15/06/2017 - The screenwriters’ association has just opened an online platform for author-producer meetings

The Maison des Scénaristes (The House of All Authors), a non-profit association for the promotion of authors at international festivals, has just launched WeFilmGood, a web platform where selected authors can present their projects to producers online, in the form of video pitches. Since 2012, the House has had a presence in a pavilion at the Cannes Film Market, and it also officiates at the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival and the Paris Courts Devant Festival. At each of these gatherings, it organises events where the French and foreign authors whose screenplays have been selected come to meet producers from all over the world.

“The video pitch before the meeting with the authors has kind of been our trademark for the last five years. We’ve therefore transposed that to the web. WeFilmGood is the Maison des Scénaristes selection, available all year long, with one particular advantage: there are no longer any boundaries!" says Sarah Gurevick, co-founder of the Maison des Scénaristes.

In the course of one month, more than 200 producers have registered on the platform, where they will discover over 80 projects for feature films, shorts, series and webseries. If an author’s screenplay is selected, it will be uploaded and will remain online for a year. If it is not selected, the author automatically receives reasoned and constructive feedback on his or her text. On WeFilmGood, every effort is made to protect the authors and the confidentiality of their projects. "We’ve been told: it’s like you’re on a blacklist if you don’t have your screenplays online. We are proud that our first support in 2012 came from the Writer's Guild of America,” adds Nicolas Zappi, another co-founder.

The producers can visit a "pitch library" and choose the projects that interest them by using a logline or keywords. Then, for a modest sum they can watch the chosen video pitches and gain access to the authors’ contact details; they can then contact them at their leisure directly from the platform via Skype, by telephone or by email. The prices vary between a short film and a feature (it’s a little bit more expensive for a "premium" short or feature – which means it is fresh and less than three months old). It also offers a monthly or yearly subscription on a sliding scale. "The idea is to convince both the bigger and the smaller production houses. Whatever their size, they are all looking for original, high-quality projects," stresses Zappi. "Our aim is to break down the barriers and boundaries between authors and producers. A Mongolian author can hook up with an Australian producer, or a Canadian producer can get in touch with a Sudanese author. In just a few clicks, they are already able to talk and exchange views on the project."