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MIDPOINT Shorts 2019-2020

Shorts
Archive

Program dedicated to short fiction films in development. It focuses primarily on creative teams from Central and Eastern Europe and the wider Mediterranean area.

Organizational information

Dates and venues

Workshop 1
September 23-28, 2019
Prague, Czech Republic

Workshop 2
January 16-22, 2020
Trieste, Italy

Who is it for?

  • teams of writers and/or directors and producers
  • projects of professional or graduation short films

Contact person

Sona Morgenthalova
Program Coordinator
sona.morgenthalova@midpoint-institute.eu

“The ideal program to explore, discover and nurture the future generation of European filmmakers.”

Alessandro Gropplero
WEMW Director

Projekty

MIDPOINT Shorts selects teams of writers, directors and producers from 4 short film projects

During the two residential workshops the participants focus on script and project development while also being able to gain deeper knowledge about other aspects of the industry.

The whole program concludes with the project showcase within the prestigious When East Meets West co-production market.

Jungle. Law

Mirjam (14) is a bold and curious girl living in a small quiet town in rural Estonia, who is fascinated by the over-sexualized Instagram stars on her phone. One summer evening she accidentally ...
MIDPOINT účastníci: Madli LaaneAnneli AhvenMadli Laane
Detail projektu

Soul Food

Yannis (15) and his mother are moving into her boyfriend’s apartment. While dealing with his mother’s indifference towards him, he stealthily starts hanging out with Olga, a socially secluded punk ...
Detail projektu

Team Building

The dog days are over! Not only did Ada spend a great night with Kuba, her high school sweetheart, but was also offered her dream job! Things take an unexpected turn during Ada’s first day in the ...
Detail projektu

Tell No One

Twenty four kids, of the same class, have created some kind of prostitution activities between themself, as it is revealed during the parents meeting. Parents face the ugly truth with difficulties, ...
Detail projektu

Účastníci

Lektori

Head of Studies

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 ...
Kompletní bio

Producer Tutor

Marija Razgute
Lithuania  
Kompletní bio

Pitching Tutor

Michaela Sabo
Slovakia  
Kompletní bio

Guest Tutors

Gyula Gazdag
United States  
Kompletní bio
Juanjo Gimenez Pena
Spain  
Kompletní bio
Alessandro Gropplero
Italy  
Kompletní bio
Bara Kopecka
 
Kompletní bio
Marcin Luczaj
Poland  
Kompletní bio
Teona Strugar Mitevska
North Macedonia  
Kompletní bio

Methodology

The 4 creative teams work in a small group under the guidance of an internationally renowned and experienced script consultant tutor.

Most of the projects that are selected are in an early stage of development either with a treatment or an early draft of the script, therefore Workshop 1 focuses mainly on creative development and structural dramaturgy. Workshop 2 serves as a platform to further advance the scripts, while it also incorporates marketing strategies into the development process and addresses the important matters connected to presentation skills and promotion. The whole program concludes with the project showcase within the prestigious When East Meets West co-production market. 

Both workshops consist of group work, plenary sessions, inspiring master-classes and case studies which offer a deeper understanding of the creative aspects involved in the work, as well as insights into financing, sales, festival and distribution strategies.

There are also one-to-one meetings with guest tutors and international experts from different areas of the audiovisual industry to help the participants develop their projects further.

Tailor-made online consultations follow every workshop according to the need of each project.

Lectures

  • Lectures
    Lectures
    Switching Hats: When the Writer Becomes Director
    Gyula Gazdag
    January 20, 2020 | Savoia Excelsior Palace / Trieste, Italy

    How to prepare for the change from the writing process to preproduction and prepare effectively to becoming the director of one’s screenplay?

    DOs and DONT´s with Sales Agents
    Marcin Luczaj
    January 19, 2020 | Savoia Excelsior Palace / Trieste, Italy

    his plenary will address issues of working with sales agent. New Europe Film Sales is Warsaw-based directors' driven boutique sales and production company where Marcin Luczaj is responsible for acquisitions. Where and when to find a sales agent? What's the role of a sales agent in various stages of your project? How to find a right sales agent for your film? How to prepare for your premiere? DOs and DONTs in working with sales agents, festival strategies, marketing and pitches at parties.

    From Script to Film: Visual Construction of a Film
    Teona Strugar Mitevska
    January 19, 2020 | Savoia Excelsior Palace / Trieste, Italy

    In the first part of the lecture I plan to start from a scene within the script and take you step by step through the process until the final realization. We’ll work on the actual scene from my last feature film God exists, her name is Petrunya. In the second part of the lecture I’ll speak of the importance of the location and its treatment as a core element of bringing the context to the story.

    Make Your Pitch Custom-made
    Michaela Sabo
    January 17, 2020 | Savoia Excelsior Palace / Trieste, Italy

    Whenever you do something from the bottom of your heart all the great energy you put in reflects in a form of an excellent result. There are no general rules that define a great pitch. The only rule is to know your story well and be able to have your heart present while pitching it. During her lecture, Michaela Sabo will guide the audience to find their strengths and weaknesses and make an advantage of both of them, to create a custom made pitch. And last but not least, Michaela will give useful tips on how to overcome jitters, how to stay focused, how to find the core elements of the story and how to transfer it to the pitch audience.

    Storyboarding
    Bara Kopecka
    September 27, 2019 | DAMU - Boardroom

    Storyboarding is the main tool of film language. The shot size creates emotion, the camera angle defines the perspective of a story, the order of shots develops the meaning. We will be watching relevant examples to see how to break scenes into individual shots to control their outcome.

    Master Class: Timecode
    Juanjo Gimenez Pena
    September 26, 2019 | FAMU - Screening Room

    Things seen and heard during the development, pre-production, shooting, post-production, distribution and extinction of a short film.

    Packaging a Short Film: Materials!
    Marija Razgute
    September 26, 2019 | DAMU - Boardroom

    Before a short film is ready for the screen the usual way of communicating it to the talents, partners or funds is providing them with your package of materials – treatment or script, logline, synopsis, intentions, budget, financing plan, distribution strategy and etc. How do I stay consistent with each of the documents? How do I deliver what’s promised? How do I promise what is deliverable? Producing in the framework of the shared leadership.

    Breaking Down a Short Film Project
    Marija Razgute
    September 25, 2019 | DAMU - Boardroom

    Breaking down your script is a common procedure for scheduling the shoot. Breaking down the whole project at an early stage of development – is not. What does it stand for? What is the right timing for this? How do I benefit from that? Understanding the shared leadership through film development.

    A Short Journey Through Co-Production Markets
    Alessandro Gropplero
    September 25, 2019 | DAMU - Boardroom

    All around the year and all over the world there are hundreds of opportunities to pitch your film and find new financial and creative partners. No matter if it is a short or a feature or a documentary, it is always essential to plan in advance your strategy and combine carefully all the ingredients you can use to best introduce your project to the rest of the film industry.

    Film Language in Short Films
    Pavel Marek
    September 24, 2019 | DAMU - Boardroom

    Film language enables the viewers to engage with a film work on emotional, rational and subconscious levels. During the screenwriting process, film language is inseparable from the script. It is useful that a screenwriter envisions their film on the screen. Often the visual and sound components are the key ingredients that make films original works of art. As early as the discussing of the scripts we will look for parallels, use the principle of analogy and analyse the final version, which will have been solely in the minds of the authors at that time.
    We will discuss the principles of the film language, the script-film relationship and watch and analyse clips.

    Introduction to Practical Script Analysis
    Pavel Marek
    September 24, 2019 | DAMU - Boardroom

    There are many different ways of script consulting. Each script consultant gradually creates and starts using their own method, which is based on their experience. They are not methods in the real sense of the word – there is no modus operandi that can be simply passed on. It is necessary to look for an optimum meta-language, which the script consultant will use to communicate with the scriptwriter. It is always unique as each author has a different mental morphology and a different way of conceptualising both filmmaking and the world. The script consultant has to tailor their expression accordingly. I believe that despite all differences everyone will have a common aim, a certain horizon, limit, which will refer to the historically tested principles that will be formed authentically by the scriptwriter through their own reflection of the world and themselves as its part.
    At the same time, there are codified dramatic principles – a more rational part of scriptwriting. We will initiate a debate concerning this topic, which should help us to understand the stances of the other participants and to clarify and refine terminology.

Funders

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