August has just begun and the first session of the 2020 edition of the Script 2 Film Workshops, the Mediterranean Film Institute’s (MFI) development program for films, documentaries and TV series, has just ended. Given the difficulties caused by Covid-19 in organizing international travels for participants from all over Europe and abroad, and in making them work together in closed environments, for the first time the initiative took place in a hybrid formula.
Part of the activities that usually happen on the Greek island of Nisyros were transferred online, making it easier for all those screenwriters, directors and producers who were unable to travel to the island, not only to interact with the creative teams and to work with tutors and trainers, but also to enjoy at a distance the many learning activities.
A Hybrid “Female Edition”
For MFI this is a transition edition that responds to the complications posed by the pandemic with the desire not to skip a year, which is precious time for many projects in development. But it is also a concrete response to the lack of diversity and gender equality in the audiovisual industry that many have stressed. In fact, this year, 67% of projects have women at the helm as scriptwriters, directors and producers, as can be seen from the lineup of participants highlighted by the European Women’s Audiovisual Network.
Undoubtedly it was also an edition that, although digital in many ways, did not renounce to the quality of training, with lectures and masterclasses by directors (one name among others: Jeremy Podeswa, involved in many episodes of Game of Thrones) and consultants who covered all the most important areas of the industry: from financing to networking, from pitching to co-productions, reiterating the need to work together as a system in such a complicated moment for the audiovisual sector.
My Workshops and Public Lecture
I was glad to be invited for the fourth time to run my usual format with a double workshop and a public presentation on 29 July, entitled “Connecting Stories: From Scripts do Audiences. Two Case Studies From the 2020 MFI Script to Film Workshops”. I had the pleasure to work on the project of Pauline Lietar (director) and Jennifer Deschamps (producer) within the Doc Lab section, and that of director Tonia Mishiali, who took part in the Film Lab section with co-writers Andreas Kyriacou and Frixos Masouras.
Now that the first residency is over, two more appointments will follow completely online, while the second part of the activities are scheduled in autumn on the island of Rhodes. In the meantime, all updates are available on the MFI Facebook page, the Instagram profile and its YouTube channel, where you can watch some of the masterclasses and lectures held by trainers and consultants