Lab Masters

Tabor was founded in Odesa in 2013 by Alina Gorlova, Yelizaveta Smith and Maksym Nakonechnyi. The directors, who are of the same age as their country’s independence from the Soviet Union, started shooting their first films during the Maidan Square protests, and went on to Eastern Ukraine when the Donbas war broke out in 2014. Maksym:

“We set up our production company, Tabor, as three friends all, of whom are directors. We even used to share a house together. The role of producer rotates in a natural way. We know each other’s ways of thinking, and there’s a lot of discussion”.

Revolution, war, captivity and emigration are the main themes of Tabor. With more than 12 films in their catalogue - documentary and fiction, both full-length and shorts - the collective has really shown how their country has been dramatically changing over the years. The aesthetics of the frame and the moral framework of working with protagonists are equally important for Tabor: that is why the collective’s films can be recognized by their meticulous and careful depiction of locations and events, as well as by their delicate work with people in the frame.

Today, their film community consists of 14 like-minded filmmakers, who are a mix of directors, cinematographers, editors and producers. Tabor’s latest endeavour “The days I’d like to forget”, is a collective film, divided into three feature-length chapters and is co-directed by four directors. Documenting the devastating events in their country since 2022, the production is one of Tabor’s most ambitious collective effort to date. Here the need for filmmakers to come together is an inevitable, natural force. Asked how the team plans to ensure a cohesive visual style for all three chapters, Gorlova said: 

“All our previous films were made in this form of collaboration, we have been working together for around 10 years: we edit each other’s films, co-write, and produce each other’s films. We are using the same DOPs who know our visual style, and we are all working in the same style and rhythm while shooting.

Tabor’s first big success came in 2017 with Yelizaveta Smith picking up an award in the Generation 14Plus section at the Berlinale with her documentary ‘School №3’. Alina Gorlova then followed with a big win at IDFA in 2020, picking up the festival’s major “First appearance award”. Beyond that, the team has continued to screen and win awards at film festivals worldwide, not least managing to present Maksym Nakonechnyi’s ‘Butterfly Vision’ in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival during the full-scale invasion. 

Due to the fact that men are currently under heavy restrictions to leave Ukraine, the third founding member of Tabor, Maksim Nakonechkyi may not be able to join the Filmlab. However, should Tabor manage to get permissions for their male collaborators to leave the country, our Filmlab may also welcome either Maksym Nakonechnyi or one of the collective’s leading cinematographers, Slava Tsvetkov.

The Lab in detail

20 filmmakers - with a range of skills - will share the experience of creating, filming and living together in Western Georgia. The lab will take place in an environment thought out and carefully designed by the B2B Doc team in collaboration with Sakdoc Films, a Georgian director-led film collective founded by Salomé Jashi (Taming the Garden) and Anna Dziapshipa (Self-Portrait Along the Borderline).

During the 7-day workshop, participants will learn from and follow the example of Tabor filmmakers in making ONE cinematic work: a collective film, divided into a number of chapters. The theme of this film will be proposed by Alina Gorlova and Yelizaveta Smith, prior to the arrival in Georgia. The process of filmmaking itself will explore all the phases that make up the development, production and post-production of a film, from idea to completion. Each of these phases will be accompanied by inspirational talks every morning, followed by day-time production (incl. location scoutings, meetings with locals and shoots) and finally wrapped up by daily discussions over dinner.

So hereby, we welcome filmmakers to get out of their comfort zones. To face new situations with curiosity and respect, and create a film from different angles of seeing and understanding the world. 

After the Lab

The core idea behind this film lab is to encourage creative collaborations across borders. The filmmakers who decide to team up after the film lab will have the opportunity to submit project ideas to B2B Doc. A selection of those will receive travel grants to kickstart their production. The film lab will be evaluated publicly during a Symposium.