Take your short-film idea and make it a reality.
MIDPOINT Shorts 2024-2025
Shorts
Now Running
Benefits
Get closer to realisation of your creative idea
A complex program dedicated to script and project development of the short films in Europe connected vitally to the film industry. The combination of in-depth script analysis and professional project development directs projects on their path in the cinema.
For teams of writers, directors and producers
- it will bring your project to the next level and prepare for entering the industry world (from one-pager to treatment, from treatment to script, from the first draft to final one, from scratch to pitch)
- chance to get a deeper understanding of the creative aspects involved in the work, as well as insights into financing, sales, festival, and distribution strategies
- showcase at When East Meets West
- networking & meeting new industry partners
- front gate to The Focus WiP section of Cannes Court Métrage
Program Structure
Comprehensive project-development program for short-film projects
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all ParticipantsOnline Feedback SessionAugust 27 - 29, 2024 | 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.
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ALL ParticipantsWorkshop 1September 30 - October 6, 2024 | Brno, Czech Republic / in collaboration with the ISFF 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-ProductionDora Nedeczky
Wednesday, October 2, 2024, 17:00 - 18:30 CET | Brno, Czech RepublicThe puzzle pieces are finally coming together, you’re 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: finding and getting selected to the right co-production platform, positioning your film on the market and 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.
From Script to Screen: The Art of Safe Intimacy in Film and TVVirginija Vareikyte
Friday, October 4, 2024, 17:30-19:00 CET | Brno, Czech RepublicJoin Virginija Vareikyte, a certified Intimacy Coordinator from Baltic Intimacy Professionals (Lithuania), for an insightful session on crafting authentic intimacy scenes in film and TV. Learn how ICs ensure performers' boundaries are respected while staying true to the creative vision, from pre-production to post-production. Whether you're a director, actor, producer, or simply curious, discover how ICs contribute to a safe, seamless, and respectful filming experience.
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All ParticipantsOnline ConsultationsDecember 2024 | Online
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all ParticipantsWorkshop 2January 16 - 22, 2025 | 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.
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Follow-up Online ConsultationsSpring 2025 | Online
Projects
Heart in your Throat
MARINA is a thirteen year old girl who lives alone with her grandparents. On a hot August morning, her grandmother JAGODA wakes her up and gives Marina a task to look after her depressed grandfather ...
Kurkuma
Kurkuma follows Mahmood, a 31-year-old Indian immigrant in Berlin. Mahmood aspires to join Berlin's elite social circle and takes a cook-for-hire job to impress his girlfriend Lisa’s friends at a ...
Meridian
In the Greek rural village of Meridian, where lignite is worshipped as a God, Marina, despite having had surgery for cancer, keeps working at the lignite mine. Her sister, Elina is pregnant, and the ...
Pithead
Amidst an icy dreamscape, a woman braves a blizzard to seek refuge in a black metal bar, only to discover a penguin stranded in a nearby tree separated from its colony.
MIDPOINT participants:
Jules MathôtPol De Plecker Pol De Plecker Wannes Vanspauwen Wannes Vanspauwen
Siren’s Cove
A guy pulls up to a drive-thru coffee stand, expecting nothing more than his usual coffee fix. Instead, he's greeted by a sardonic and captivating barista wearing only a bikini. She welcomes him to ...
Slash
Ion, a 17-year-old teenager, is punished because of his younger brother’s actions (Nicu) and is left with a slash mark on his cheek. The parents go away for the rest of the day and leave Nicu under ...
Time, Space and Everything in Between
Before her wedding, 26-year-old Juliet feels the need for a last-minute getaway but faces solitude and anxiety about her future. To cheer her up, her older brother Alex (28) offers a road trip. ...
Unwellness
ILDIKÓ (52) is a prominent accountant whose comfort zone is numbers, where everything is precisely calculated, unlike with people, who she distances herself from. Ever since her divorce 10 years ...
Participants
Tutors
Inspirational professional with a passion for sharing
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
Group Leader
Gabriele Brunnenmeyer
Germany
GABRIELE BRUNNENMEYER is a script mentor, pitching coach, and project consultant. She ran the MEDIA Antenna ...
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
Guest Tutors
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References
A motivational experience that elevates your project
We have managed to achieve almost final version of the script in three months. All the workshops were very wisely chosen and inspiring.
Elvira Dulskaia
Writer, Director, Shorts 2020–2021 Alumna
MIDPOINT Shorts met and exceeded my expectations with great organization, thorough and dedicated involvement in our project on all the important levels, from the concept and story development all the way to the promotion, marketing and sales, enriching it and teaching us along the way.
Nikola Kupresanin
Writer, Shorts 2020–2021 Alumnus
MIDPOINT Shorts program is an amazing opportunity to take your project to the next level with skillful industry professionals.
Emilios Avraam
Writer, Director, Shorts 2020–2021 Alumnus
MIDPOINT gave us great support from the development stage to the final edit. Apart from that, it was a very pleasant personal experience.
Damian Vondrasek
Writer, Director, Shorts 2021-2022 Alumnus
I believe that this program is a giant leap forward for anyone who is serious about his short film.
Patrik Svehelka
Producer, Shorts 2021-2022 Alumnus
FAQs
You may ask...
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Can I apply with a documentary short film project?
Sadly, this program does not work with documentary projects, its focus are live-action fiction.
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Can I apply without a writer OR director OR producer in the team?
You can't. All these creative roles have to be present in your team. One person could represent more than one role (writer/director OR director/producer, etc.), or there could be two people representing one role (2x writer OR 2x producer, etc.). In any case, the team must consist of 2-3 people.
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Are there any time requirements regarding the minimum or maximum length of the short film?
The recommended length is approximately 7-25 minutes.
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Do we have to have some financing in place while applying for the workshop?
Nope!
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My English no good. Me can apply?
Sadly, no. As the entire training runs in English, and during the working days you'll be asked to write directly in English, we require an intermediate level of these language skills. This simply means: your grammar doesn't have to be perfect, but you need to talk/write fluently and have the vocabulary to do so.
Successful Shorts
Selection of our successful alumni
Ice Break
Sixteen-year-old Alex is the only girl on a boys’ ice hockey team coached by her father Michal. She is a tough player who feels little affinity for the world of women. But this all begins to change when she falls in love with one of her teammates and yearns to be seen more like a girl.
Status:
realised
MIDPOINT participants involved:
Rozalie Brozkova, Elvira Dulskaia
Developed at:
MIDPOINT Shorts
Genre:
Drama
Rites
A twelve-year-old Michal was born with a cleft lip.
He feels inadequate because of his deformed face.
His only friend Ondra convinces him to join a street gang to finally break free from a position of an outsider.
Two friends have one afternoon to show they have what it takes to pass the admission to the gang. Michal desperately wants to prove he is good enough, but the tempting adventure suddenly turns into an initiation ritual into adulthood.
Status:
realised
MIDPOINT participants involved:
Damian Vondrasek
Developed at:
MIDPOINT Shorts
Genre:
Drama
Magic Moments
Parents struggle to earn money, so sisters basically take care of each other alone.
-Why do we walk on the grass?
-So that we step into dogshit and are lucky.
Thanks to the bond they have, they might have already won over life´s shit.
Status:
realised
MIDPOINT participants involved:
Martina Buchelova, Erika Paulinska
Developed at:
MIDPOINT Intensive Early Melons 2013
Atlantis, 2003
2003, four years before Slovakia entered the Schengen Area. Martin and Denisija, a young couple from Ukraine, are trying to get illegaly to Germany through Slovakia, like many people before them. The border between Slovakia and Ukraine will be in a couple of years one of the most secured borders in Europe, but in 2003 it is still open for smugglers and for people hoping to find a new life in Western Europe. Martin and Denisija both dream about getting to Germany, a place they’ve never been to, both ready to sacrifice everything they have to reach this destination.
Status:
realised
MIDPOINT participants involved:
Michal Blasko, Jakub Brychta
Developed at:
MIDPOINT Shorts 2015
Inversion
A film about the complicated friendship of three adolescent girls, two swimming pools, and one malicious act of revenge.
Status:
realised
MIDPOINT participants involved:
Lucia Kajankova
Developed at:
MIDPOINT Shorts Dresden 2017
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