EXCLUSIVE: Director-producer Timur Bekmambetov’s production company Bazelevs is launching a pitch contest that will see winners get a special mentoring session and a greenlight on a feature film or series by Bazelevs .
The Screenlife Projectis accepting submissions through May 1 and is looking for pitches in feature films, short films, shortform series and longform series. Watch a promo video below.
Founded by Bekmambetov in 1994, Bazelevs is an international film production company with offices in Los Angeles, Moscow and Beijing. It specializes in film and advertisement development, production, post-production, VFX and distribution. Bazelevs has been active in the American film business with multiple projects produced yearly, including Unfriended and Profile — both of which are premiering at SXSW — Night Watch, Day Watch, Wanted, the Yolki franchise, 9, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Hardcore Henry, among others. The producers are at SXSW to premiere two films, Unfriended and Profile.
Five finalists will be selected from each category and will have the opportunity to attend a one-week master class and a pitch session with Bekmambetov. Winners then will be chosen to have their projects fully financed and produced.
Submissions must follow a storytelling format that focuses on the intimate and intricate relationship people have with their screens – computers, mobile devices and tablets. Bazelevs will be hosting a panel at the SXSW festival on Monday titled “Clickable Storytelling: Dig into Your Online World,” which will explore the new form of filmmaking and the potential of creating interactive content.
“Screenlife films tell the stories of our everyday lives on computer screens and that seems to really resonate with audiences,” said Bekmambetov. “Every one of our films has been launched at a film festival and we have been honored with each of the three films’ premieres winning their respective audience award section. It is only suiting that we offer the audiences their own chance to make a Screenlife film themselves. We want to offer the opportunity to greenlight it.”
More details on the project and pitch submissions are at screenlifecontest.com.
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