Microwave challenges film-makers to shoot a full length feature film for up to £150,000 including cash and in-kind support. The scheme provides an intensive approach to film-making, with an emphasis on tightly focused scripts, short production schedules and projects which have commercial potential. For successful teams, support commences with Microschool, an intensive four-day programme of seminar
s, workshops, screenings and script surgeries covering everything from development through to sales and distribution. Following Microschool, shortlisted teams will undertake a four-month period of project and professional development before the final selection of projects are commissioned . Selected teams are then provided with unique professional mentoring from leading industry figures. Mentors and advisers have included directors Asif Kapadia (The Warrior, Far North), Pete Travis (Vantage Point, Endgame), producer Paul Webster (Atonement, Eastern Promises) and writer Jay Basu (Fast Girls, Monster Two: The Dark Continent, Dante's Inferno)
Film London and its partners also offer a range of assistance including in-kind support from leading facilities and service companies as well as professional advice on shooting on location. Completed projects have a theatrical window before being broadcast on the BBC. Microwave film-making teams are given professional and tailored marketing and sales advice with a view to giving them a head start in the international marketplace.
