Filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov and his production company Bazelevs, known for hit thriller Unfriended, a film that introduced “screenshare” storytelling, a verité storytelling set entirely on screens of digital devices, is inviting new artists to participate in a Open Source Screenshare Workshop at SXSW Film Festival.
Bazelevs are looking for submissions from filmmakers around the world to participate in the workshop that will begin March 7th in Austin, Texas in conjunction with the SXSW Film Festival.
The end goal of the workshop is to shoot and edit eight screenshare shorts over a week, and live-stream the whole process of the production on the site www.screensharefilms.com, which will act as a masterclass in “screenshare style” for people around the world as well.
With Unfriended as the beginning of alternative forms of cinema, Bekmambetov hopes to work with young filmmakers to redefine existing genres through the screenshare language. The team behind Unfriended will be sharing their expertise with the selected filmmakers during the workshop in Austin.
“We at Bazelevs take a real interest in discovering and nurturing new talent and pioneering alternate forms of cinema and we’re especially excited by the extraordinary possibilities this screenshare format offers,” Bekmambetov says.
Screenshare thriller hit Unfriended premiered at SXSW festival last year, and was released worldwide grossing over $64 million dollars theatrically. Bekmambetov already has two more screenshare movies already in post-production, Liked and Wizard of OS, and four others in-preproduction.
For U.S. filmmakers, expenses will be paid for them to come and stay in Austin during the workshop. International teams will be able to participate remotely.
Submissions for potential filmmakers are due February 24, 2016 at 11:59PM PST at www.screensharefilms.com
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