The Antenna Documentary Film Festival will welcome director and producer Penny Lane and writer, programmer, and story consultant Chris Boeckmann as mentors for its 5th Rough Cut Lab.
The US pair will join Australian-based documentary and fiction film editor Simon Price in guiding the completion of three feature documentary features from their rough-cut stage.
Lane is known for films such as Our Nixon (2013), Nuts! (2016), Hail Satan? (2019), and Listening to Kenny G (2021). Her most recent work, Confessions of a Good Samaritan, premiered at SXSW last year and won the festival’s Hope Special Award. She also co-founded Spinning Nancy, a documentary production company, and served as Executive Producer for HBO’s TIME BOMB Y2K.
Boeckmann’s experience includes serving as a senior programmer for True/False Film Festival, one of the most respected film festivals on the documentary circuit, from 2009 to 2020. He has since consulted and written for award-winning documentaries and currently serves as the director of development at Impact Partners, an equity funding body dedicated to supporting independent documentary storytelling.
Completing the trio is Price, who has amassed more than 30 credits over the past two decades, including Ruin (2013), Antarctica: A Year on Ice (2013), Free in Deed (2015), The Leunig Fragments (2019) Martha: A Picture Story (2019), and In My Blood It Runs (2019).
As part of the initiative, the mentors will provide advice on advice on storytelling, editing, marketing, sales, and festival strategies.
Antenna Documentary Film Festival director Dudi Rokach said they couldn’t wait to see what stories were brought to the table.
“We are super excited to be able to offer Australian filmmakers this unique opportunity to work with, and be mentored by, some of the most prominent figures in the industry,” he said.
Antenna Rough Cut Lab is provided free of charge, thanks to the support of Screen NSW and the City of Sydney. The initiative will be held across September 24 and 25, with applications to close September 10.
Find out more information on how to apply here.