Call for film projects in search of a composer
During the upcoming edition of the WSA Film Music Days (19 – 21 october 2023) Film Fest Gent will again organise the Belgian version of the Third Character initiative. This initiative is organised yearly in collaboration with MCM (Festival International Music & Cinema Marseille) and FIFF Namur (Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur). Directors and producers who are looking for a composer for their film project can rely on FFG, MCM and FIFF Namur to find a match with a suitable film music composer.
About Third Character
Third Character is an initiative developed by MCM and Sacem. The project aims to facilitate meetings between composers of film music and duos of directors and producers who are working on a film project for which a composer has yet to be selected. FFG and FIFF Namur alternately organise a Belgian variant of the project each year. This way, the film festivals want to establish a collaboration between directors, producers and composers. The collaborations born out of these meetings will have the opportunity to apply for financial support for the score through authors’ rights organisations Sabam or Sacem (only for members).
Matchmaking
How exactly does the matchmaking process work? Directors and producers, whose film project must have received financial support and can therefore start production, can submit the scenario or a specific scene of a film project that has yet to begin filming and for which a composer has not yet been chosen. This scenario may be for a short or feature film, for fiction or documentary. The material will be sent to the candidate composers, who will make a few demos based on the vision and expectations of the director and producer.
Practical information
The meetings between the directors, producers and the composers will take place during the WSA Film Music Days (19 – 21 October 2023). During these meetings, the composers will pitch their demos and approach. After the discussion, the director-producer duo will decide whether or not they want to start a collaboration with one of the composers.
Conditions & timeline
- What are the requirements for film projects?
- short or feature films
- fiction or documentary
- received financial support (from VAF) and thus confirmed to be produced
- shooting hasn’t started yet
- no composer linked to the project yet
- script + with specific parts marked in the script for which you would like to receive musical propositions
- Guidelines on the musical expectations
- Technical information on the film
- CV (bio and photography) and contact details from the director and production company
- What is the timeline?Timeline
- 15 August: deadline submission materials
- September: composers receive the script and musical guidelines
- 19 – 21 October: encounters in Ghent, where composers will pitch music written specifically for the film projects/ selected scenes
Directors and producers with an eligible film project can send their material to industry@filmfestival.be by 15 August 2023.