In its first edition, which took place in 2018 in Salvador and Cachoeira, Bahia, Brazil, the platform received more than 650 applications from all over the country. More than 400 people took part in the activities. There were  40 hours of scheduled activities for Diáspora Lab, that involved 06 projects by black filmmakers from Brazil’s Central-West, North and Northeast regions (CONNE); 04 groups from Escola Diáspora [Diaspora School] and 03 conferences from Encontros da Diáspora [Diaspora Encounters].

This edition was possible thanks to the support of institutions such as FUNCEB (Bahia’s Cultural Foundation), EICTV (Cuba’s International School of Film and Television), IRDEB/TVE Bahia, NordesteLAB, SAPPI, Sebrae Bahia, Sebrae Goiás, Salvador’s Aliança Francesa, DIMAS (Film Executive Board of the State of Bahia), IPHAN Cachoeira, Larty Mark, Plano 3 Filmes, Leão do Norte Audiovisual, Cachoeira’s Municipal Government, UFRB (Federal University of Recôncavo da Bahia), Griot Filmes and DOCSP.