The international production company Playlab Films has opened the call for the new edition of the Creators Lab, a film laboratory that this year will feature the artistic direction of acclaimed Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino. The event will take place from December 1 to 11, 2025, at the Rotui Luxury Village in San Martín de los Andes, bringing together 50 participants from around the world.

After previous editions in the Peruvian Amazon with Apichatpong Weerasethakul and in Mexico with Pedro Costa, the laboratory lands for the first time in Argentine Patagonia. The event is presented as a space for cinematic experimentation, dialogue, and collective creation, in a natural setting that will serve as inspiration for the participants’ projects. Over ten days, the selected filmmakers will develop a short film from scratch, without needing to apply with a prior project. On the first day, Sorrentino will propose a common theme, and from there each participant will write, shoot, edit, and present their work. The process will be guided by the Oscar-winning director —a regular at the Cannes Film Festival— along with the Playlab Films team.

The laboratory’s focus is author-driven and experimental: there are no pitches or awards, but rather an exercise in creative freedom. It seeks to encourage a bold, ethical, and honest approach, where filmmakers can explore new narrative and aesthetic forms. In addition to producing short films, the Creators Lab will foster community-building and dialogue. Collective screenings and evening gatherings will be organized to encourage reflection on cinema and artistic work in community, with Patagonia as both stage and source of inspiration.

At the end of the laboratory, ten short films will be selected to circulate at international festivals. Furthermore, all participants will have the opportunity to present feature film or series projects to Playlab Films, of which two will receive support for development and production. Applications are open until September 21, 2025, at 11:59 a.m. (Pacific Time). The participation fee is €7,500, which includes accommodation, meals, internal transportation, and production resources such as casting, location scouting, and shooting permits. The lab is aimed at filmmakers and audiovisual creators over 18 years old, with no restrictions on age or nationality. Applicants must demonstrate previous experience as directors of fiction, documentary, hybrid works, screenwriters, or cinematographers, by submitting links to two previous works.

More information and applications at playlabfilms.com.