Dates: February 26th – March 1st, 2020 (in English)
Location: Barcelona
Deadline for applications: November 30th, 2019
Who can apply:
Screenwriters, filmmakers, producers or film professionals with a feature film project in development (including documentaries, TV series and animation, but notshort films) at treatment or step outline stage. The workshop is also open to up to 3 observers who wish to gain practical insight into the craft of consultancy and script development. Please note, however, this is not intended as methodological theory on mentoring but as a strictly observational exercise (in which observers will of course participate actively).
How it works:
The projects are discussed collectively by the group who will necessarily have had to read all the participants’ projects beforehand. We have an established framework in which we systematically cover the chief components of the project: theme, genre, characters, plot, structure and, if relevant, dialogue. However, we believe creativity generates creativity and always work with an open play-it-by-ear approach.
Work programme:
During the 5-day workshop we will be working 6 to 7 hours daily (with possibly a half-day break in the middle for some free processing time). Although there will be five projects participating, we will not be spending a day per project but rather discussing each project every day from different angles (using the above-mentioned components as guidelines). This creates a dynamic build-up process allowing participants to rethink and revisit their projects every day from a new perspective.
Dates and venue:
The workshop takes place in BARCELONA,
FEBRUARY 26TH – MARCH 1ST, 2020
Please send your applications or any questions (but please read the guidelines thoroughly before) to miguel.machalski6@gmail.com.
In order to apply, you must send (the working language will be English, so all documents must be duly translated):
– a synopsis (max 500 words)
– a treatment or step outline (max 5,000 words)
– a letter of intent
– participants’ CV (maximum: 3 participants per project)
(If there is already a script, do not sendit for the selection process. It will be requested subsequently if the project is selected).
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: November 30th, 2019
FINAL SELECTION BY DECEMBER 10TH,2019.
ONCE SELECTED, FULL PAYMENT MUST BE SETTLED BY JANUARY 15TH, 2020.
Fees:
Writers: 1,200 EUR (per project NOT per participant– i.e. if there is more than 1 person involved in a project, the fee is the same – and for tuition ONLY.
Other expenses (travel, accommodation & meals) are not included.
A 10% DISCOUNT IS OFFERED for fees settled before December 20th.
Observers: 600 EUR (includes a follow-up debriefing session).
A 10% DISCOUNT IS OFFERED for fees settled before December 20th.
(Partial or total funding is possible depending on your country’s Film Fund policy. Invoices can be provided on demand.)
Comments from previous participants
“Although we had been developing our script for quite some time now, Miguel managed to give me a fresh perspective on the whole story and placed me right at the heart of the most important decisions about character and plot… Very, very insightful!” Philip Delmaar, Writer & Script Coach, The Netherlands
“Miguel is gifted to create a safe atmosphere, an unusual intimate comfort zone where you take off your project’s clothes and go through it really deeply, to remote corners that you would never have been able to explore by yourself. I really appreciated the commitment and respect that he is able to build in his workshop in which you are invited to dive into other participants’ projects as deeply as in yours. Warning: once you’ve been there, it will be hard to appreciate any other kind of workshop methodology.” Pilar Justicia, Writer & Journalist, Spain
“Slipping into the skin of your main character at whom Miguel and the other participants are firing questions at unlocks aspects you have not explored before. Miguel‘s synthetic approach to plot allows you to address the current cornerstones of the project, and to open up the project for the upcoming writing”. Thierry Besseling, Writer & Filmmaker, Luxembourg
About Miguel Machalski:
Born in Buenos Aires of a Polish father and a British mother, based in Paris for many years and currently living in Barcelona, with a multicultural, multilingual background, MIGUEL MACHALSKI has been working since 1995 as a scriptwriter and development and creative consultant on projects from all parts of the world, running scriptwriting workshops and individual consultancies in Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa and specializing in what is sometimes labelled as World Cinema, though his track record as a script analyst also includes major studio films and works from prominent filmmakers such as Clint Eastwood and David Cronenberg. He has published three books on screenwriting and has acted as an adviser on several programmes supported by Creative Europe, the main one currently being Sources2 (previously also with EAVE, LIM, MAIA, NIPKOW and the Binger Lab in Amsterdam).
For more complete information, please consult:
www.miguel-machalski.com and his IMDB page.