THE STORY LAB AT THE 30TH GENEVA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
The Migros Culture Percentage Story Lab took part in the Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF) for the first time. After a welcome by Artistic Director Anaïs Emery, who expressed her enthusiasm for the Story Lab, and an introduction by Tenzin Roder, Head of the Migros Culture Percentage Story Lab, current and former funding recipients presented their projects. These were then discussed in one-to-one meetings with international experts.
Emery was impressed by the partnership between the GIFF and the Story Lab, emphasising the importance of promoting innovative formats in the audiovisual sector and achieving the common goals. Roder underscored the relevance of matchmaking: “Through strategic partnerships, the Story Lab strives to promote new storytelling and explore innovative approaches in audiovisual narration.”
After the introductions, the pitching sessions took place. As quite a few of the projects presented have already secured funding for their production stage, the focus was on distribution options. This shows the effectiveness of the support provided by the Migros Culture Percentage Story Lab. The participants mentioned that the support of the Story Lab was often the starting signal for further funding. Robin Burgauer and Robbert van Rooden, for example, arestill looking for suitable distribution partners for their project Peace Untold.
The pitching sessions offered exciting and varied presentations. Katja Meier and Isabelle Simmen recorded audience reactions for their project Share after showing film stills from their plot and used these for the rest of their pitch. Adrien Royer and Vincent Fichera had the audience take a deep breath together for their project O2 to visualise the scenario of a world in which oxygen consumption is measured and calculated. For her project Fear of Happiness, Brigitte Fässler used her own primal fear of speaking in front of an audience as a starting point.
You can find all pitched projects here.
Impressions
Photos: Hervé Pfister