A veteran Hollywood director will be teaching a Bermuda International Film Festival (BIFF) film workshop for aspiring local filmmakers this month.

PJ Pesce, director of the 2008 DVD sensation 'Lost Boys 2: The Tribe' and creator of the cult animated TV series 'The Adventures of Chico and Guapo', will introduce aspiring filmmakers to some of the ground rules of filmmaking at a seminar being conducted over the course of three evenings at the Bermuda College.

"This first, in a series of filmmaking labs, offers aspiring filmmakers, and those who would like to enter the field, a solid start," said Dr. Sajni Tolaram, Professor, English and Film Studies, Liberal Arts at Bermuda College.

BIFF director Aideen Ratteray Pryse, and Dr. Tolaram worked together to shape the lab series. They were particularly excited to have Mr. Pesce teaching the first lab, because he has been working in Hollywood for 20 years as a writer, producer and director working for Universal, Warner Brothers, Sony/Columbia, MTV, and FOX.

Aside from his sequel to the teen vampire classic 'Lost Boys' and 'Chico and Guapo', he recently co-wrote and directed the prequel to Joe Carnahan's cult classic 'Smokin' Aces'. He has taught at Columbia and the University of Southern California.

This filmmaking lab will take wannabe filmmakers through the steps of pre-production, production and post-production.

"Whether you have a script ready to go or you're just curious about the filmmaking process, this filmmaking lab has answers for you," said Ms Ratteray Pryse.

Focusing on low-budget filmmaking, the first evening will take would-be filmmakers through preproduction aspects of filming. This class will look at obtaining and utilising resources for filmmaking. Mr. Pesce will look at writing a script that can actually be shot with the tools and budget at hand.

On the second evening, Mr. Pesce will walk students through the actual production process.

He will look at how to take advantage of accidents that inevitably occur on any set and still make the movie the filmmaker wants.

The final evening will cover post-production. It will look at what the filmmaker can and cannot do in the editing room.

Topics will range from using post-production to help better the story, to sound work, music and other things.Mr. Pesce's workshop will also look at film distribution, and working on the next movie.

This workshop series will take an interactive approach with film clips illustrating key points. "You will look at movies in a new way," said Ms Ratteray Pryse.

"Individuals and groups in the local community can benefit from these labs," said Dr. Tolaram.

"Teachers, students, church fellowships, families, organisations, businesses – any one person or group, who aims to use the medium of film to communicate their ideas."

Dr. Tolaram said people who start film projects often stall when they realise they don't have the "know-how" to continue.

"There are also those who have an idea to explore, but have no idea how to move it from conception to distribution," she said. "Such persons would benefit from these labs."

She said attendees can work in any film mode: narrative or documentary, short or feature length. No experience is required. "Given the range of PJ Pesce's expertise, it is likely that persons signing-up for this lab would have a variety of interests and questions," said Dr. Tolaram. "Which should make for stimulating and productive sessions.

"Any learning community is especially enriched by people who bring diversity to the experience (typical in college environments).

"Also, those attending this lab can anticipate learning from each other's film projects, and perhaps helping each other-a worthwhile outcome."

The filmlab will be held at the Bermuda College in G301, lecture theatre on June 28, 29 and 30 from 6.30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

It is $200.00 for the entire lab . Registration forms can be downloaded from www.biff.bm or email info@biff.bm to request one.