No Borders International Co-Production Market

How it worked for Josh Penn, Producer of Beasts of the Southern Wild

“My experience at IFP’s No Borders was tremendous and IFP has been there for us from the beginning, from script to screen.”.  Through our participation with the Beasts Of The Southern Wild script in 2009, I met passionate international creatives and industry, including both E1’s Charlotte Mickie  who became our sales rep and ultimately found us a home at Fox Searchlight. We also met PMK’s Marian Koltai Levine who become our publicist three years later. Since then, I have kept in touch with many of the people I met there- some who not only helped with Beasts, but who have also become vital to the many projects in Court 13’s current slate.”

- Josh Penn, Producer- Beasts of the Southern Wild

Click Here to Apply

U.S. Producers Deadline: May 3rd, 2013

International Partners Deadline: May 24th, 2013
Please read the guidelines thoroughly before applying.

No Borders is…

The premiere co-production market in the U.S. for narrative projects. Focusing on the discovery of 45 new projects in development represented by established producers, the program is open to established American and International Producers who have scripts with 20% financing in place. Participants are selected on artistic merit and marketplace exposure.

Recent Alumni includes:

David Lowery’s Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, Olivia Silver’s Arcadia, Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild, Lance Edmand’s Bluebird, Ryan O’Nan’s The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best, Rama Burshtein’s Fill The Void, Joshua Sanchez’s Four, Rashaad Ernesto Green’s Gun Hill Road,  Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s Howl, Denis Villeneuve’s Incendies, Anais Barbeau-Lavalette’s Inch’Allah, Pia Marais’ Layla Fourie, Ry Russo-Young’s Nobody Walks, Todd Rohal’s Nature Calls, Sara Blecher’s Otello Burning, Jalmari Helander’s Rare Exports, Liza Johnson’s Return, So Young Kim’s Treeless Mountain.

Who Can Apply

U.S. based producers with partial financing (20% +) on a new, feature-length script seeking funders, partners, sales agents, and additional financiers to go into production. Internationally-based producers can only apply through the No Borders International Partners (see below).

Guidelines
FAQ

How It Works:

Once selected, IFP provides producers with professional pitching and industry consultation prior to participation. Throughout Film Week, participants will take part in one-to-one meetings with top industry leaders including financiers, distributors, U.S. and international sales agents, and top festival programmers in addition to:

* Roundtable discussions, workshops and master classes with industry experts.
* Networking opportunities, including invitations to “Sneak Preview” Screenings
* Access to Independent Filmmaker Conference programming, including workshops, case studies and conversations with cutting-edge leaders in independent film and media.

Select Industry Attendees

Agents & Sales Agents: CAA, Cat&Docs, Cinetic Media, Celluloid Dreams, E1 Entertainment, The Film Sales Company, Films Transit, Fortissimo, The Gersh Agency, ICM, Match Factory GmbH, MK2, Rezo, Ro*Co Films International, Submarine Entertainment, UTA, Untitled Entertainment, Visit Films, Wild Bunch, WME

Distributors: Arthouse Films, Cinema Guild, EPIX, Focus Features, IFC Entertainment, Indiepix Films, Magnolia Pictures, Roadside Attractions, Samuel Goldwyn Films, Seventh Art Releasing, Showtime, Sony Pictures Classics, Spike TV, Strand Releasing, Variance Films, The Weinstein Company

Production Companies: Andrew Lauren Productions, ATO Pictures, Belladonna, Big Beach Films, Cine Mosaic, Crossroads Films, Curious Pictures, Duly Noted, Elixir Films, FilmNation Entertainment, Goldcrest, Greyshack Films, The Group Entertainment, Hunting Lane, Insurgent Media, Journeyman Films, Killer Films, Lee Daniels Entertainment, Likely Story, Motto Pictures, Original Media, Participant Productions, Passion Pictures, Protozoa, Reason Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions, Scout Productions, Sidetrack Films, Sidney Kimmel, The 7th Floor, Tribeca Productions, Entertainment, Washington Square Films

Submission Criteria

No Borders at IFP’s Independent Film Week Project Forum presents U.S. and international scripts seeking financing and international co-ventures. It is the only section of the Project Forum open to international producers, who are submitted exclusively via No Borders partner organizations.

Please note that No Borders is a producer forum; In addition to the strength of the material and package, the track record of the producer is a chief consideration in the selection of the project.

No Borders is for:

• *Narrative feature-length screenplays completed after September, 2012. A completed screenplay must be submitted. Submitted screenplays must be in English.
• *Projects must have a minimum 20% of financing in place.
• *U.S. Independent Producers may submit their projects to No Borders. ‘U.S. producer’ means: U.S.-born, or any filmmaker living and able to work in the U.S.
• *International producers can only apply through one of IFP’s No Borders Partners. Program partners include established funding bodies (Israel Film Fund, ProImagines Columbia, New Zealand Film Commission, Screen Australia, South Africa’s National Film and Video Foundation Telefilm Canada.) and support organizations (ACE, Berlin Co-Production Market, CineMart Rotterdam, Dubai’s Film Mart, Hong Kong Asia- Film Financing Forum, India’s NFDC CinemasFilm Bazaar, Istanbul Film Festivals’ Meetings on the Bridge, Sundance Institute, and Torino FilmLab). Please contact these organizations directly for information on how to apply through them.
• *As these are co-financing meetings, only projects with experienced producers are eligible. Producers must have at least one previous feature film with notable exposure. Priority also given to projects geared toward the international marketplace. The project’s creative and/or financial packaging elements are strongly considered. Projects are selected on artistic merit and the potential of the project to benefit from the No Borders program.

Application Guidelines

• *Please read all FAQs & Guidelines before beginning application.
• *It is strongly advised that you first review the application and prepare your materials, as many fields have word count limits. Prepare written application materials in a separate text document, then use this to come back and complete your online application. All projects must be submitted via online application. Applications must be complete and all pertinent materials and fees must be received by the IFP for your submission to be considered. A complete application includes:
  * Online Submission Form
  * Paid application & membership fees (only for US independent producers’ projects)
  * Complete script submitted as a .pdf through the online application
  * Writers Guild or Copyright Office registration form (all US projects) sent by email to filmmakerreg@ifp.org
• *When applying, if you have problems with the application, contact the Filmmaker Registration Coordinator: FilmmakerReg@ifp.org or call 1-212-465-8200 x217

Online Application

The online application consists of:

• *Contact information and bio for the Submitter.
• *Name and bio of the Writer, Producer, as well as other key creative crew attached to the project. (100 words per bio)
•  *Log Line: one or two sentence encapsulation of your project (25 words);
• *Synopsis: A stand-alone synopsis of your project. This synopsis will be printed in No Borders publications. (60 words);
• *Project Summary: A detailed summary which includes story, characterization and other creative aspects of the project (500 words);
• *Artistic Statement: A vision statement describing stylistic and technical intentions (pace, tone, etc.), artistic influences, and marketing elements (500 words);
• *Financial/Development information (made available to industry only). We require a breakdown of all “Financing in Place” and monies being sought. Amounts and specific sources should be listed for any Government Grants, Foundation Funding, Pre-sales or Private Sources secured at the time of application. All No Borders submissions must have at least 20% financing in place. You will also indicate the amount you’re seeking in the form of Production finance, Pre-sales, and Post-production finance.

Screenplay

IFP is only accepting screenplays in PDF format. PDFs of scripts must be submitted through our secure online application. No hard copies are permitted. Your files must be uploaded at the bottom of the online application by clicking “Upload Your Screenplay,” at the time you complete your online application.

Your document must use commonly accepted screenplay format margins and layouts. Your PDF file MUST be named your script name (FilmTitle.pdf). Your file name should exclude spaces, underscores or punctuation marks, and must contain the extension .pdf

In addition to your online application, you must send a PDF of your either your Writers Guild of America (WGA)or Copyright Office Registration to FilmmakerReg@ifp.org. Do not send screenplays to this address, they will only be accepted only through the online application form. As receipt of a Writers Guild Registration takes about 2 weeks – you may first submit your script and then send your registration once it arrives.

Confidentiality

No Borders script submissions are evaluated only by the No Borders Programming Committee. Scripts are not made available to anyone outside the Independent Film Week Committees.

The Independent Film Week is attended by numerous members of the press but is not open to film/television critics for review purposes. Scripts are not available for review.

Scripts not accepted for the Independent Film Week will be destroyed.

Access to your Information

Information entered in the on-line application, including financials, will be printed in the No Borders Dossier, which is made available only to the attending industry interested in meeting with your project.

These industry refer to the Dossier to determine projects that are appropriate to meet during Independent Film Week. It is in your best interest to ensure that your materials are well written and adhere closely to our presentation requirements.

Limited information on key creative team and project summaries will also be printed in the Independent Film Week Catalogue and on the Independent Film Week website. If your project is accepted you will have a limited opportunity to make changes before publication. IFP reserves the right to copy-edit synopses and biographical material where necessary.

IFP will NOT publish Financial/Development information on the web or in print available to the public. Registered company representatives must request that information from IFP.

Acknowledgement of Receipt

Shortly after submitting your online Application Form, you will receive an email notification acknowledging that your form and screenplay have been received.

Acceptance Notification
All submissions will be notified of acceptance or rejection by the end of July. Preliminary calls from the IFP concerning your entry do not indicate acceptance. If your project is accepted, you grant us permission to present your script at the Independent Film Week.

Acknowledgement of Support

Projects that are selected for Independent Film Week’s Project Forum are required to acknowledge IFP support by the use of the IFP logo in the end credits and marketing materials of the completed work in the form “Support provided by IFP”, including the IFP logo.