Venise 2022 – Venice Production Bridge
Dossier industrie: Séries
Le European Writers Club et The Creatives promettent de devenir des moteurs de premier plan pour les talents de l’écriture
VENISE 2022 : la priorité des deux entités est de créer des contenus audiovisuels passionnants et de grande qualité pouvant renforcer l’unité européenne, mais aussi circuler partout dans le monde
Cet article est disponible en anglais.
On 4 September, as part of the Venice Production Bridge, the Hotel Excelsior’s Spazio Incontri hosted the event “European Stories Through Cross-cultural Networks”, during which several industry speakers presented two brand-new European projects aiming to nurture our continent’s writing talents – namely, the European Writers Club (EWC) and The Creatives. The panel was organised in association with the European Commission (EC) and the Creative Europe – MEDIA programme.
The opening words by Italian MEP Massimiliano Smeriglio stressed the two initiatives’ goal to create an international network that can stimulate the production of high-quality audiovisual content, while keeping a close eye on the global market’s dynamics and favouring the making of projects that are easy to export. He also expressed his hope that the institutional backing for both efforts would be renewed after 2023.
EC rep Lucía Recalde explained that the focus of both initiatives would be on drama series, with four key goals in mind: to inspire creators, to encourage collaborations, to create new connections and to stimulate co-creation. The programmes are experimental and innovative in nature, and they will favour organic forms of co-operation, avoiding the risk of creating new “Europudding” content at all costs.
The first part of the event, moderated by Nawell Amour, focused on the EWC. Its head of programme, Thomas Gammeltoft, explained how the EWC aims to inspire writers, independent producers and broadcasters to create compelling storytelling “for large audiences all at once”. This year, the EWC will host three sessions, each consisting of two one-week camps, along with dedicated, localised events and master classes for its members. The first, the Boosting Ideas session, will be led by Le Groupe Ouest and will unspool in Copenhagen from 23-28 October before moving to Tallinn, where it will run from 5-10 December. The session will be open to ten writers and ten broadcasters. The second, the Boosting Concepts session, will run in Dublin next April, and it will see broadcasters submitting projects to producers and writers, with the aim being to work together on making content not produced in house. The third, the Boosting Broadcasters session, will take place in Galicia, Spain, from 30 May-5 June, and will serve as a meeting place for both public and private broadcasters to network and discuss strategies and market trends. The EWC currently operates through four hubs (Denmark, Ireland, Estonia and Spain), with several bodies, broadcasters and associations providing funding and/or assistance.
The floor was then given to Nicola Lusardi. In his brief but passionate speech, the Italian screenwriter shared the scheme’s primary mission to envision “a common mythology and form of storytelling” in order to create “a united Europe”.
The second part of the panel, moderated by Laura Gragg, focused on The Creatives, and saw the participation of three reps from Germany’s Razor Film, France’s Haut et Court and the Netherlands’ Lemming Film. The Creatives, the panellists explained, consists of an alliance of ten production outfits formed last year (see the news). Its primary goals are to strengthen individual identities and cultures through co-operation and the sharing of information, talent and networks; to form new, long-term relationships by offering talents fair conditions and nurturing creative spaces for writers; and to introduce our brands into other markets in the face of a fast-changing audiovisual landscape. These goals will be pursued by defending unique, diverse voices, widening the approach to the development of a story through interdisciplinary exchanges and developing long-lasting creative hubs.
The Creatives will host three workshops. The first, “A Creative Brainstorm”, will take place from 16-20 January 2023 and will see the participation of 16 writers and ten producers forming a think-tank. Eight experts will be invited from fields such as social sciences, technology, environmental studies, philosophy, art and storytelling to guide the writers in developing their stories. The second, “Pre-Writing”, will unspool in late March for five days. Led by Le Groupe Ouest, it will include activities such as mind-mapping, sketching, picture-taking and oral recounting. The third, “Writers’ Residence”, will be held in August for three to five days. During this time, the invited participants will further develop their ideas with the guidance of a group of selected experts.
The event wrapped with the closing words of Polish MEP Tomasz Frankowski, who is among the most prominent political backers of both endeavours.
Vous avez aimé cet article ? Abonnez-vous à notre newsletter et recevez plus d'articles comme celui-ci, directement dans votre boîte mail.