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FEST ESPINHO 2021 FEST Espinho Industry

FEST kicks off its Industry Programme

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- Running until 10 October, the programme highlights topics such as virtual production, sustainability and mental health

FEST kicks off its Industry Programme

FEST returns to a physical edition with a 6-day industry programme, taking place in Espinho until October 10, with a handful of masterclasses that will cover a range of topics, from mental health to virtual production. The programme starts off with “Variety is the Spice of Sound,” a masterclass with sound engineer Eddy Joseph that will focus on soundtrack analysis and budget planning based on particular film examples.

Irvine Welsh is also one of this year’s speakers, hosting a masterclass about his creative process, writing style and book-to-screen adaptations. Tony Grisoni will also be at FEST to present a masterclass on adaptations, writing original screenplays and other people’s first-hand testimonies.

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Virtual production is one of this year’s highlighted topics. From an overview of virtual production technologies and how they are used with Nancy Xu, virtual production producer at Epic's London Innovation Lab, to a masterclass with Johannes Wilke, executive producer at Glassbox Technologies, on how to shoot Previs in Unreal Engine, the programme also includes a masterclass with Portuguese visual effects artist and CEO of Nu Boyana Portugal, Pedro Domingo, that will illustrate how VFX can be helpful for new directors and how it is used beyond the blockbusters, as well as a masterclass with Evgeny Kalachikhin in which the participants will be able to learn how to use virtual production in low-budget projects.


Acting and the director/actor relationship is another one of this year’s general themes. Joshua Okpala, intimacy coordinator, will present a session focused on research-based intimacy for screen, unpacking categories of power and how to recognise them in the workplace, discussing also the role of intimacy coordinators in the industry and the impacts and aftermath of the Me Too movement. “The Do’s and Dont’s of Acting and Production - Fair Game” masterclass with Caprice Crawford, founder and CEO of Crawford Talents, will cover topics such as the pandemic’s impact on aspiring actors and how to handle rejection in the industry. Producer Chris Simon will breakdown film producing to the participants of the “How to Act Your way to becoming a producer” masterclass and Nancy Bishop returns to FEST for a panel discussion with Joshua Okpala, Caprice Crawford and Chris Simon on the overall problems and solutions for shooting scenes involving simulation of sex and nudity.

Assistant director and certified green consultant Dörte Schneider will focus on green shooting and sustainability in the film industry, in different stages of production, giving the participants an overview on how to use resources in a more efficient and conscientious way, in order to attain both environmental and financial savings. Mental health is also one of the main topics in this year’s industry programme, with a masterclass with Dr Tamara Karni Cohen, that will dive into some of the key elements for the maintenance of mental wellbeing in the industry, in a session that will include a moment for the participants to meditate.

Martin Dale, Leo Hugh-Jones and Duncan Russell are also part of the group of speakers, in a programme that includes a masterclass with Catalan director Isabel Coixet. Coixet will host a masterclass on her filmmaking career, her influences, and how to better achieve your goals and objectives as a filmmaker, being also the focus of this year’s retrospective in FEST’s film programme, which runs in Espinho until October 11.

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