligible to apply for the program. Shortlisted participants will have an opportunity to learn curatorial skills for diverse films addressing vital societal challenges and celebrations. We encourage the participation of anyone and everyone from diverse backgrounds, particularly from womxn, LGBTQIA+, lower-income, neurodiverse and differently-abled communities.
The program will shortlist a total of 40 applicants - 20 from the UK and 20 from India.
HOW TO APPLY?
If you fit the eligibility criteria, write to us at festival@diorama.in with the subject line "Emerging Curators Lab", specifying why you wish to be a part of this program, and what you intend to achieve by the end of the program.
Please note that the extended deadline to apply for the program is 25th March 2022, and that it doesn't involve any registration fee. Kindly refrain from entertaining anyone who claims to represent either Diorama or the UKAFF and asks for any kind of fee for the same.
Follow us on our social media platforms for all the updates about the program.