FilmFour Lab was launched in 1999 to be at the heart of FilmFour's commitment to new and emergent talent. The Lab aims to find, nurture and support the newest and most striking creative visions of tomorrow's cinema, launching the careers of filmmakers who want to make distinctive films that enhance the choice offered to British and international cinema audiences. Feature productions to date include Joel Hopkins' BAFTA Award winning 'Jump Tomorrow', Dom Rotheroe's BIFA Award winning 'My Brother Tom' and Andrew Kotting's 'This Filthy Earth'. Currently in post-production are 'The Principles of Lust', the debut feature of acclaimed documentary writer and director Penny Woolcock, and Simon Pummell's 'Bodysong', a groundbreaking cross-media project, which celebrates the story of the human life cycle though an orchestration of images cut to a powerful music track created by Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead.

Short films are the other essential part of the Lab's role in FilmFour. Shorts are still crucial as a platform for new directors and writers to express their own vision on screen, something which is increasingly difficult in television drama. They provide an arena for people to develop their skills and be noticed in the industry. Shane Meadows, Damien O'Donnell, and Lynne Ramsey are just three British directors who came to prominence by making distinctive short films before they made their first feature. Joel Hopkins's Jump Tomorrow was based on his short film Jorge which won several awards at international film festivals.

The Orange FilmFour Short Film Prize was launched last year to attract a much wider range of submissions for making a short film than most short film schemes. Although in only its first year, the Prize doubled the number of entries that similar schemes have generated in the past. This range is welcome as it is in the industry's interests to be as open to new talent as possible. The winning film will be chosen interactively after the six commissioned films have been broadcast on Channel 4 and FilmFour and streamed on Channel 4.com. The winner will receive a prize of £10,000 and the chance to develop a feature with FilmFour.

In addition to its relationship with Orange, FilmFour Lab partners with the New Cinema Fund on four short film schemes including Reasons to be Cheerful and Cinema Extreme.