MIDPOINT is already well known for two of its successful programmes, Feature Launch – the winners of which were announced recently at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (see the news) – and TV Launch. Nevertheless, the training and networking platform for script and project development firmly believes that fresh film talents can be nurtured from the very beginning, and for that reason, the MIDPOINT Shorts programme is being reshaped and is on the lookout for new participants.

This special script- and project-development programme is dedicated to short films, which can be either graduation or professional projects, and is intended for creative teams of writers and/or directors and producers from Central and Eastern Europe as well as the wider Mediterranean area.

Four teams will be selected to develop their short-film projects, and this will happen during two week-long residential workshops, where, apart from script and project development, the future participants will also be given an initial overview of the film industry as they gain deeper knowledge about the financing, production and promotional aspects of their projects.

The first workshop will be held from 23-28 September in Prague, Czech Republic, and focuses mainly on creative development and structural dramaturgy. The second workshop, which serves as a platform to further advance the scripts while also incorporating marketing strategies into the development process, will be hosted in Trieste in January 2020; here, the projects will also be showcased at the prestigious When East Meets West (WEMW) co-production market. This is a brand-new platform which, apart from offering the projects a healthy level of exposure, also aims to get them involved in further networking activities in a location where Eastern and Western Europe meet.

Alessandro Gropplero, head of WEMW, stated: “MIDPOINT Shorts is the ideal programme to explore, discover and nurture the future generation of European filmmakers. We are very happy to be strengthening the cooperation between WEMW and MIDPOINT so as to offer these up-and-coming talents a platform where they can enjoy direct access to the key players in the international film industry for the very first time.”

The deadline to apply with short-film projects is 26 July 2019, and the application form can be found here.