A veteran movie costumer and a USC graduate from China are among the inaugural class of filmmakers in the Warner Bros. Emerging Film Directors Workshop, the studio announced Tuesday.
The Emerging Film Directors Workshop “provides aspiring directors the ultimate opportunity to showcase their work to the film community after a seven- month intensive fellowship at Warner Bros.,” according to the studio.
The five members of the 2016 inaugural class, chosen from more than 5,000 applicants who each submitted an idea for a short film, are:
— Kristin Burke Burke, who has worked as a movie costume designer for 25 years, working on such movies as New Line Cinema’s “The Conjuring.” She has written, directed, edited and produced three original short films;
— Justin Floyd Floyd, a Fullerton College graduate who participated in the Inner City Filmmakers and Sundance Film Festival Ignite Fellowship programs. The Los Angeles native has worked as a production assistant on “Fast 8” and “Sinister 2,” and written, produced and directed four short films;
— Alexis Korycinski, a Syracuse University graduate who spent her first few years after college producing documentaries and directed her own in 2011. She has also directed and produced three original narrative short films. She completed the AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women in 2014 and took part in Ryan Murphy Television’s Half Foundation mentorship program, through which she has shadowed directors on shows such as “American Horror Story”;
— Elaine Mongeon Mongeon of Nantucket, who moved to Los Angeles after attending Boston University and eventually became the assistant to director Greg Jacobs, working with him on nine films; and
— Xu Zhang Zhang, who grew up in southern China, where she attended Zhejiang University. She earned her MFA in Film & TV Production at the University of Southern California, during which time she worked on more than 20 short films, directing several of them.
“We’re very excited about the filmmakers we’ve selected for our inaugural Directors Workshop,” said Greg Silverman, president, Creative Development and Worldwide Production, at Warner Bros. Pictures.
“Each of these candidates has a unique background, point of view and aspiration,” he said. “They’ve already shown immense talent and passion for filmmaking and we can’t wait to help them further develop their skills, get exposure for their work and advance their careers.”
Over the course of seven months, starting in December, each filmmaker will create their own original short film with a budget of $100,000 “through a process that mimics Warner Bros. Pictures’ feature process from beginning to end, including script development, full prep, a shoot on the historic Warner Bros. lot and full post production.”
Workshop participants have the option to develop their story idea and write it themselves or work with a screenwriter.
In addition to the production process, the workshop includes guest speakers and panels featuring industry experts. The program will culminate with a film festival at Warner Bros. next June, where the participants will premiere their short films and get exposure to agents, managers and industry professionals.
—City News Service