A professional script- and project-development program for creative teams and aspiring script consultants who believe in the importance of teamwork
MIDPOINT Feature Launch 2022
Archive
Projects
Nine promising feature film projects
Participating projects are divided into 3 groups of 3, and development within each group is overseen by both a group leader and a script-consultant trainee.
A Flower is Not a Flower
Ana, an 11-year-old girl is abandoned by her parents in a Romanian orphanage for “irrecoverable” children. In this communist institution, children are treated like stacks of meat. Against the ...
Youth Eternal
A group of millennials are in an orgiastic, psychedelic music festival that takes place between the two waves of pandemic. Meanwhile their close friends Ieva and Alex have just stepped into ...
Dolphin
Anna’s plan to release her brilliant debut album is fully supported by her loving boyfriend Jan, and entirely killed by her fear of sharing her music with anyone. This deadlock is Anna’s greatest ...
My Best Friend’s Baby
Damir (33) and Sara (37) have found a home in each other and Stockholm’s queer community. Damir floats between nightclubs and still hasn’t come out to his family in Croatia. Sara, single and ...
My name is Lily
Lily is a Belgian living in Cyprus with a successful managerial career but a very difficult personal life. Born intersex, she still suffers the physical and emotional consequences of a forced ...
Side by Side
Four young millennials living their dynamic urban lives find themselves in a strangely magical forest without any technologies. Unbalanced Sebastian, his success-driven girlfriend Andrea, ...
Twentyseven
David and his three best friends from high school promised themselves that their friendship would last forever. After Hana gets married, Bažo moves abroad and Maja falls in love with an adventurous ...
The First Week of August
Ivana and Zoran Ler are a dysfunctional upper-middle class married couple raising their ten-year-old son David. On their way to summer vacation, David gets lost at a ferry port, prompting an ...
You Better BE
Boggie (28) and his mom Tanya (55) live in distant towns and meet every few months. Their relationship seems great but is built on many lies. Having grown up in a small Bulgarian conservative town, ...
Participants
The next generation of European film professionals
Script Consultant Trainees
Tutors
Inspirational professionals with a passion for sharing their experience
To ensure the most comprehensive approach to training, Feature Launch works with established and respected names from all over the European industry.
Producer Mentor
Danijel Hocevar
Slovenia
Film producer and CEO of Vertigo, a Ljubljana (Slovenia)-based production company with a distinctive track record and extensive working experience on international co-productions incl. the ...
Complete bio
Group Leaders
The Group Leaders oversee the development of projects in their group from the very beginning of the of the program through graduation. They also coach the script-consultant trainee trainee assigned to their group.
Pavel Jech
Czech Republic
Pavel Jech co-founded MIDPOINT in 2010 and has been active ever since as a group leader and speaker in its various ...
Complete bio
Pavel Marek
Czech Republic
Pavel Marek is a graduate of the Faculty of Computer Engineering, Technical University and the Directing Department at ...
Complete bio
Ivo Trajkov
Czech Republic / North Macedonia
Ivo Trajkov is a director, producer, film editor, screenwriter and story editor. He was born in Skopje, Macedonia and ...
Complete bio
Script-consultant Trainee Mentor
The Script-consultant Trainee Mentor co-creates the training for the script-consultant trainees, ensuring that this training is implemented organically into the group work and that the collaborative set-up simulates a real-life industry environment. He meets regularly with the trainees, providing feedback and support.
Gyula Gazdag
United States
Gyula Gazdag is a director of film, theatre, and television productions. He has served as the Artistic Director of the Sundance Director‘s Lab since 1997. He was a creative advisor at the Binger ...
Complete bio
Pitching Tutor
The Pitching Tutor prepares participants to present themselves and their projects, in general and for the final pitching session of the program.
Guest Tutors
These established professionals are usually present at at least one of the workshops to share their expertise.
Awards
KVIFF & MIDPOINT Development Award
A joint financial award of MIDPOINT and the Karlovy Vary IFF of 10,000 EUR for the best project of the Feature Launch 2022 program underlines the aim of the program itself – help emerging talents from Central and Eastern Europe to develop their film projects.
Awarded project: My Best Friend´s Baby
connecting cottbus Award
A selected project from MIDPOINT Feature Launch will be given the opportunity to present itself during the pitching event within the connecting cottbus co-production market. Participation will include individual consultations from international film professionals and one-on-one meetings with potential partners.
Awarded project: Dolphin
Rotterdam Lab Award
One producer will be handpicked to participate in the professional training program for producers, Rotterdam Lab, which takes place during the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Awarded producer: Magdalena Sztorc
Structure
Comprehensive program combining various formats
The nine creative teams, split into three groups, work under the guidance of internationally renowned and experienced tutors and in close collaboration with script-consultant trainees, who are involved in all parts of the program.
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Script-consultant TraineesPreparatory SeminarMarch 10-11, 2022 | Prague, Czech Republic
Script-consultant trainees are briefed and given some introductory training by their mentor. The aim is to become acquainted with the mentor, the group leaders and the projects, and to learn the fundamentals of script consultancy.
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All participantsWorkshop 1March 11-17, 2022 | Prague, Czech RepublicTEAMS WITH PROJECTS
This workshop focuses primarily on creative development and dramaturgy while also introducing greater knowledge about other aspects of the industry, such as financing and market positioning.
Tailor-made online consultations follow the workshop according to the needs of each project.
SCRIPT-CONSULTANT TRAINEESThe trainees are trained by both their mentor, who supervises their entire learning process, and Feature Launch tutors, who help them understand the different approaches and strategies they use while developing feature-film projects. Each trainee is assigned to one of the three groups, and works closely with their mentor and the participants on the development of their scripts. Trainees also meet regularly with their mentor to review their learning progress.
Through this process, the trainees are acquainted with the script and development aspects of developing a film project, enhance their communication skills during the creative process and, most important, learn how to give constructive feedback to the creative teams to help them move forward in their development.
Lectures
Project Development – A View of the ProducerDanijel Hocevar
March 13, 4:30 p.m. | Prague, Czech RepublicWhat is the (right) role of the producer during project development? How to discuss the creative and other aspects of the project with your writer and director? How to convey a common vision of the future film and how to develop the same creative idea and avoid possible different views, approaches and sometimes even disagreements?
These are just a few questions each producer is addressing when developing the main idea of the project together with the director (and writer) during the development, usually the most creative process for the whole creative team. Part of the lecture will also be dedicated to the main characteristics of the development financing from the European perspective.
Masterclass with Olmo Omerzu and Jiri KonecnyJiri Konecny, Olmo Omerzu
March 15, 4:30 p.m. | Prague, Czech RepublicSlovenian director Olmo Omerzu, based in Prague, and Czech producer Jiri Konecny will talk about their long-term collaboration which started already on Omerzu's 2012 student film A Night Too Young, and continued not only throughout his next features (Family Film, Winter Flies, Bird Atlas), but also on his short (The Last Day of Patriarchy). How are mutual decisions made, what challenges does the director-producer relationship stand against and how long-term trust is built - will be discussed on specific examples of their film careers.
Moderated by Katarina Tomkova.
Gift Service: How to “Sell” a Film ProjectKatarina Tomkova
March 16, 4:30 p.m. | Prague, Czech RepublicWhat written materials do we need on the long route of producing a film, who should be preparing them, and in which phase of the film's creation do we use them? Addressing all the do's and don'ts in a film package, Katarina's lecture will prepare the creative teams for the presentation and positioning of their project in an international context.
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All participantsWorkshop 2May 3-6, 2022 | Online
Online individual consultations, group work, lectures focused on script/treatment development (writing a new step outline or other assignments given by group leaders with respect to the project), financing plan, production financing plan. Individual consultations serve the purpose of the tutors to consult every project individually in the interim process between the workshops, giving their feedback and notes. The group work enables to incorporate feedbacks also from the fellow participants.
Lectures
How to Pitch Your Film - 6 Questions for the PitchGabriele Brunnenmeyer
May 6, 2022, 2:00 p.m. | onlineTo pitch your project means to know everything about your project, to be aware of its strengths as well as of its weaknesses. The lecture will introduce in the essential elements of a pitch and underline the possibilities to include your specific vision in the presentation. A focus will be put on the elements that help writers, directors and producers to analyze the status quo of the project and to find a language to promote your current story to decision makers.
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All participantsWorkshop 3June 30 - July 7, 2022 | Prague and Karlovy Vary, Czech RepublicTEAMS WITH PROJECTS
This workshop serves as a platform to further advance the scripts, while also incorporating marketing and sales strategies into the development process. It also includes intensive and critical training about how to present and promote projects, including the basics of business development and sustainability. This workshop is immediately followed by the Works in development - Feature Launch project showcase at the Karlovy Vary IFF, where all ninevselected projects are presented to an audience of industry decision makers, including funders, sales agents, producers and festival programmers. One-on-one meetings and further networking follow the presentations.
The program's awards are handed out at this event.
SCRIPT-CONSULTANT TRAINEESThe trainees continue to observe the various stages of the development of the projects, through the final presentation at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. They are present at the pitching training and rehearsals and also prepare their own presentations, as they'll pitch themselves as industry professionals during the KVIFF pitching forum.
Networking opportunities at the event may help them in their future careers.
LecturesProduction Sustainability & Climate ContentJuly 4, 17:00 – 18:00 CET | KVIFF.TV Park, Karlovy Vary, Czech RepublicThe Earth is our only location – so what are the best filmmaking practices in order to protect our planet? The film industry has a unique power to set trends, motivate and positively influence mainstream audiences towards more sustainable behaviour. This unique potential should be used to its fullest given the current climate crisis. This seminar, created in cooperation between the Audiovisual Producers' Association, MIDPOINT Institute and TV Nova, will offer both “Sustainability in Cinema 101” as well as best practices on how to approach the topic already at the development stage.
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All participantsWorkshop 4November 22-25, 2022 | online
Individual consultations, group works, master classes, lectures focused on marketing and distribution strategies including new formats (new opportunities for cross-media promotion and distribution particularly exploring the options of digital and social platforms), introduction to the company development training, individual consultations with script consultants and producer tutor.
Lectures
Marketing Is Your Friend: An Introduction to Film MarketingChristina Pelekani
Monday, November 21, 15:00 CET | OnlineFor filmmakers, marketing is probably the last thing that they want to consider. Not anymore. Nowadays, filmmakers are responsible for the marketing, sales and distribution of their project.
The lecture will focus on the 3 valuable C’s, which in marketing terminology stand for Consumer, Convenience and Communication. There will be presented the “secret weapons” of marketing – positioning, benchmarks, strengths & challenges, definition of target audience; distribution models, film marketing in the digital age, plus useful tips for creating the best possible promotional materials in order to stand out from the clutter, will be also part of the presentation.
One of the lecture’s objectives is to help the producers think both like a film business investor (B2B) and a fan (B2C).
The goal of the plenary is to point out to the producers that marketing is truly their friend.
How to Distribute Your Film In the Digital AgeWilliam Page
Thursday, November 24, 10:00 a.m. CET | OnlineThis session will help you to understand the nuts and bolts of distributing your film in the digital age. We will look at the entire distribution process and provide tips and suggestions on how to manage the release of your film to get both maximum exposure and for your film to be seen by as many people as is possible.
European Film Financing SourcesDanijel Hocevar
Thursday, November 24, 11:45 a.m. CET | OnlineThe plenary lecture of Danijel Hocevar will explore the main characteristics and different possible financing sources for film and audiovisual production, available in Europe today, from public support to market sources and from fiscal / tax incentives to private equity.
How to be an Effective Script AnalystChristian Routh
Thursday, November 24, 11:45 a.m. CET | OnlineThis talk will offer some tips about how to work effectively as a script analyst. It will cover subjects such as writing concise script reports for employers and preparing notes for discussion with screenwriters and their associates. Time will also be given to the role of analysts in the development process, and how to approach script meetings.
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ProducersCompany Time21 - 26 January 2023 | Trieste, Italy
This follow-up workshop offers participating producers support in the areas of company sustainability and strategic business planning. This training is designed and co-organized with our partner EAVE.
The workshop is led by Juliane Schulze, a strategic creative economy expert in business, finance, investment and sustainability, who advises European and international audiovisual companies as well as funding institutions and business agencies. Over four days, participants will sharpen their competitive advantage and enhance the viability of their businesses. Feedback rounds and individual mentoring sessions will offer direct support to tackle challenges they are facing as film professionals in an ever-changing marketplace.
In addition, this workshop is run in collaboration with the Trieste FF and within the frame of When East Meets West, which brings participants further networking opportunities through its industry program.
Successful films
Selection of our successful alumni
Erasing Frank
1983. Frank, an angry kid from the streets with "no future". The state banned their music because their words are political. Frank escapes to a psychiatric ward where Hanna, a young enemy of the system, joins him.
Status:
realised
MIDPOINT participants involved:
Gabor Fabricius, Miklos Havas
Developed at:
MIDPOINT Feature Launch 2018
Genre:
Drama
Zana
Dark and haunting psychological drama about the collision of modern day faith healers and post-war trauma of survivors in Kosovo.
Status:
realised
MIDPOINT participants involved:
Casey Cooper Johnson, Antoneta Kastrati
Developed at:
MIDPOINT Feature Launch 2017, MIDPOINT Editing Room 2019
Genre:
Drama, mystery, thriller
Homeward
A father and a son from Crimean Tatar family transport the body of deceased older son and brother from Kyiv to bury him in Crimea.
Status:
realised
MIDPOINT participants involved:
Nariman Aliev, Marysia Nikitiuk, Vladimir Yatsenko
Developed at:
MIDPOINT Feature Launch 2018
Genre:
Drama
Inventory
Boris Robič is, as we like to say, an ordinary man. One evening he gets brutally attacked at his home. The police arrives, and open the investigation. There are no suspects, and it seems that no one could possibly be interested in shooting Boris. The police eventually suspend the investigation, convinced that the shooting was a mere coincidence. Riddled with doubt, he starts investigating on his own. While searching for the potential perpetrators, we follow a tragicomic path of a man who discovers that more people hate him than he would ever have thought possible and that the perceptions that he has of his own life are nothing but illusions.
Status:
realised
MIDPOINT participants involved:
Vlado Bulajic, Darko Sinko
Developed at:
MIDPOINT Feature Launch 2017
Genre:
Drama
History of Love
Seventeen-year-old Iva is in the process of coming to terms with the death of her mother. Influenced by this deep personal loss and by the discovery that she didn’t know everything about her mom, the girl slowly immerses herself into a strange, almost dreamlike world far from reality.
Status:
realised
MIDPOINT participants involved:
Mitja Licen, Sonja Prosenc, Rok Secen
Developed at:
MIDPOINT Feature Launch 2015
Genre:
Drama
References
Huge motivation boost and way to move you project to the next level
I feel like participating in the program was crucial to this project, and that working with mentors and colleagues was a great privilege.
Judita Gamulin
Director, Feature Launch 2021 Alumna
It helped our team have a clearer vision of what our movie is and should be.
Šimon Holý
Director, Feature Launch 2021 Alumnus
Such dedicated group leaders, trainers and guest speakers really boost the motivation of the team and help the project evolve to the next level!
Maario Masing
Producer, Feature Launch 2021 Alumnus
An all encompassing script and project development experience. Focused, detailed and full of energy.
Greer Ellison
Writer, Feature Launch 2021 Alumnus
Contact
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