Look Aside’s Feature Film Development Lab
OUR LAB IS CURRENTLY CLOSED AND WILL REOPEN IN 2027.
Look Aside Films is incredibly excited to host a Feature Film Development Lab.
This is an accelerator program designed to support the creative development of feature film projects, as well as develop effective finance, packaging and pitching strategies for the films. The Lab aims to both improve the creative quality of the scripts, but also teach the filmmakers about things like development, financing, sales, festivals, and applications, so that projects under the cohort can get off the ground and into packaging, or even production. The Lab will conclude with a pitch panel, where each filmmaker under the cohort will have the chance to present their project in front of various film companies.
We've opened this lab to provide more opportunity for emerging voices and filmmakers. There are so many talented artists and filmmakers and so few opportunities for further development, so we want to do as little or as much as we can to help bring more stories to life.
The lab is a mix of script development, directing workshops, various talks by established industry professionals, and networking with fellow writer/directors. Our partners are also there to provide additional support to the cohort. We're looking for original, non-IP-based works that demonstrate a distinctive voice, perspective, and storytelling approach. We are particularly interested in elevated, high-quality films that maintain clear audience appeal and market awareness. We are genre-agnostic and welcome submissions across all genres.
Please read the outlined submission guidelines carefully before submitting.
What Our Inaugural Cohort Is Saying:
“The lab was brilliantly curated and so thorough. It’s so important for filmmakers these days to have an understanding of the mechanics of getting your film packaged and into production and the lab was really empowering in the sense that the speakers who came in broke things down for us so clearly. The cohort was also really sensitively assembled by the Look Aside guys; it really felt like we were at a similar point in our careers, which meant that discourse between us all and the speakers was very cohesive. I'd absolutely recommend applying, especially for those looking to deepen their ties and connections in the UK film industry.”
— David Ledger, writer/director“I learnt so much about the industry, it felt really inclusive, like I had been given a key to unlock information I wouldn't normally have access to!
Thank you for bringing together such a lovely group of writer/directors, everyone was so welcoming and kind. I am so excited for the next steps for my feature. I couldn't recommend this lab enough!”
— Elizabeth Cassidy, writer/director“The Look Aside Films Feature Film Development Lab 2026 was such a supportive and inspiring lab; the generous feedback on my project from both the Look Aside team and my fellow filmmakers in the cohort really helped to unlock certain elements of my script and take it to the next level.”
— Joshua Craig, writer/director
