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2023

m2 Film Development Program 2023

m2 Film Development Program, in collaboration with the Global Media Makers (GMM) program by Film Independent in America and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State, allowed filmmakers working on their first or second feature-length film to develop their projects for one year through script development workshops, one-on-one mentoring sessions and online film talks.

Selected project teams conducted an intensive script development workshop with GMM mentors Ruth Atkinson and Neal Dhand, and Turkish scriptwriter-director Ali Vatansever, both as a group and individually. The August 2023 session of the event took place in Istanbul for five days. Project owners selected within the program continued to receive mentoring on script development, production, distribution, and marketing until May 2024. They had the opportunity to develop both themselves and their projects in harmony with the industry by participating in physical meetings, online masterclasses and case studies.

Selected Projects 2023

Mentors

RUTH ATKINSON

NEAL DHAND

Ruth Atkinson is a Los Angeles-based story editor and script consultant with over 25 years of experience in the film/television business. Ruth has consulted on many award-winning feature and short films distributed around the world. She is also a screenwriting mentor/advisor for Film Independent’s Project Involve, Global Media Makers, and Screenwriters and Directors Labs as well as the facilitator and mentor for the Whistler Film Festival Screenwriters Lab held annually in British Columbia, Canada.
Neal Dhand is a writer, director, producer, and teacher from Philadelphia. He makes genre films that are socially aware and frequently revisionist. Neal directed the feature film Dark My Light, a sci-fi drama and thriller for the modern age. It’s currently in post-production for a 2023 release. His films include selections at the Bucheon International Fantastic FF, Sidewalk FF, Cinequest, and many others. His screenplays have placed in the Nicholl Fellowship, American Zoetrope, and Austin.
Neal has taught screenwriting, directing, producing, and film analysis at universities in Pennsylvania, New York, and the Czech Republic. 

ALI VATANSEVER

SELIN VATANSEVER

Screenwriter, director and academician Ali Vatansever participated in many script and project development workshops with his latest feature film Saf, such as SundanceLab Istanbul, Sources2, Global Media Makers and Meetings on the Bridge. Ali teaches film at Koç University and Kadir Has University. He has received screenplay mentoring training at Sources2 and currently acts as advisor to various feature projects and AR/VR experiences at KARMA Lab.
Selin’s feature film production experience started with line production services for European and American film crews. Co-founded Terminal in 2008, she acts as a producer and production mentor. She produced Saf, a European co-production that premiered in Toronto Film Festival 2018. Selin has participated in many international production markets with her film projects.

IMRE TEZEL

MÜGE ÖZEN

Cultural manager Imre Tezel founded PAZ Istanbul, a communication and project agency, after serving as the general coordinator of !f Istanbul International Independent Film Festival and director of Baska Sinema. She is currently conducting marketing and event projects for the cultural sector at PAZ and developing film and TV series. At the same time, she continues her master’s degree in Cognitive Psychology at Bosphorus University.
After graduating from Galatasaray University, Faculty of Communication, Müge worked in the film acquisitions of D Productions and Mars Entertainment Group. Now she works as a producer at AC Film and Solis Film, latter of of which she has founded. Providing training to filmmakers under the Solis Cinema Sessions brand, Müge acted as the joint director of Antalya Film Forum in 2021.

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