Launched last year, Assembly is an annual development lab for creative documentaries organised by Open City Documentary Festival, which will return in September 2020. Participants from six selected projects will attend a four-day programme (5th – 8th September 2020) in London that will include talks, workshops and one-to-one mentoring covering both creative and business development.

The lab is a project-based intensive workshop for international filmmakers working on their first or second feature. One of the six projects selected for Assembly will be awarded £10,000 in development funding, following a closed pitch.

Assembly aims to create a space for filmmakers to develop and strengthen their projects in order to support emerging voices in non-fiction storytelling. Participants will also be able to attend screenings, talks and networking events at Open City Documentary Festival 2020.

Applications for Assembly are open now, with a final deadline of May 15th 2020. The lab is open to both UK and international applicants. Assembly will cover the cost of return travel, up to eight nights of accommodation, and festival accreditation for the selected six filmmakers. There will also be bursaries available to cover travel expenses of attending producers. 

Chloe Trayner, Festival Director, Open City Documentary Festival and founder of Assembly, says: “After a successful first edition of Assembly, we are looking forward to being introduced to the latest creative documentaries in development from filmmakers around the world and are excited to work closely with a new round of projects this year. It is an honour to be able to play a part in cultivating new and emerging voices in non-fiction by providing funding and support at one of the most overlooked stages of the process.” 

The inaugural edition of Assembly took place between 31st August and 3rd September 2019. The winner of the pitch was filmmaker Miko Revereza for his project Nowhere Near, which will be his second feature film. He received the £10,000 award and is currently developing the film in the Philippines.Information about the other six participants of Assembly 2019 can be found here. 

The 2019 Assembly pitch was judged by Chloe Trayner, Festival Director of Open City Documentary Festival, Charlotte Cook, Co-Founder & Executive Producer of Field of Vision, and Tabitha Jackson, Director of the Documentary Film Program at the Sundance Institute (appointed Director of the Sundance Film Festival in February this year)/ The judging panel for the 2020 edition will be announced later in the year.

Full information about Assembly 2020 can be found here.