5 MONTH REMOTE PROGRAM (APRIL - AUGUST 2025)

Producer Accelerator Program

Commissioned by PictureNL, the Producer Accelerator Program helps production companies from Newfoundland and Labrador develop projects and market skills

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PROGRAM OVERVIEW

PictureNL and Stowe Story Labs will select five production companies from Newfoundland and Labrador to achieve strategic and predictable business growth through skill-development, practical hands-on training, exposure to industry intelligence, networking, and mentorship. The program is designed to instill pitching, producing, and business skills to prepare producers to participate at market events.

The program will take participants through workshops and customized mentoring with top practitioners in production, sales, finance, development, and coproduction, among other skill sets, over five months.

There is no fee to participate.

Darrien Michele Gipson (right, Executive Director of SAGindie, Producer) in a one-on-one project development session at the 2024 Stowe Producers’ Lab.

Part I: Two-Day Workshop

To provide common concepts to build market knowledge and frame vocabulary for Part II

ACTIVITIES

Establish a roadmap for the program
Instructional content on international finance, international sales, co-production, and pitching
Presentations and Q&As with established industry mentors

OUTCOME

Participants will leave the workshop with the information required to set individual goals and desired outcomes from the program, which will form a customized work plan for Part II.

Part II: Mentoring

Working with subject matter experts on key elements of development, finance, production, and sales

ACTIVITIES

One-on-one mentoring with subject matter experts specializing in market-oriented skills such as attachments, budgets, co-productions, festival strategy, finance, pitching, sales, and script development
Biweekly status meetings

OUTCOME

Participants will be export market ready to be competitive in the most important film and television markets, promote themselves to the world, and secure partnerships that will lead to inward investments

Part III: Closing Meeting

To collaborate one last time as a group and be a springboard to on-going communication, collaboration, and support

ACTIVITIES

Share thoughts on the program and insights from the process
Go through a curated next steps process and discuss how participants intend to move forward
In-Conversation Interview and Q&A with top industry leader

OUTCOME

Participants will leave the program with a market strategy, a project advancement plan, and a network of peers and mentors.

Photo: Stowe Story Labs attends the 2025 European Film Market in Berlin, Germany. From left to right: Stowe Alum Rachel Serada Barth, Stowe Launch Fellow Alexandra Hensley, Stowe Launch Fellow Sebastien Tobler, Stowe Co-founder and Program Consultant David Pope, Stowe Founder & Director David Rocchio.

KEY DATES

Application Season: TBD
Part I - Two-Day Workshop: TBD
Part II - On-going Mentoring: TBD*
Part III - Closing Meeting: TBD

*Including bi-weekly status meetings

APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY

Eligible participants will meet the following criteria:

Be a production company established in Newfoundland or Labrador
Must have at least one producer credit on completed productions of the following nature:
- Television one-off production
- Television series production
- Feature film that received financing from a Federal and/or Provincial funding agency
- Participated in the Picture Start or Michelle Jackson Program
Participated in at least one international market or festival event
Must have multiple viable projects for international markets

Application opens April 2025

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Meet your program leaders

David Rocchio is an attorney, writer, and Emmy-nominated filmmaker. David conceived and co-produced with James Rogan THE GUN SHOP, an Emmy nominated one-hour documentary commissioned by the UK Channel 4’s Cutting Edge series, where it premiered prime time and was awarded top reviews. It then played worldwide. David’s award-winning short films have played internationally, including the Cannes Short Film Corner and Italy’s Capalbio International Short Film Festival (Best of Capalbio).

In addition to creating his own work, David founded and runs the nonprofit Stowe Story Labs, which is dedicated to helping top emerging screenwriters and filmmakers get work made and seen. Now in its twelfth year, Stowe works with approximately 200 emerging talents annually at labs, retreats, workshops, advanced development programs, mentoring programs, and film production programs.

David’s last job as a lawyer was as Legal Counsel to Vermont’s then-Governor Howard Dean. David was a nationally certified EMT and member of the Mt. Mansfield Ski Patrol (Stowe, Vermont) for 22 years, and he remains an avid backcountry skier. David lives in Stowe.

David Pope is a script consultant and screenwriter working internationally.

Script consultation projects include TIGER STRIPES, winner Jury Prize Critics Week Cannes Film Festival 2023 and candidate for Best International Film Academy Award 2024, TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT, a candidate for Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award 2019 and TRUTH OR JUSTICE, a candidate for Best International Film Academy Award 2020.

Other recent projects as script consultant include the feature films NATATORIUM, 2024, LAST SENTINEL, 2023, SPLENDID ISOLATION, 2022, MAGIC MOUNTAINS, 2021 and the drama series’ IMPERIAL SPY for Fremantle (AMERICAN GODS, DEUTSCHLAND 83).

David was Creative Producer on feature film THE GOAT, 2023, Cast including Mira Sorvino, John Savage and Nelly Karim.

In addition to consulting Stowe Story Labs, he is the long standing annual advisor and facilitator for Rotterdam Lab at IFFRPro for producers.

David has been a creative consultant on Rawi Screenwriting Lab for Royal Film Commission – Jordan, facilitates the CONVERGENCE program funded by Screen Scotland and British Film Institute and is a regular script consultant for both MIDPOINT Institute and BoostNL.

He sits on the film committee of the Writers Guild of Great Britain and is an external expert for the Council of Europe Eurimages fund.

Recent screenwriting commissions include writing the latest draft of feature film TEMPELHOF, the feature film RULIN from source material and rewriting the latest draft of the feature film SUMMER OF 81. David has a slate of projects in development through advance films.

Previous development and training clients include Creative Europe, BFI, Screen Scotland, New Horizons Studio+, Cannes Cinefondation, Creative England, Polish Film Institute, UK Film Council, BBC, BAFTA, Fremantle, National Theatre, British Council, Warp Films, Allfilm, KulturaTV, Cannes Film Festival, Film London, Lionhead Studios, Xingu Films, Irish Film Board, FAS Screen Training Ireland, and Estonian Film Institute amongst many others.

Meet your mentors

We are honored to work with a stellar pool of mentors. The list of mentors is constantly expanding and shifting so please check back often. Further, because our mentors are top-tier working professionals in the industry, schedules and obligations can shift quickly. Given that, those slated for a particular program may change with little or no notice. We take this risk because we believe it valuable to participants to work with mentors who are tremendously busy with film and TV work given they are deeply active in the industry today.