MANILA – October 2, 2013 – The first batch of UK Script Factory participants in Manila proved to be a diverse bunch, counting among them ad industry professionals, independent filmmakers, TV executives, and even a lawyer. There were 15 participants in total.
Script Factory Director Lucy Scher told adobo that the diversity of the Manila participants was something she hadn’t yet experienced elsewhere, even as the workshop has been running since 1996 and has gone to various countries including Brazil, Israel, Warsaw, India, and Australia.
Presented by Cinemanila and the British Council, the workshop was held last September 27 to 29 at the Picasso Boutique Hotel in Makati. Scher and fellow mentor, development consultant and script editor Angeli Macfarlane, covered various topics related to both TV and Film. Some of the topics included Premise, Precinct, Structure, Character, Screenwriting Craft and Genre.
On the second day of the workshop, participants were also allowed to network with each other and the mentors at a cocktail party.
Documentary filmmaker Joanna Arong was able to benefit not only from the workshop’s lectures, but also from the connections it allowed her to make.
As Arong shared, she is hoping to collaborate with Scher and Macfarlane in the future.
"I’ve written a script for my first fiction feature called the Sigbin Chronicles. Basically, we’re hoping to shoot it next year…I’ve been working on the script for the last two years, and I kind of need outside feedback now so I’m hoping to get it here," Arong shared.
"If all goes well, I’m maybe, hopefully going to work with one or two of them," she said.
Meanwhile, Carla Laus joined the workshop for personal reasons, but she shared that she can also apply what she learned to her work as group account director at Ogilvy.
"I joined it on my own…I’ve always been interested in stories, actually. Stories, storytelling, how best to tell a story, whether it’s in the context of a script, even a book, I also write songs. So different avenues of telling a story…this now is another new way to tell a story," Laus shared.
"I do review a lot of scripts, assess a lot of scripts…I sell ideas to clients, I sell scripts, so I’m also part of the development. So whether I cam in for personal reasons, a lot of it definitely is applicable to my work," she said.
At the end of the workshop, the group was awarded with certificates for their participation.
