Vanessa Kirby’s Aluna Entertainment Sets Second Round of Initiative for Emerging Female Filmmakers

Vanessa Kirby‘s Aluna Entertainment production company has announced the return of Aluna Labs, the development program it launched last year to support emerging female filmmakers.

The second round of the initiative will take place in London and is open to female-identifying writers, directors and producers from across the U.K., who can apply with a treatment for a debut feature they wish to develop through the program.

“We created Aluna Labs to provide a tailored and nurturing environment for women aspiring to make ambitious debut features,” said Lauren Dark, who co-founded Aluna Entertainment with Kirby and her sister Juliet Kirby, who later joined the company as an executive. “This August, we are thrilled to welcome 15 new participants to enhance their narrative pitches through specialized development sessions, industry panels and professional mentorship. We spend time with each participant before the course begins to be clear on the nature of support needed for each project, and tailor the sessions to be highly specific to those needs.”

The first edition of Aluna Labs engaged creatives and executives including Molly Manning Walker (“How to Have Sex”), Rebecca Lenkiewicz (“Ida,” “She Said”), Carrie Cracknell (“Persuasion”) Stacey Gregg (“Here Before,” “Bally Walter”) Farhana Bhula (Film4’s head of creative), Teresa Moneo (head of European Studio Film at Netflix), Kristin Irving (BBC Film commissioner), Sammy Wong (Home Team), Moss Barclay (See-Saw), Rohina Cameron Perrera (Brock Media) and Helen Simmons (“Hoard”) amongst many others. 

The 2023 Lab was tailored to creatives who were established in theater and were developing their skills in narrative film. Participants on board were Nosa Eke, Sophie Ellerby, Cordelia Lynn, Rebecca Murrell, Chloe Pirrie, Stephanie Street, Abigail Thorn, Corinne Walker, Meghan Shandley, Matilda Neill, Helen Murray, Annie Jenkins, Bryher Flanders, Jess Edwards, Sylvie Briggs, Sasha Briggs, Mina Barber, Anastasiya Ador and Sofia Barclay. Variety understands that several have gone on to shoot their first shoot films and write feature lengths scripts now at pitch stage.

Aluna Entertainment is currently in production on its first feature. “Night Always Comes,” based on the 2021 novel by Willy Vlautin, stars Kirby (who also produces) alongside Jennifer Jason Leigh, Zack Gottsagen, Stephan James, Julia Fox, Eli Roth, Randall Park and Michael Kelly. Benjamin Caron directs from a script by Sarah Conradt, with shooting now underway in Portland, and Netflix having picked up the feature as per its first-looked deal with Aluna.