Films produced by University of New Orleans film student Kelsey Scult and alumni Ben Matheny and Lizzie Guitreau are among 26 selected by the Independent Filmmaker Project for its 2020 labs.
 
The Independent Filmmaker Project, a nonprofit founded in 1979, is the largest and oldest not-for-profit dedicated to independent film.

The IFP labs assist first-time feature filmmakers through the completion, marketing and distribution of their debut features by providing support from its staff and mentorships from leading industry members. It hosts labs dedicated to narrative, episodic and documentary film productions.

Scult, currently pursuing an MFA and Matheny, who earned a bachelor’s degree in 2011, are producers on a film titled, “Ma Belle, My Beauty.” It's a story about two recently married musicians adjusting to life in France when “their beloved ex, who abruptly disappeared from their relationship years ago, finally visits.”

Guitreau, who earned a bachelor’s degree in 2014, is a producer on a film called “Shapeless,” a story about a struggling New Orleans singer named Ivy “fighting to hide an eating disorder,” who “must face her addiction—and the monsters that come with it—or risk losing everything.”

Both films were selected for the narrative lab that will be held later this month. Because of the COVID-10 pandemic, all of the labs will be held virtually.