Transilvania International Film Festival announces the Full Moon Creative Lab, a project designed for European scriptwriters specialising in genre TV series: thriller, fantasy, and horror. The program, co-financed by the European Union, consists of creative residencies taking place in Transylvania (Romania) until 2025, during which candidates will be mentored by accomplished international professionals. The Lab aims to improve the creative process by connecting European talents across all member states and cultivating high-standards co-writing practices, with the ultimate goal of delivering first-rate, innovative and competitive European content, focused on genre series.
The selected participants will be guided in writers’ room from the rough idea of their scripts to a comprehensive bible document, including the first season outline and a breakdown of the pilot episode.
The call for projects for Full Moon Creative Lab is scheduled for early July 2023 and will be dedicated to writers from all EU member countries.
Full Moon Creative Lab has already enlisted as facilitators and mentors the award-winning screenwriter and producer Frank Spotnitz (US), pitchologist, producer and writer Agathe Berman (France), producer Eilon Ratzkovsky (Israel), scriptwriter and director Geo Doba (Romania), TV series producer Gabriela Iacob (Romania/Spain), broadcaster and producer Johnathan Young (UK), screenwriter, director and producer Anne Feinsilber (France). The list will be completed with other experts who will provide invaluable insights and support throughout the Lab.
The Lab marks the next step in developing the Full Moon Script Contest, a programme launched by Transilvania IFF in 2020. Claudia Droc, Head of International Relations for the festival explains:
„Building upon the experience of 2 editions of the Full Moon Script Contest and the Full Moon Horror & Fantasy Film Festival, we believe that there is a thriving market for genre content, particularly in the realms of thriller, fantasy and horror. There is a great demand for content that possess local elements that can resonate with audiences across borders, languages, and cultures.”
Each edition will end with a pitching session at the Transilvania International Film Festival (June 2024 and respectively June 2025), in front of influential industry professionals, including producers, broadcasters, sales agents, TV and major streaming platforms representatives, as well as one-to-one meetings, fostering opportunities for the projects to find support in the marketplace.
Founded in 2002, the Transilvania International Film Festival is the first and largest international film festival in Romania and one of the most important film events in the region, with over 100,000 participants at each edition. The festival takes place every year in the heart of Transylvania, in Cluj-Napoca, a modern city with a rich history.
***
Transilvania International Film Festival is organized by the Association for the Promotion of Romanian Cinema and the Association Transilvania Film Festival.