ESP 2020 call for applications: deadline extended
EUROPEAN SHORT PITCH 2020 - 14th edition
Call for short film projects
Extended deadline for applications: 15th of June 2020
About European Short Pitch
European Short Pitch is an initiative aimed at promoting the European coproduction of short films. It combines a scriptwriting workshop in residency and a Coproduction Forum bringing together scriptwriters, directors and industry professionals from all over Europe.
Selected on the basis of their short film projects, 16 European talents gather to discuss, rewrite, and learn to promote their stories on a European level with the support of 4 tutors. They eventually pitch their projects in front of a panel of professionals: over 65 producers, financers, buyers, and distributors.
European Short Pitch aims to bring young European talents into the spotlight, give them a high-end promotion opportunity, and develop short film coproduction in Europe. 287 projects were presented in the previous editions (2007 - 2019), so far resulting in the making of 135 short films - many with a very successful international career.
Who can apply?
European Short Pitch is open to creative teams developing international short film projects. It is therefore open to writers, directors, and producers. Writer-directors developing a project on their own are very welcome to participate in the programme. Yet it is strongly advised to already have a national production company interested or attached to the project, especially at the time of the Coproduction Forum.
The author(s) of the script has to be between 18 and 35 years of age on the closing date of the call for projects (15th of June 2020).
His/her nationality or country of residence should be one of the member countries of the Creative Europe Programme (European Union + Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Iceland, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia and Ukraine). European Short Pitch will also select up to 3 projects from non-member countries of the Creative Europe Programme where NISI MASA has a member organisation: Kosovo and Russia.
Applicants must confirm their availability for the different sessions. The working language of European Short Pitch is English; thus, a good knowledge of English is essential in order to participate.
European Short Pitch is realised with the support of Région Bretagne and the Promotion Center for Audiovisual Culture, Avek and in collaboration with the Baltic Pitching Forum and T-Port. Thanks to these partnerships, ESP will welcome one project from the Brittany region of France, one from Finland, one from the Baltic Pitching Forum selection 2019 and one from a filmmaker present on T-Port. Their participation in the program will be supported by the above-mentioned organisations.
Scriptwriting workshop, Coproduction Forum & on-line session
The scriptwriting workshop in residency will take place from the 19th to the 25th of September 2020 in Helsinki, Finland and will be organized in collaboration with the Euphoria Borealis Association. During five days, participants will work intensively on their projects with a scriptwriting tutor heading the process, alternating collective and one-to-one sessions. The scriptwriting workshop in residency will also offer an initiation to pitching, a European short film coproduction lecture and consultancies with a guest producer. The aim of this first session is to enhance the quality of the script and to prepare participants to present their projects in an international context.
Subsequently, the participants benefit from an on-line session with their tutors, with the aim of having a final script ready for the Coproduction Forum.
The Coproduction Forum will take place on 12th - 15th November 2020 in Brest, France as part of the Brest European Short Film Festival. Participants will prepare and rehearse their pitching with their tutors. The pitching session will be followed by one-to-one meetings with invited professionals. The session will also include round tables and consultancies about short film distribution and sales. An award ceremony will close the whole event, with a prize of 1 000 Euros for the Best Pitch (awarded by a professional Jury) and in-kind prizes that will be announced soon. The aim of this session is to create a platform of promotion for the projects selected, to encourage encounters and collaborations between film professionals and to initiate short film coproductions.
Participation fees
The participation fee for each project is 650 Euros. The fee covers the tutorship costs, the accommodation and subsistence for both residential sessions. The fee doesn’t cover the travel costs. One person per project is covered by European Short Pitch. However, upon prior agreement, an extra person per project shall be admitted – he/she will have to cover his/her own travel, accommodation and subsistence costs.
Many countries support such training costs. We advise participants to apply for scholarships through their national film funds.
How to apply?
The deadline for applications is the 15th of June 2020, midnight C.E.T. Until then applicants have to send a zip file (named after the title of the project) to europeanshortpitch@nisimasa.com, containing:
The completed application form;
The script in English (no word-count limitation – however European Short Pitch is designed for short film projects of an estimated length inferior to 30 minutes);
The script in the original language (optional: many languages being read and understood by our preselecting reading committee & jury, we may consider the original version as well);
CVs of the project creative team (author/writer, director & producer);
A presentation of the production company attached (if applicable).
Applicants may present audiovisual works for consideration (either previous ones of the creative team or preparatory work made for the project presented). Only works available online will be considered (link to be provided in the application form).
The scripts must be entirely original; borrowing, in any way whatsoever, of any pre-existing work protected by copyright or any other legal protection, or violating the rights of third parties is not permitted.
Selection process
The projects will be selected in two steps. A preselecting reading committee composed of 30 readers (NISI MASA members, scriptwriters, producers, participants of previous European Short Pitch editions, etc.) will consider all the applications. The preselected projects will be reviewed by the selection committee composed by the European Short Pitch team and 2 members of the pedagogical team. Participants will be informed by email of their selection / non-selection during the second fortnight of July 2020.
The tutors
The tutors - many of them returning regularly to ESP - are experienced and well-connected film professionals. There will be 4 tutors in charge of the script development and pitching trainings. From our previous editions, among them have been: Nadja Dumouchel (France), script consultant and scriptwriter; Britta Krause (Germany), scriptwriter, director, script editor; Antonio Piazza (Italy) scriptwriter and director; Razvan Radulescu (Romania), scriptwriter and director; Leonardo Stagliano (Italy), scriptwriter, script editor and tutor. 1 consultant producer, 1 pitching expert and 1 distributor/sales agent will complete the pedagogical team.
The organizing team
European Short Pitch is a project initiated by NISI MASA – European Network of Young Cinema.
Head of Programme - Julie Marnay
Head of Coproduction Forum - Olga Lamontanara
Project Coordinator - Lauma Kaudzīte