For the second day in a row, consultant Maggie Soboil conducted her Acting in 3-D workshop for all the participants, in groups of four. After meeting with them throughout the week to find a pivotal scene in each of their scripts, Maggie works this scene with each screenwriter using actors and fellow screenwriters to improvise the scenes to get to the emotional truth of the characters. This workshop gives writers the rare opportunity to become their characters, thereby giving them a deeper understanding of their character’s motivations and point of view. A safe and nurturing atmosphere allows writers to risk and explore their characters freely. To see Maggie talking about her experience at Plume & Pellicule, check out following webcast (see left).

It’s hard to believe that P&P ’12 is already at the midway point but today’s group meeting, always held at the middle of the screenwriting lab, makes it hard to ignore. Participants and consultants met with the organizational team to share any thoughts, questions or feedback that anyone had about the lab thus far.  The richness of the encounters, the quality of the consultations, and the warmth of the organizers were common threads running through the discussion, as was the metaphor of family. With his usual humor, one of our consultants Carl Gottlieb, screenwriter for Jaws, The Jerk, sums it up nicely (see video) with his version of the family metaphor and of the unique experience of Plume & Pellicule that sets it apart from other screenwriting labs.

After a full day of screenings, (see program in French [link cinephile]), the film screened this evening was directed by one of our very own consultants, Benoȋt Pilon. The film, “Ce qu’il faut pour vivre” (The Necessities of Life), in the running for the Oscar for foreign film, ironically the same year as yesterday’s film, Departures, depicts the Inuit’s plight in the 1950’s when many contracted tuberculosis and were sent far away from their northern homelands, to sanatoriums “down south” in Quebec. Pilon’s poignant film follows one Inuit man, Tiivii and his struggle not only with the horrible disease but with trying to adapt to a language, a culture and an environment so completely different from his own.

It was a big day for events in the town of Sierre today. Of course the writers, with their demanding schedule of consultations, were still busy at work in the castle, a cocoon of creative stimulation. But for the townspeople, the morning started off with the “Café Ciné” , a public Q&A with Marie Fugain. Marie is a French actress who wrote a book about the difficulty she experienced, as an older sibling, in the mourning process of her younger sister, who died of leukemia. The coffee house was packed, standing room only, as was the book signing that took place later in the day.

The afternoon screening paid tribute to director Yvon Marciano, a French director and also a DreamAgo member who died earlier this year in the presence of his producer and script supervisor, Chloé Perlemuter. The evening’s screening included Loïc Nicoloff’s short (“Le second seuil”, The Second Threshold) a humorous look at the afterlife, and the main event, was the Oscar winning Japanese film, “Departures” in the presence of screenwriter Kundô Koyama. This film offers a tender view of the unusual profession of “encoffinment”, a ritualized preparation of the deceased. A taboo subject in Japan, this movie gives honor back to a profession that has been, in modern times, considered impure, and has encouraged a return of the Japanese people to their traditions and roots, as this ceremony has increased in popularity since the release of this film.

To round out the evening there was a screening at 10 pm of “Nightmare before Christmas”  in the presence of Olivier Constantin, the actor who dubbed the voice of Mr Jack, the leading character, for the French version. In order to benefit from Constatin’s talents, DreamAgo, who usually only screens films in their original version, screen Tim Burton’s iconic film in French so that everyone could understand the enormous involved in dubbing. Olivier, a talented singer and actor was on hand to answer audience questions.

Plume & Pellicule is back for its eighth year and its 2012 edition! Today was “arrival day” as participants and consultants from all over the world, sixteen nationalities in all, made their way to Sierre, a Swiss town nestled in the snow capped Alps. At La Grotte, a breathtakingly situated restaurant, overlooking the banks of the Lac de Geronde, the Plume & Pellicule team, led by its President, Pascale Rey, greeted the first batch of the staggered arrivals that continued all day and into the evening. During the evening’s welcome cocktail, participants got a chance to get acquainted while accompanied by the jazzy tunes of piano player, Urbain Salamin and the wine tasting led by Dominique Fornage.DreamAgo’s unique screenwriting lab, the “Plume” (or quill) aspect of Plume & Pellicule, takes place at the beautiful Chateau Mercier (link) where the participants eat, sleep and breathe screenwriting. An informal atmosphere allows the maximum of spontaneous exchanges between the participants themselves, as well as with consultants and guests, over sumptuous meals by resident chef, Antonio Guerra. The actual start of the workshop will begin tomorrow where consultations will take place all day and the screenings, the “Pellicule” (or film) will debut in the evening. Every evening and some afternoons thereafter, screenings will be held for the town, free of cost, with a Q&A at the end with the guest, a director, actor, or screenwriter, for each film.For more screening information please visit the page “Plume & Pellicule – Projections” or our sister website for the festival (French only) at www.cinephilesdreamago.com.