It has already been 22 years since the Mediterranean Film Institute (MFI) entered the field of training, specialising particularly in script and project development. The organisation, which this year has also had to deal with the pandemic situation, is once again launching the MFI Script 2 Film Workshops.

For this year’s iteration, over 200 applications have been received by the MFI, from 28 countries, and out of these, the institute has selected 27 feature-length scripts, three TV-series scripts, six documentary projects and six trainees without a project, who will be trained in script development and team coaching. The filmmakers represent 16 countries around the world – Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, the USA and Zambia – and they will participate in four consecutive workshops, both online and residential.

The first session of the 2020 MFI Script 2 Film Workshops will run from 20 July-2 August on the Greek island of Nisyros, and it will have a double-hybrid format, as it is running both online and residentially. It should be underlined that this is the first European training or film-industry event that will be held even partially in physical locations, and the hope is that this residential part will be the first step towards seeing more events return to their regular bases.

According to the plan, the group and individual consultations, along with the master classes, lectures and case studies, will be available to the MFI participants both live and on demand. Regarding the 20 trainers from the EU and the USA, tutoring in script and project development are Christina Lazaridi, professor of Screenwriting at the Postgraduate Departments of Columbia; Jan Fleischer, FAMU professor; Nicos Panayotopoulos, screenwriter and novelist; Ana Sanz Magallon, script consultant; Dimitris Emmanouilidis, screenwriter and director; Michel Sabbe, screenwriter and script consultant; Ove Jensen, European Film Market, Sunny Side of the Doc and MIPDOC; documentary director Marco Gastine; Pavel Jech, of Berlinale Talent Campus and MIDPOINT; Christian Routh, co-head of studies at ScripTeast and script editor; and writer-director Dimitris Yatzouzakis.

In terms of production and project development, the leading professionals set to deliver training in the field include producer Simon de Santiago, co-production consultant Martina Bleis, head of Connecting Cottbus Marjorie Bendeck, DOK Leipzig industry head Brigid O’Shea, Thessaloniki Crossroads and Agora Doc Market’s Angeliki Vergou and Yianna Sarri, producer Isabelle Fauvel (Initiative Film), and film marketing expert Nicolò Gallio.

After the first residential session on Nisyros, the next step will be an online session held in September, while the second residential session is scheduled for Rhodes (11-18 October), with the fourth and final online session running in December.

Here is the complete selection for the 2020 MFI Script 2 Film Workshops:

MFI Film LAB

All for the Best – Nancy Biniadaki (Greece)
Anna Nora Chloe - Ion Papaspyrou, Stella Pantelia (Greece)
Agony – Ali Vatansever (Turkey)
Alytos – Konstantinos Kalogridis, Ioanna Kryona, Ioanna Petinaraki (Greece)
Backwoods – Evženie Brabcova, Peter Badač (Czech Republic/Slovakia)
The Believers – Cristian Pascariu, Matei Truta (Romania)
Birthday – Lara Zeidan, Séverine Tibi (Lebanon/France)
Bloody Mary – Pavlos Sifakis (Greece)
The Citizen Who Stole Comrade Brezhnev’s Watch – Emil Spahiyski (Bulgaria)
The Cradle House – Kristina Rodemann (Spain)
The Diving Response – Noëmie Nicolas (France)
Dukie – Grzegorz Mołda, Ludka Kierczak (Poland)
I Against I – George Ktistakis (Greece)
In the Flesh – Ainhoa Menéndez Goyoaga, Daniel Mendez (Spain)
The Jerry – Orfeas Peretzis, Konstantinos Vassilaros (Greece)
Leftovers of Pompeii – Ismene Daskarolis (Greece)
Maya - Tonia Mishiali, Andreas Kyriacou, Frixos Masouras (Cyprus)
Mirror of Nightingales – Karla Lulić (Croatia)
Patriot – Michalis Malandrakis, Kallia Papadaki, Penny Panayotopoulou (Greece)
The Root Crown – Katarzyna Gondek, Paweł Kosuń (Poland)
The Sad Life of Happy Pig! – Christy Whaibe (Lebanon)
Shadow on the Mountain – Nicholas Dimitropoulos (Greece)
Soare – Katerina Yiannakopoulou (Greece)
Souvenir – Thanos Psichogios, Vasiliki Petsa, Nancy Kokolaki (Greece)
Victoria Falls – Gloria Huwiler (Zambia)
Waver – Georgis Grigorakis (Greece)

Outside Group Selection

Anti – Vasilis Kalamakis, Maria Karagiannaki (Greece)

MFI Series LAB

Brothers – Simon Farmakas, Aliki Danezi Knutsen (Cyprus)
The Mercury 13 – Laurie Kahn (USA)
Silly Sundays – Nuria Gonzalez Blanco (Spain)

MFI Doc LAB

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Machias, 5 AM – Pauline Lietar, Jennifer Deschamps (France)
Machtat [+lee también:
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Mighty Afrin – Angelos Rallis, Maria del Mar Rodriguez Yebra (Greece/Spain)
Suddenly – Giordano Bianchi, Paola Sponda (Italy)
Plato’s Cave – Valerie von Kittlitz, Maren Wickwire, Elsa Triquet-Rey (Germany/USA/France)

Training for Trainers

Aleksandra Aleksander (Poland)
Elias Demetriou (Greece)
Michael Demetrius (Greece)
Antigoni Papantoni (Greece)
Antonis Tolakis (Greece)
Konstantinos Tzouflas (Greece)

MFI’s Script 2 Film Workshops are supported by the Creative Europe - MEDIA programme, the Greek Ministry of Sports and Culture, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT SA), the National Centre of Audiovisual Media and Communication (EKOME SA), the Secretariat General for the Aegean and Island Policy, and the municipalities of Nisyros and Rhodes.