One-to-one project development for filmmakers and screenwriters working through story, structure, performance, documentary ethics, editing, and the path toward production.
"Cinema changed my life. Mentors opened doors that schools and textbooks couldn’t: taste, judgment, and work habits. ”
A limited number of emerging-filmmaker sessions are reserved for filmmakers early in their practice who are working seriously on a project. Write to info@payamfilms.com to discuss availability.
Who this is for
Private Cinema Lab is for filmmakers and screenwriters with a project—or a serious project in formation—who need exacting, one-to-one development. It is especially suited to emerging filmmakers who need rigorous support without being treated as a beginner.
- Fiction filmmakers: developing or rewriting a feature or short.
- Documentary directors: working with politically or socially charged material.
- Screenwriters: seeking a precise structural diagnosis.
- Filmmakers and producers: working through an edit, a performance problem, or the next production decision.
How it works
Choose a 60-minute session for a defined creative or practical question, or a five-session Private Cinema Lab for sustained project development. Sessions are held on Google Meet. Before the first meeting, send a concise introduction to the project and the question you want to address.
- Format: online via Google Meet, scheduled in Toronto time.
- Languages: English, German, and Persian.
- Standard session: 60 minutes, including a project note of up to 500 words and review of up to five screenplay pages or five minutes of footage.
- Additional script reading or review: available by arrangement and charged separately.
- Five-session Lab: purchase first, then book the first meeting. All five sessions must be completed within three months; this period is non-negotiable.
What we can work on
Each session begins from the actual project and the decision in front of you. The work may move between writing, directing, documentary practice, editing, production strategy, and the professional path around the film.
- Story and structure: from premise, outline, and treatment to a first draft or rewrite.
- Directing and performance: scenes, blocking, visual choices, and working with actors and non-actors.
- Documentary: ethics, access, point of view, material, and the relationship between fact and form.
- Editing: structure, rhythm, sequence, and the practical decisions that clarify a film.
- Production path: diagnosis of a short or feature project, next steps, and festival or production strategy where relevant.
BOOK A PRIVATE CINEMA LAB
Choose a 60-minute session for a defined question, or purchase the five-session Private Cinema Lab and book the first meeting after payment.
Short-project and feature-project diagnoses are also available by arrangement. Email info@payamfilms.com to make a booking.
Book the Private Cinema Lab
Choose a 60-minute session or the five-session Lab. Secure payment is handled by Stripe.
BOOKING POLICY
Payment is required to confirm a session. Please give at least 72 hours’ notice to reschedule. The five-session Private Cinema Lab must be completed within three months of purchase; this period is non-negotiable. Sessions are held on Google Meet.