Ideas Lab: Wellcome Trust and EIFF launch partnership to inspire Scottish screenwriters
The Wellcome Trust and the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) are launching a new partnership alongside the Beltane Public Engagement Network to deliver an exciting initiative for established screenwriters.
Ideas Lab will be a rare opportunity for talented, distinctive screenwriters and writer/directors to develop story ideas by immersing themselves in the world of biomedical research during the EIFF in June 2015.
Building on the success of the Wellcome Trust Screenwriting Fellowship in partnership with BFI and Film4, Ideas Lab is a workshop at which Scottish-born or -based writers and directors will be able to work with experts, be inspired by the latest scientific developments and explore future film ideas. Ideas Lab will cover some of the major topics in contemporary life science (including sex, death, memory and love) and expose participants to the cutting-edge research that's analysing our minds, changing our bodies and shaping our world.
Mark Adams, the new EIFF Artistic Director, said: "This new partnership offers a wonderful opportunity for screenwriters and we look forward to seeing the results. It will be a fantastic environment to explore new thoughts and concepts as well as discussing story ideas."
Simon Chaplin, Director of Culture & Society at the Wellcome Trust, said: "Ideas - whether for a film or in the lab - can be sparked by many things, but we think they truly thrive when there is time to explore and experiment. Ideas Lab is a rare chance to provide writers and directors with the opportunity to take that time, to make connections with researchers and to be inspired.
"We are thrilled to be working with the Edinburgh International Film Festival and the Beltane Public Engagement Network to develop this exciting film initiative - a first for the Wellcome Trust in Scotland."
Ideas Lab will run 18-19 June 2015. The workshop will include:
- opportunities to meet scientists and researchers and explore their work
- explorations of how collaborations and conversations with researchers can inspire stories in film
- a chance to go behind the scenes at a cutting-edge science laboratory
- opportunities to discuss and develop story ideas a chance to discuss film ideas with the Wellcome Trust and explore potential development funding.
Established writers and directors who are interested in taking part should contact the organisers at industry@edfilmfest.org.uk with 'Wellcome Trust Ideas Lab' in the subject heading before 24 April 2015. In addition, there will be a small number of places available for producers or agents to nominate talented Scottish-born or -based writers to take part in this special programme.
The 69th Edinburgh International Film Festival takes place 17-28 June 2015. Further details and delegate registration information can be found on the EIFF website.
About Edinburgh International Film Festival
Established in 1947, Edinburgh International Film Festival is renowned around the world for discovering and promoting the very best in international cinema - and for heralding and debating changes in global filmmaking. Intimate in its scale, ambitious in its scope, and fuelled by pure passion for cinema in all its manifestations, EIFF seeks to spotlight the most exciting and innovative new film talent, in a setting steeped in history.
About the Beltane Public Engagement Network
The Beltane Public Engagement Network (Beltane) is a network for people interested in making academic research accessible to a wide variety of audiences. Beltane are providing access to the best researchers in the region and facilitating access to behind-the-scenes at the research labs. The Beltane is a supported by four Edinburgh universities: the University of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Napier University and Queen Margaret University.
About the Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to improving health. We support bright minds in science, the humanities and the social sciences, as well as education, public engagement and the application of research to medicine. Our investment portfolio gives us the independence to support such transformative work as the sequencing and understanding of the human genome, research that established front-line drugs for malaria, and Wellcome Collection, our free venue for the incurably curious that explores medicine, life and art.