Chicago Industry Exchange Lab

Chicago Industry Exchange Lab (CIX:Lab)

CIX: Lab is the Chicago Industry Exchange’s fiction feature film development lab hosted by Cinema/Chicago and the Chicago International Film Festival.

With the goal of spotlighting and supporting high quality work from Chicago and the Midwest, the Chicago Industry Exchange (CIX) invites filmmakers with narrative fiction feature films to participate in its second year-round quarterly development program, focused on script development, directing, producing and pre-production, and pitching, finally culminating in The Pitch in Fall 2023, where the filmmakers will pitch their projects in front of a live audience and a panel of industry judges.

The winning project will receive an awards package of in-kind services from Chicago-area production facilities and organizations—to include consultation, production, and post-production services.

Past award-winning projects at The Pitch have been invited to the Tribeca Film Institute All Access Fellowship, IFP New York’s 2016 Project Forum Film Slate No Borders program, and Tribeca Film Institute’s TFI Network. Films that started out as Pitch projects include Signature Move (2017), Knives and Skin (2019), Once Upon a River (2019), and The Year Between (2022).

View CIX:Lab 2022-2023 projects
View CIX:Lab 2021-2022 projects

Submissions

Applications for the 2023-2024 CIX: Lab will open in August 2023.

Submission Information

Submissions are now open for CIX:Lab, the Chicago Industry Exchange’s fiction feature film development lab, hosted by Cinema/Chicago and the Chicago International Film Festival.

Deadline: August 31, 2022 | Fee: $25

Applications are now closed

Eligibilty

Projects and teams must meet the following criteria:

The individual or company submitting material must either own or possess all rights contained within the material. If the pitch team is not the owner of the material, they must provide the necessary licenses.
Must be a narrative feature in late-stage development.
Must have an attached Director and Producer.
Proven track record with professional credits by at least one member of the creative team.
You must provide a link to a prior work sample in the online application form. (Please note, your prior work does not need to be related to the proposed project, but some similarity in genre, tone, or format is preferred).
Must be available to attend all sessions in Chicago in-person.

The following additional pre-production elements will strengthen an application:

Attached talent / letters of interest.
Some financing in place.
Commitments from other key creatives.
Partnerships or support from other companies or organizations.

Process Calendar

September 2022: Projects are reviewed, filmmaking teams are interviewed for final selection to participate in the Chicago Industry Exchange (CIX) Lab. Creative Advisors are assigned.

October 13-16, 2022: ChicagoIFF Industry Days

November 2022: Screenwriting Workshop (2 days)

December 2022: Advisor Meetings

March 2023: Directing Workshop (2 days)

April 2023: Advisor Meetings

June 2023: PreProduction Workshop (2 days)

August 2023: Advisor Meetings

Sept. 2023: Pitching Workshop (1 day)

Oct. 7, 2023*: Pitch Prep #2 (1 day)

Oct. 12-15, 2023: The Pitch 2022 and Industry Meetings

*Specific days subject to change.

How To Apply

In order to apply, you must complete the online form (link below) and submit applicable payment.

The application will ask you to submit the following supporting materials. Please have these materials prepared before beginning the application.

The Completed Script
A “Pitch Deck”
A PDF (no more than 12 pages) that gives an overview of the project’s story, theme, genre and production approach. Items to consider including:
- Logline and basic story synopsis
- Biographies and major credits for key members of the creative team
- Highlight any partners and attached talent
- Target budget and any financing already in place
- Target audience
- Distribution strategy
- Photographic or illustrated visuals
A Two-Minute Elevator Pitch Video
A two-minute, direct-to-camera video pitch that explains the project, the team behind it, and why it should be included in the Pitch Session.
- Must include all members of the pitch team. (1-2 members are recommended; no more than 3 pitch team members will be accepted.)
- Should not be overly produced or edited. The purpose is to show us how well you can tell your story.
- Videos should be uploaded to Vimeo, You Tube, or another streaming site. Please provide password if applicable.
- Must be hosted on a third-party site; you will be asked to supply a link to the video.

Supporters

Partners

Important Notes & Disclaimers

If your project is selected, you must participate in two mandatory Pitch Preparation Sessions. Industry Days reserves the right to exclude certain submitted materials from the pitch presentation.

Submission does not create a contractual relationship, implied or otherwise with The Chicago International Film Festival, or any of the organization’s sponsors or affiliates. By submitting you are waiving any breach of contract, implied or otherwise and any theft of idea or concept action against The Chicago International Film Festival, or any of these organization’s sponsors or affiliates including copyright actions.

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