Darklight
Darklight - Women Direct Horror
Skillset are delighted to have provided support from the Film Skills Fund to Darklight. This is a programme set up to fast track ten female Directors on a year long programme to develop horror feature projects for the Warp X production slate. The programme included intensive mentorship, pitching and master classes. Training was delivered by Warp X and Threshold Studios Ltd.
For more information please visit websites www.warpx.co.uk/ and
www.thresholdstudios.tv or email Uzma Choudry at darklight@thresholdstudios.tv
Why Darklight ?
What is it about this incredibly successful worldwide genre that either excludes, or fails to appeal to women directors? This question becomes even more pertinent as women attending cinema screenings of horror films now marginally exceed male attendance figures for the first time.
It has been suggested this demographic change may be in part due to the way Asian horror and US remakes of Asian horror has shifted the emphasis from plot-driven teen-slasher franchises to something with a more sophisticated scope. Could it be that women have a renewed interest in the genre because there has been a move from plot-driven to relationship-driven narrative? Or that women in Asian influenced horror are portrayed as strong protagonists rather than as victims? Or are contemporary horror writers now working in an area that connects more to the female psyche?
In response to these changes Warp X, in partnership with Threshold Studios, established a unique training and production initiative to encourage women directors keen to reinvent the horror genre for the 21st Century. With funding support from Skillset Film Skills' Fund, DARKLIGHT: WOMEN DIRECT HORROR provides an opportunity for female directors to develop their horror ideas through residential workshops and with specialised script editing and mentoring support. At least two of the ideas will be produced by low budget digital studio Warp X in 2008.
The DARKLIGHT training and development programme will consist ed of two residential workshops in February and May 2007 led by a team of industry specialists. Between these two residentials, directors worked with a script editor to develop their idea.
Ten projects were developed to outline stage with supporting visual material. Four projects had writers and producers attached and were developed to 25 page treatments. At least two of these will then be developed to script stage and greenlit on the normal Warp X terms and conditions for production in 2008.
