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MIDPOINT Shorts 2023-2024

Shorts
Previous Edition

Take your short-film idea and make it a reality.

Program Structure

Comprehensive project-development program for short-film projects

  • Online Feedback Session
    August 16 - 18, 2023 | Online

    From all applications, the reading committee will select approximately 20 projects, whose creative teams will receive a detailed online assessment from two experienced professionals (script consultant and producer) during the online feedback session.

  • Online Ideas Incubator
    August 30 - September 1, 2023 | Online

    Based on assessments from the online feedback session, approximately 10 projects will be selected into the Ideas Incubator, a 3-day consultation online workshop focused on further script and project development of your project.
    After this incubator, the final 4-5 projects will be selected for the MIDPOINT Shorts program (two residential workshops).

  • Workshop 1: Script Development & Project Packaging
    October 16 – 22, 2023 | Brno, Czech Republic / in collaboration with International Short Film Festival BRNO16

    This workshop focuses primarily on creative development and dramaturgy. Participants also begin to work on promotional materials and production strategies with the Producer Tutor. They also meet Guest Tutors from the short-film industry through special lectures and inspiring masterclasses. The workshop is organized within the framework of ISFF BRNO16, offering short film screenings and networking opportunities.

    Lectures
    The Do’s and Dont’s of Co-Production
    Dora Nedeczky
    Wednesday, October 18, 14:15 | Brno, Czech Republic

    After long years of backbreaking work, you’re finally ready to spread out and look for partners for your film in development. Now what? Tallinn-based Hungarian producer Dora Nedeczky’s lecture on co-production from the filmmakers’ perspective will equip you with the essential toolkit you need for navigating the film industry and to choose the most fitting path for your film project. She’ll lend you her knowledge via practical info: from positioning your film on the market to setting realistic expectations. Expect a deep dive into maintaining healthy producer-director relationships but also examining out-of-the-box, hands-on ideas and advice on how to streamline the process and benefit from it.

    I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face: Screening & Masterclass with Sameh Alaa
    Sameh Alaa
    Wednesday, October 18, 16:15 | Brno, Czech Republic / in collaboration with International Short Film Festival BRNO16

    After being separated for 82 days, Adam travels down a rough road to be reunited with the one he loves, whatever it takes.

    Screening of a short film I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face awarded by Palme d´Or at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival (and many other awards). The screening will be followed by a masterclass with its director Sameh Alaa, moderated by Pavel Marek.

    From Shorts To Feature
    Pavel Marek
    Thursday, October 19, 10:00 | Brno, Czech Republic / in collaboration with International Short Film Festival BRNO16

    Many prominent filmmakers began their careers making short films. The works of these creators often reveal a spontaneous arsenal of formal devices, foreshadowing style and thematic focus. The transition to feature-length films then demonstrates the process of combining a unique vision of the world with conceptual dramatic thinking. In this lecture by Pavel Marek, we will watch several short films and reflect on the filmmakers‘ “signature style”. The affectivity of style and its synergy with dramatic structure can also be an inspiring topic for a discussion about the differences in strategies in the creation of short and feature films.

    All You Need To Know About Co-production Markets
    Alessandro Gropplero
    Friday, October 20, 10:00 | Brno, Czech Republic / in collaboration with International Short Film Festival BRNO16

    All around the year and all over the world, there are hundreds of opportunities to present your project and find new financial and creative partners. It doesn't matter if you are developing a short or a feature, a documentary or a live-action, it is essential to plan your strategy and carefully combine all the possible ingredients to introduce your ideas at their best in the international marketplace.

    Financing Case Study: ASTERIÓN
    Veronika Kuhrova
    Friday, October 20, 12:30 | Brno, Czech Republic

    International coproduction is not privileged for feature films only. Shorts are as challenging. What does it take to produce and distribute a film, that returns to the beginning of the cinema? Andalusian Dog’s brother Asterión was an underdog that turned to a diamond of the Czech cinema. 

  • Online Consultations
    December 2023 | Online
  • Workshop 2: Industry Insights & Project Showcase
    January 18-24, 2024 | Trieste, Italy / in collaboration with When East Meets West and Trieste Film Festival

    This workshop serves as a platform to develop scripts further, while also incorporating distribution strategies and addressing presentation skills and promotional materials. The entire program concludes with a project showcase within the When East Meets West Co-Production Forum, plus one-on-one meetings with important decision-makers within the industry.

     

    Lectures
    Pitch or Perish
    Stefano Tealdi
    Saturday, January 20, 14:00 CET | Miramare, Savoia Excelsior Palace

    Public and on-line presentations of new projects and professional talent have become widespread and filmmakers and producers must master the skills of verbally presenting themselves and their new proposals in brief. The plenary examines what the pitch means for the various players attending a public forum, a one-to-one meeting or an on-line pitch, what it implies at different levels and how to structure and handle it.

    Mastering the Art of Festival Networking
    Bonnie Williams
    Monday, January 22, 18:00 CET | Imperatore, Savoia Excelsior Palace

    We all acknowledge the value of creating relationships for a sustainable career in the industry, but networking, especially at international festivals, can be quite challenging for even the most talented and experienced professionals. How do you position yourself confidently, connect with ease and keep the conversation going? From introducing yourself to a stranger at the coffee bar, to cocktail pitching and presenting your project at 1:1 meetings, what do you really need to know - and do - to set yourself up for success? 

    In this dynamic interactive session we’ll look at what comes into play during different types of encounters and give tips and insights to help you start to build relationships that carry on beyond the festival. And you’ll get to try some things out for yourself right away ;-)

    Festival Strategy for Shorts in the Long Run
    Wouter Jansen
    Tuesday, January 23, 14:30 CET | Miramare, Savoia Excelsior Palace

    With plenty of film festivals out there and new ones popping up every day, it is easy to get lost trying to find the ones that suit your film (and you) best. When and where to start whilst working on your film, what festivals to screen at in the beginning and what choices should you make after having your premiere? How can you get the most out of your festival run? What are the possibilities for spreading and screening your film online? In this we will explain the best way to get your short film out into the world.

    Post-post: the afterlife of your short
    Dora Nedeczky
    Tuesday, January 23, 16:30 CET | Miramare, Savoia Excelsior Palace

    The practicalities and the personal realities of finally finishing your film. From industry programmes to social media, through all production phases, how can filmmakers best prepare for festival/sales/distribution/future-filmmaking success? And what do we do if it all goes wrong?

  • Follow-up Online Consultations
    Spring 2024 | Online

Awards

HAVC & MIDPOINT Development Award

A cash prize of 3000 EUR for the best project of MIDPOINT Shorts 2023-2024 program. The award aims to support emerging filmmakers with the financial support to further develop their creative vision and bring their short film project to life. The winner will be awarded during When East Meets West in January 2024.

Awarded project: unavailable

Projects

Gone

Jindra (40) is supposed to spend New Year’s Eve with his daughter - Bara (15). The atmosphere between them is tense. Bara blames the father for the divorce of her parents. Right after arriving at ...
Project detail

Little House

Tatjana (40) lives with her parents in the village. She spends much of her time on Pinterest, dreaming of having her own house that she can't afford. She starts her day working as a manicurist in a ...
MIDPOINT participants: Nika JurmanKatja LenarcicNika Jurman
Project detail

Second Law of Thermodynamics

Egon and Marko are two architechts hiding their relationship from everyone in their office, due to Markos position as son of the owner who’s expected to inherit the firm from his father. When Markos ...
MIDPOINT participants: Jozo SchmuchAna VidovicJozo Schmuch
Project detail

Unavailable

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, 18-year-old Serhii lives in the evacuation zone at the West of Ukraine while his mother decided to stay in their occupied hometown to take care of Serhii's ...
Project detail

Tokos

On Christmas Eve, Tomi, a trans man and Larissa, a trans woman, while preparing for dinner at Tomi’s mom start a conversation about having a baby. Thinking he might be pregnant, Larissa hopes he'll ...
MIDPOINT participants: Ary ZaraAndreia NunesAry Zara
Project detail

Participants

Tutors

Inspirational professional with a passion for sharing experience

Build on the solid foundations of traditional script analysis, MIDPOINT Shorts brings experts from the short-film industry to the service of your stories.

Head of Studies & Group Leader

Pavel Marek is a globetrotter – born in India, early childhood in the USA, now a writer and director of Czech features, shorts and docs, and professor of directing at FAMU Prague.

As Head of Studies, Pavel oversees the methodology of the program, ensures participants' needs are met, and guarantees the practical value and industry impact of the training you receive.

As Group Leader, Pavel also oversees the development of all projects from the beginning of the program through graduation.

Pavel Marek
Czech Republic  
Pavel Marek is a graduate of the Faculty of Computer Engineering, Technical University and the Directing Department at FAMU. He received a scholarship at the NFTS in the UK. During the communist era ...
Complete bio

Producer Tutor

The Producer Tutor makes sure each project develops effective promotional materials and realistic budgets and schedules.

Dora Nedeczky
Estonia  
Dora is a Hungarian producer and strategist, with a background in aesthetics and film theory/history. She's lived in ...
Complete bio

Pitching Tutor

The Pitching Tutor helps participants prepare the presentation of their projects, not only for the program's final pitching session but for any eventuality.

Stefano Tealdi
Italy  
Born in Johannesburg (South Africa) in 1955, he studies Architecture in Torino – Italy, and founds with others the ...
Complete bio

Guest Tutors

Sameh Alaa
Egypt  
Complete bio
Alessandro Gropplero
Italy  
Complete bio
Wouter Jansen
Austria  
Complete bio
Veronika Kuhrova
Czech Republic  
Complete bio
Bonnie Williams
Netherlands  
Complete bio

References

A motivational experience that elevates your project

FAQs

You may ask...

Successful Shorts

Selection of our successful alumni

FUNDERS

GENERAL PARTNERS

IN COLLABORATION WITH

Gallery