RCLA 2022 - Call for Submissions A lifetime dreaming of your story. Years researching, raising funds. Months pouring over text and proposals, rejections and victories. Eventually production starts and stops. Subjects’ lives change and alter the narrative possibilities. That’s ok though, it’s part of the thrill. Budgets get higher, funding runs lower; but you manage, somehow. Finally, you feel you’re ready for the edit, you think you’re ready. Then the real problems begin.

Rough Cut Lab Africa – RCLA supports documentary films in the late offline stage by pairing up directors and editors on their projects with African story consultants from all fields in the filmmaking world, including editors, directors, producers, programmers, academics, curators and critics. In partnership with the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), the South African Guild of Editors, Encounters South African International Documentary Festival and the Refinery, we invite nine African documentary film projects to spend three days over two weeks working on their films, with successful candidates receiving targeted finishing support from the Refinery when they eventually lock story.

RCLA is a virtual programme and will be held from 23rd June until 3rd of July 2022. This Call is only open to African documentary projects with a working rough cut. Up to 70% of the rough cut must be completed prior to the lab. If a project has been chosen the previous year, they are unfortunately not eligible to enter RCLA with a new project in the following year.


The deadline for submissions is on or before 4pm (SAT), Friday 14th April 2022. Please add RCLA 2022 in the subject line for: Submissions - https://bit.ly/RoughCutLabAfrica2022   Queries - pr@encounters.co.za