03/04/2025 - 16 writer-directors, 2 co-writers and 4 story editor trainees from 20 different countries will participate in the initiative centred on the projects' early treatment stage

Director Anna Hints, selected with her new project Black Hairy Beast, co-directed by Tushar Prakash (© Kaupo Kikkas)

TorinoFilmLab, the development platform for emerging and established filmmakers, has unveiled the 16 projects and four story editor trainees selected for ScriptLab 2025. Organised by the Museo Nazionale del Cinema with the support of the Creative Europe – MEDIA sub-programme of the European Union, the initiative guides filmmakers through the early treatment stage of their feature-length fiction projects, providing mentorship, peer-to-peer sessions, and networking opportunities within the European and global film industry.

The 2025 cohort brings together 22 professionals - 16 writers/directors, two co-writers and four story editor trainees - hailing from 20 different countries, including Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Lebanon, Malaysia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the USA. The selection highlights strong female representation, with 13 women, two non-binary participants and seven men taking part.

Renowned names like Anna Hints (Smoke Sauna Sisterhood [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anna Hints
film profile], Best Directing Award in Sundance’s World Cinema Documentary Competition and LUX Audience Award nominee), Mounia Akl (Costa Brava [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], selected in Venice’s Orizzonti Extra) and Miwako Van Weyenberg (Soft Leaves [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Miwako Van Weyenberg
film profile], selected in IFFR’s Big Screen Competition) figure in the selection.

ScriptLab 2025 is realised in partnership with Film Center Serbia, which is hosting the first workshop in Belgrade and supporting the participation of a Serbian project; Der Divan – Das Arabische Kulturhaus, hosting the second workshop in Berlin; and VAF – Flanders Audiovisual Fund, which is backing a Flemish project. The mentorship team includes script consultants Anna Ciennik (France), Nadja Dumouchel (France), Miguel López Beraza (Spain) and Selina Ukwuoma (UK), ensuring comprehensive support throughout the programme.

The selected projects are as follows:

Black Hairy Beast - Anna Hints (Estonia) (second feature)
Co-writer/co-director: Tushar Prakash (India)

Chosen City - Maria Belen Poncio (Argentina) (first feature)

Goldfish - Aditya Ahmad (Indonesia) (first feature)

Grasshopper - Micah Magee (Denmark/USA) (second feature)

He is Cat - Anette Sidor (Sweden) (first feature)

Hearth - Matthew Puccini (USA) (first feature)

History of Illness - David Gašo (Croatia) (first feature)

Hold Me (If You Want) - Mounia Akl (Lebanon) (second feature)

Hold Still - Shalini Adnani (Chile/United Kingdom/India) (second feature)

Ismaelillo - Tommaso Santambrogio (Italy) (second feature)

Radical Hope - Steffi Niederzoll (Germany) (second feature)
Co-writer: Sina Ataeian Dena (Iran/Germany)

Summer Echo - Miwako Van Weyenberg (Belgium) (second feature)

Walk Slow - Yvonne Zhang (UK) (first feature)

Wolf Days - Emilija Gašić (Serbia) (second feature)

Words That Burn - Alois Sandner Díaz (Spain) (first feature)

Wrecking Ball - Clara Stern (Austria) (second feature)