1st Edition Regulations

Romanian Film Promotion and the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) invites European screenwriters to submit their horror, thriller & fantasy series or mini-series ideas to be developed in a Writers’ room, for the first edition of the Full Moon Creative Lab.

Deadline for entries: September 15, 2023, 3PM CEST.

ABOUT

Full Moon Creative Lab is a program initiated by Romanian Film Promotion and theTransilvania International Film Festival, with the support of Creative Europe MEDIA, with the scope of fostering European talents, empowering writers to deliver the best possible genre stories (thriller, fantasy & horror) that can travel across borders and gather large and diverse audiences. 

Full Moon Creative Lab will take the form of three Writers' rooms, aimed at bringing together European scriptwriters with an interest in genre films and selected upon a call for applications. 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.

STRUCTURE

This programme is specifically designed to help creators sharpen their series co-writing abilities, in a European context.

The 10 to 12 writers selected for the Lab will be split into 3 different writers’ rooms (each consisting of 3 to 4 writers). 

The Lab will last for a total of 3 weeks, as described below. During each of these weeks, writers will be totally immersed in the creative process. Each writers’ room will have a designated facilitator, whose role is to observe and provide feedback and guidance in order to boost the creative process and ensure high productivity for the sessions.

At the end of this 3-week Lab, the expected deliverables from each writers’ room are a bible doc (5-10 pages containing Logline, Themes, World, Characters, First season outline) and a pilot breakdown.

Although writers will mostly work in their own writers’ room, cross-rooms feedback sessions will also take place, aiming at fostering creativity and co-creation practices. Writing will be punctuated by feedback and relevant mentoring with acclaimed writers, producers and showrunners. 

The program will take place physically in various inspiring locations in idyllic yet dramatic Transylvania, Romania and will consist of a 3-week residency, split according to the following estimative calendar:

• Residency #1: End of October 2023 (one week)
• Residency #2: February 2024 (one week)
• Residency #3 and final pitch: June 2024 and final pitch during the Transilvania International Film Festival (14-23 June 2024) (one week)

Each edition will end with a pitching session at the Transilvania Intl Film Festival (14-23 June 2024), in front of relevant industry players, from producers, broadcasters, sales agents, TV and major streaming platforms representatives, as well as one-to-one meetings, in order to increase opportunities for the developed projects.

One of the projects developed during the Lab will be awarded a monetary prize of 5,000 EUR, for further development and production. The Award will be announced at the Transilvania Intl Film Festival and will be decided by a Jury composed of selected broadcasters and sales agents. 

FACILITATORS & MENTORS

This immersive Writers’ room experience will be led by top industry professionals, with a proven track record of delivering high-quality fiction series, facilitating participants’ experience.

The updated list of facilitators and mentors can be found here: https://tiff.ro/en/full-moon-creative-lab 

OBJECTIVES

●   Facilitating shared experiences, across borders, for European Writing talents. This creative lab will give the opportunity for selected European talents to get together in an exceptional creative space, in an immersive experience designed especially for them.

●  Improving the creative process by bringing together talents from different European countries, cultures, languages and backgrounds, bound together by their desire to create content for genre series. 

●  Facilitating the creation of high-quality, creative, and competitive European content. The unique approach of a writers’ room, mentored by film professionals with various experiences from the field, aims at giving content creators the best chance to turn ideas into powerful series.

●  Improving professional outcomes for European content creators by connecting them with the Industry. Not only will the projects be in touch with relevant industry professionals from the mentoring stages, but projects developed in the Full Moon Creative Lab will be pitched in front of tens of relevant representatives of the industry, from potential co-producers, to buyers, during the Transilvania International Film Festival. 

WHO CAN APPLY?

The 1^st edition of Full Moon Creative Lab is open to European screenwriters interested in co-writing genre (thriller, horror, fantasy) series and mini-series with fellow screenwriters within a Writers’ room. 

A total of 10 to maximum 12 screenwriters will be selected for the first edition. Only one screenwriter can be selected per project submitted.

There will be three Writers’ rooms per edition, working in parallel, each consisting of 3 to maximum 4 screenwriters. Each of the three Writers’ rooms will have a head writer.

Eligibility Criteria

• Citizenship of one of the 27 EU member states^[1]
• Fluent in English
• All documents must be submitted only in English
• Availability to participate in person during the entire program (all three residencies as described in the Structure above). Participants who will not be able to do so will see their applications rejected.
• At least one professional experience of writing a series or mini-series script will be a plus.

HOW TO APPLY?

The application process takes place online and all materials should be presented in English. In order to submit a project proposal for a series or miniseries, it is necessary to fill out this form: APPLY HERE

Applications received by email or any other means will not be accepted. Filling out the form above is the only way of applying.

Deadline for entries: September 15, 2023, 3PM CEST.

Application is free of charge.

The application must include the following:

• Synopsis (early stages idea) & format info (how many episodes/duration/etc) for a genre series (only horror, thriller, fantasy) (maximum 4,000 characters spaces included)

• Creator’s statement (maximum 2,000 characters spaces included)

• Writing sample (minimum 5,000 characters spaces included)

• Filmography and previous works (including links)

• Updated bio (maximum 1,500 characters spaces included)

The organizers reserve the right to request additional documents in the event of a selection.

For enquiries, please contact: [email protected]

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Participants will be selected by a Jury consisting of professionals from the field. 

An online interview will also be part of the selection process.

Applying screenwriters will be announced of the selection results in early October.

The organizers cover transportation, accommodation expenses as well as meals for selected participants. Potential travel or medical insurance, changes in the travel routes or dates after the tickets are issued will be at the charge of the participant.

Application is free of charge.

Participants in the Full Moon Creative Lab will each be offered a grant of 1,500 EUR upon the completion of the program, as a support to individual creators in the framework of co-creation activities.

CONTACT

For further enquiries, drop us a line at: [email protected]

Good luck!