After the first session of this year’s Mediterranean Film Institute Script 2 Film Workshops took place on Nisyros from 24 June-7 July (see the news), the script- and project-development training initiative is now running its second residential session, this time in the medieval city of Rhodes, from 15-23 October.

A total of 57 filmmakers from across Europe and the entire world, guided by top trainers and renowned experts, are developing 25 film, three series and six documentary projects (see the news), participating in the programme or gaining experience in group guidance on Rhodes. It should be noted that the second module, which was held online in the past few months, offered basic training in strategies for film development.

The third session focuses on the final re-writing process, and participants are required to deliver a fully revised draft of their script in time for all trainers and fellow group members to read. The session is designed as a workshop for a deep review and critique of the revised drafts. Script-development trainers work with participants with a view to coming up with a final, shooting draft. This session also maintains a good balance between group work and individual sessions, with the addition of the possibility to meet and receive feedback, not only from trainers and experts in all fields, but also from invited industry representatives.

A series of master classes, lectures and screenings are being organised, and are all hosted in the St George’s Bastion. Among the highlights of the programme is the lecture “The Pros and Cons of Co-productions, Low-budget Filmmaking and Sources of Financing” by Israeli expert and producer Katriel Schory. Furthermore, Serbian scriptwriter Nebojša Romčević will reflect on “Time, Space and Resolution as Ideological Constructs”. For two days, on Thursday and Friday, a series of screenings of the award-winning short films made by the participants in the 2022 MFI Script 2 Film Workshops will further strengthen networking and collaboration.

The whole programme is taking place in the medieval city of Rhodes, a historical UNESCO World Heritage site. MFI’s Script 2 Film Workshops are supported by the Creative Europe - MEDIA programme, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT SA), the Secretariat General for the Aegean and Island Policy, and the municipalities of Nisyros and Rhodes.