Taking place October 12-24, 2025 in Louisville, KY, the 502 Film Front Porch Film Lab is dedicated to the art, craft, and business of short-form fiction storytelling.

502 Film believes in the power of short films as both a launchpad for emerging filmmakers and a canvas for bold, original voices.

502 Film is expanding our offerings to regional filmmakers with the support of the Community Foundation of Louisville, beginning with the inaugural 502 Film Front Porch Film Lab, a 10-day mentorship and project workshopping program.

Program Mission

Since its inception in 2021, 502 Film has been dedicated to growing the region’s film economy by attracting film and television productions and building the necessary supportive infrastructure, while also fostering an inclusive and collaborative local filmmaking community. The 502 Film Front Porch Film Lab furthers this mission by offering filmmakers from the Louisville area professional training and access to the national and international entertainment arena. Special emphasis will be placed on including underrepresented voices in the film industry in our Lab.

Drawing on the cultural significance of the “front porch” in the American South, the Lab is envisioned as a welcoming, collaborative space—a place of comfort and inclusion designed to inspire some of the region’s best storytelling.

Program Goal

The 502 Film Front Porch Film Lab will support 6-10 emerging filmmaker teams (director and producer) currently residing in Louisville by giving them the tools to develop, produce, and bring their project to the exhibition space. 

Through professional and peer mentorship, workshopping and fostering connections with the local and broader filmmaking community, filmmakers selected for the Lab will walk away from the 10-day program with a deeper understanding of their story structure, themes and characters and how the business of film works, as well as having tangible next steps to move their projects forward. 

Additionally, there will be up to 2 spots for filmmaker teams from Eastern Kentucky (nominations for those participants will be handled by Appalshop).

Program Content

502 Film is collaborating with Lab Consultant Lisa Hasko, who brings over 15 years of experience creating and implementing artist support programs for arts institutions like Los Angeles-based Film Independent and USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, who will work with our staff to identify key professionals and film executives to join the Front Porch Film Lab as mentors and guest speakers, including a script mentor, directing mentor and producing mentor. 

Each mentor will spend between 2-4 days with the group of Front Porch Film Fellows leading topic-focused sessions and workshopping individual projects collectively, with the projects receiving critical feedback from their mentors and peers. Guest speakers will join the lab periodically over the 10 days for masterclass sessions to infuse knowledge about specialized topics such as festival and distribution strategy, career and business advising and marketing and PR. 

Pitching is one of the most important business skills a filmmaker can develop, and Front Porch will support our Fellows by helping them craft a polished verbal project pitch, which they will present at a closing pitch event to a select audience of local community benefactors and investors and other strategic partners, followed by a reception to celebrate their completion of the lab.

A unique component to the Front Porch Film Lab will be a guided Intro to Financial Literacy for Film masterclass running alongside the filmmaker lab which will be held for those in the local community interested in potentially investing in film. This invite-only course will feature a guest speaker from the Sundance Institute’s Catalyst film financing program and those who attend will be invited to the final pitch event and reception, having the opportunity to meet and connect with the Front Porch Film Fellows.

The syllabus and schedule will be developed in collaboration with 502 Film, the Lab Consultant and each of the selected mentors in order to create a cohesive, thoughtful program experience for the Fellows that includes social bonding moments and cultural outings to enjoy all that Louisville has to offer.

Applicant Eligibility

  • Filmmaker teams must consist of a director and producer (2 filmmakers maximum)

  • Filmmakers must be residents of Louisville (included counties: Jefferson, Oldham, Spencer, Bullitt and Shelby)

  • Filmmakers from Eastern Kentucky may request a nomination by contacting Appalshop. Applicants must be residents of the counties indicated in this map.

  • Must have a narrative script (30 page maximum)

  • Must be at least 18 years of age by the time of the Lab

  • Selected teams must be physically present in Louisville for the duration of the Lab, October 12-24, 2025

Selection Process

Applications will be accepted here through June 30th. All projects will then be reviewed by a committee of film industry organizations and professionals.

  • Between 15-20 shortlisted film teams will be interviewed to create the list of finalists

  • 6-10 projects will be selected to participate in the Lab

  • Filmmakers will be selected based on their proposed work, artistic vision, and career goals

  • Housing will be provided as well as a stipend of $1500 per team.

TIMELINE

  • May 14 – June 30: Application Open

  • June 30: Application Deadline

  • July 1 –  31: Application Review Period

  • End of July  – Projects Selected and Notified

  • October 12 – Fellows arrive - Group Dinner!

  • October 13 – October 24: 502 Film Front Porch Film Lab

Metrics of Success & Program Evaluation

Surveys will be distributed to the Fellows and Mentors at the end of the Lab and will collect both quantitative and qualitative data about the Fellows’ experience in the Lab. 502 Film will also track the careers of the Fellows over time to measure the successes of the projects they took through the Front Porch Film Lab specifically and other film and television projects they create as their careers progress.