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Participants come from Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Botswana, and Zimbabwe.
African development organisation the Realness Institute has selected 12 participants for its 2023 Episodic Lab and Development Executive Traineeship (Det), in partnership with Netflix.
The two cohorts each comprise six participants from Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Botswana, and Zimbabwe.
The Episodic Lab participants include Amanda Gicharu and Juma Adero (Kenya), Emil Garuba (Nigeria), Gabe Gabriel, Jason Staggie and Vanishia Kisten (South Africa).
They will work to refine their skills as episodic screenwriters and develop their story ideas, and will have the opportunity to pitch their stories to Netflix content executives at the end of the proramme.
African development organisation the Realness Institute has selected 12 participants for its 2023 Episodic Lab and Development Executive Traineeship (Det), in partnership with Netflix.
The two cohorts each comprise six participants from Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Botswana, and Zimbabwe.
The Episodic Lab participants include Amanda Gicharu and Juma Adero (Kenya), Emil Garuba (Nigeria), Gabe Gabriel, Jason Staggie and Vanishia Kisten (South Africa).
They will work to refine their skills as episodic screenwriters and develop their story ideas, and will have the opportunity to pitch their stories to Netflix content executives at the end of the proramme.
- 5/2/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
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Screenwriters across the industry are mourning the long-running Warner Bros. Television Workshop, which newly merged studio Warner Bros. Discovery is shutting down after more than 40 years.
“I got my first staff writing gig b/c of the WB Writers Workshop. The reason I can celebrate the release of a trailer for my movie today ties back to this workshop,” tweeted Akela Cooper (class of 2009), who wrote the screenplay for upcoming Blumhouse feature M3GAN (whose trailer has become an instant viral sensation). “It helped kick start so many careers. To see it scrapped in the name of capitalism is infuriating and heartbreaking.”
For more than 40 years, the Warner Bros. writers’ workshop selected up to eight early-career writers (out of more than 2,500 annual submissions) with the immediate goal of staffing them on a Wbtv-produced show and the longer-term goal of establishing their careers in the industry.
Screenwriters across the industry are mourning the long-running Warner Bros. Television Workshop, which newly merged studio Warner Bros. Discovery is shutting down after more than 40 years.
“I got my first staff writing gig b/c of the WB Writers Workshop. The reason I can celebrate the release of a trailer for my movie today ties back to this workshop,” tweeted Akela Cooper (class of 2009), who wrote the screenplay for upcoming Blumhouse feature M3GAN (whose trailer has become an instant viral sensation). “It helped kick start so many careers. To see it scrapped in the name of capitalism is infuriating and heartbreaking.”
For more than 40 years, the Warner Bros. writers’ workshop selected up to eight early-career writers (out of more than 2,500 annual submissions) with the immediate goal of staffing them on a Wbtv-produced show and the longer-term goal of establishing their careers in the industry.
- 10/12/2022
- by Rebecca Sun
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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Exclusive: Netflix’s Director of Local Language Originals for the Cee, Anna Nagler, has outlined the streamer’s ambitions in region, as its biggest drama series from the region, High Water, launches globally today.
In an exclusive interview, Nagler said the streamer’s “doors are open” to creatives and their ideas in Central and Eastern Europe, as Netflix pushes into original shows from international territories despite the company’s well-documented stock price drop this year.
This comes after Netflix opened its regional Cee office in Poland this year. Since launching in Poland in 2016, the SVoD player has claimed to have invested more than 490M Pln (115M) on original films and series such as erotic movie franchise 365 Days in the country, creating more than 2,600 jobs across the production sector in 2020 and 2021.
“Opening the Warsaw office was important but also we’re getting closer to the creative community in general,” Nagler told Deadline.
In an exclusive interview, Nagler said the streamer’s “doors are open” to creatives and their ideas in Central and Eastern Europe, as Netflix pushes into original shows from international territories despite the company’s well-documented stock price drop this year.
This comes after Netflix opened its regional Cee office in Poland this year. Since launching in Poland in 2016, the SVoD player has claimed to have invested more than 490M Pln (115M) on original films and series such as erotic movie franchise 365 Days in the country, creating more than 2,600 jobs across the production sector in 2020 and 2021.
“Opening the Warsaw office was important but also we’re getting closer to the creative community in general,” Nagler told Deadline.
- 10/5/2022
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
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When Dumitrana Lupu took over as the head of the Transilvania Film Festival’s industry program earlier this year, she was tasked with a two-fold mission of continuing to discover and boost emerging talents from the host country, as well as ensuring that the Romanian festival remains a vital meeting place for filmmakers from Southeastern Europe and the surrounding region.
To do so, she and the organizing team revamped some of TIFF’s industry sections while ensuring that long-running programs provide continuity for a festival that unspools its 21st edition from June 17 – 26.
With a focus on the Black Sea region and its neighboring countries, the Transilvania Pitch Stop has emerged as one of the leading co-production and co-financing platforms for the region’s filmmakers. Among the films supported by the Tps since its inception in 2014 include “Apples,” by Greece’s Christos Nikou, which opened the Horizons sidebar of the Venice...
To do so, she and the organizing team revamped some of TIFF’s industry sections while ensuring that long-running programs provide continuity for a festival that unspools its 21st edition from June 17 – 26.
With a focus on the Black Sea region and its neighboring countries, the Transilvania Pitch Stop has emerged as one of the leading co-production and co-financing platforms for the region’s filmmakers. Among the films supported by the Tps since its inception in 2014 include “Apples,” by Greece’s Christos Nikou, which opened the Horizons sidebar of the Venice...
- 6/15/2022
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
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Paris-based lobbying group the European Producers Club (Epc) is launching an initiative in tandem with Netflix to help create new opportunities for European women TV drama producers in attempt to balance the gender gap in Europe’s industry.
This new initiative, launched at the Series Mania TV festival, comprises a pitch contest for fiction series as well as a workshop run by Netflix about how to best pitch a project.
Producers of the six selected best projects will get the opportunity to pitch to Netflix. The three best pitches will receive awards of €50.000, €20.000 and €10.000 respectively to take their projects to the next development stage.
The pitching competition is reserved for Epc producers in 33 EU countries working for women-owned companies (women must have a minimum of 50% ownership).
Pitching teams must include at least one female producer and either a woman writer or director. The Netflix workshop is open to all of...
This new initiative, launched at the Series Mania TV festival, comprises a pitch contest for fiction series as well as a workshop run by Netflix about how to best pitch a project.
Producers of the six selected best projects will get the opportunity to pitch to Netflix. The three best pitches will receive awards of €50.000, €20.000 and €10.000 respectively to take their projects to the next development stage.
The pitching competition is reserved for Epc producers in 33 EU countries working for women-owned companies (women must have a minimum of 50% ownership).
Pitching teams must include at least one female producer and either a woman writer or director. The Netflix workshop is open to all of...
- 3/22/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
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Exclusive: Netflix is launching a partnership with the European Producers Club (Epc) to create opportunities for female producers, with news unveiled in the past few minutes at Series Mania.
The initiative starts with a pitch contest for and workshop run by Netflix. The producers of the six best projects will then get the opportunity to pitch to Netflix and the three best projects will receive an award of €50,000, €20,000 and €10,000 respectively in order to develop their projects further.
Only companies at least 50% owned by women will be eligible and teams must include at least one woman producer and either a woman writer or director. The workshop is open to all Epc Members.
“Representation behind the camera has a direct correlation with representation on screen,” said Christopher Mack, Director, Grow Creative at Netflix. “We believe that more people deserve to see their lives reflected in the stories we tell and invest in...
The initiative starts with a pitch contest for and workshop run by Netflix. The producers of the six best projects will then get the opportunity to pitch to Netflix and the three best projects will receive an award of €50,000, €20,000 and €10,000 respectively in order to develop their projects further.
Only companies at least 50% owned by women will be eligible and teams must include at least one woman producer and either a woman writer or director. The workshop is open to all Epc Members.
“Representation behind the camera has a direct correlation with representation on screen,” said Christopher Mack, Director, Grow Creative at Netflix. “We believe that more people deserve to see their lives reflected in the stories we tell and invest in...
- 3/22/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
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Netflix, which has been steadily growing its subscribers in the Arab world, has teamed up with Kuwait-based production studio Ncig (National Creative Industries Group) to set up a writers’ lab that will spawn six series projects from writers based in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
The plan is to turn them into market-ready pitch decks on which the streaming giant will have the right to a first look.
The Arabic series incubator initiative, which is called Ncig TV Writers’ Lab 6×6, marks Netflix’s first initiative of this type in the the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.
The writers’ lab is the brainchild of multi-hyphenate Sheikha Al-Zain Al-Sabah, a former undersecretary of Kuwait’s Ministry of State for Youth Affairs and co-producer of Palestinian-American filmmaker Cherien Dabis’ debut feature “Amreeka,” and also high-profile doc “Journey to Mecca,” among other titles. Al-Zain is CEO of Ncig, a media company dedicated to...
The plan is to turn them into market-ready pitch decks on which the streaming giant will have the right to a first look.
The Arabic series incubator initiative, which is called Ncig TV Writers’ Lab 6×6, marks Netflix’s first initiative of this type in the the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.
The writers’ lab is the brainchild of multi-hyphenate Sheikha Al-Zain Al-Sabah, a former undersecretary of Kuwait’s Ministry of State for Youth Affairs and co-producer of Palestinian-American filmmaker Cherien Dabis’ debut feature “Amreeka,” and also high-profile doc “Journey to Mecca,” among other titles. Al-Zain is CEO of Ncig, a media company dedicated to...
- 11/2/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
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Director of Talent Development for Netflix International Originals Christopher Mack reveals how to write the perfect pitch at the Torino Film Industry. Every new series they launch is made available in 190 countries and is subtitled in 32 languages; their feelers are always out for new writers and filmmakers hailing from all over the world and in possession of brilliant stories, whom they can then teach to write TV series. Their objective: 5 million subscribers by 2025. But the reality is: “we don’t have enough writers, so we’re investing in training to help participants understand how to create content, as well as holding workshops like this one”, explains Christopher Mack, Director of Creative Talent Investment & Development at Netflix International Originals, during a masterclass organised by the Torino Film Lab, which is unfolding within the wider Torino Film Industry event. Christopher Mack has been in the business for 25 years,...
- 11/20/2020
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
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At Netflix, character is often more important than plot, said the company’s creative talent director Christopher Mack at CineGouna Bridge, the industry section of Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival, on Monday during his “Pitch Realization Masterclass by Netflix.” But it’s not about making him or her likeable, as their transformation is key to the storytelling experience.
“This change is driving people to watch our content. Your job is to make it interesting and engaging. Think about Walter White,” said Mack, explaining how to successfully pitch new concepts to Netflix. “Viewers develop a relationship with the characters, their engagement depends on whether they relate to them or not. Otherwise they won’t care.”
Mack also advised new writers to think about genres in need of reinvention, mentioning South Korean series “Kingdom” as an effective twist on the zombie thriller, or the hot-button topics in their country that aren’t often explored.
“This change is driving people to watch our content. Your job is to make it interesting and engaging. Think about Walter White,” said Mack, explaining how to successfully pitch new concepts to Netflix. “Viewers develop a relationship with the characters, their engagement depends on whether they relate to them or not. Otherwise they won’t care.”
Mack also advised new writers to think about genres in need of reinvention, mentioning South Korean series “Kingdom” as an effective twist on the zombie thriller, or the hot-button topics in their country that aren’t often explored.
- 10/29/2020
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
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Netflix, as it ramps up Middle East operations, has announced two initiatives to reach out to Lebanon’s film and TV community: an emergency fund providing grants to below-the-line crew facing economic hardship, and a “Made in Lebanon” package of films playing on the giant streamer.
The $500,000 relief fund set up by Netflix in collaboration with the Arab Fund for Arts & Culture (Afac) will be open for applications starting next week. It will provide financial support in the form of individual grants worth $2,000 per grant, a sum that, especially given Lebanon’s current economic constraints, is worth plenty more locally than it would be in the U.S.
From Oct. 26 until Nov. 9, below-the-line crew, craftspeople, and freelancers in the Lebanese film and television industry can apply for the fund by filling out an online application form. They must provide supporting documentation including a list of the five most recent projects they worked on,...
The $500,000 relief fund set up by Netflix in collaboration with the Arab Fund for Arts & Culture (Afac) will be open for applications starting next week. It will provide financial support in the form of individual grants worth $2,000 per grant, a sum that, especially given Lebanon’s current economic constraints, is worth plenty more locally than it would be in the U.S.
From Oct. 26 until Nov. 9, below-the-line crew, craftspeople, and freelancers in the Lebanese film and television industry can apply for the fund by filling out an online application form. They must provide supporting documentation including a list of the five most recent projects they worked on,...
- 10/23/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
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In today’s Global Bulletin, Constantin extends its deal with German hitmaker Bora Dagtekin, San Sebastian finalizes its Perlak section, upstart training program Creative Producer Indaba share details, Endemol Shine sells “Deadwater Fell” in France, and Channel 5 commissions eight new historical programs.
Content Deal
Constantin Film has extended its exclusive deal with Bora Dagtekin, one of Germany’s most prolific local filmmakers, to 2025.
The writer-director is responsible for several local-language hits in German-speaking territories such as “Suck me Shakespeer” (pictured), $77.6 million worldwide; “The Perfect Secret,” last year’s biggest local draw in Germany, where it grossed $52.3 million; and “Turkish for Beginners,” almost $24 million in 2012. In total, his films have grossed a quarter-billion in Germany, selling nearly 30 million tickets.
Under the deal, Constantin will get Dagtekin’s next three features, each to be produced by his long-time production partner Lena Schömann.
Festivals
San Sebastian announced that this year’s Perlak section,...
Content Deal
Constantin Film has extended its exclusive deal with Bora Dagtekin, one of Germany’s most prolific local filmmakers, to 2025.
The writer-director is responsible for several local-language hits in German-speaking territories such as “Suck me Shakespeer” (pictured), $77.6 million worldwide; “The Perfect Secret,” last year’s biggest local draw in Germany, where it grossed $52.3 million; and “Turkish for Beginners,” almost $24 million in 2012. In total, his films have grossed a quarter-billion in Germany, selling nearly 30 million tickets.
Under the deal, Constantin will get Dagtekin’s next three features, each to be produced by his long-time production partner Lena Schömann.
Festivals
San Sebastian announced that this year’s Perlak section,...
- 8/26/2020
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Stage 13 is telling the stories that would get screenwriters thrown out of traditional television studios.
That’s not because the content is offensive or controversial. Quite the opposite, actually: Since launching in 2017, Stage 13 has carved a niche for itself in the increasingly crowded television industry by championing the diverse individuals and social issues that larger studios tend to shy away from.
The Burbank studio, part of Warner Bros. Digital Networks, creates short-form scripted and unscripted television shows that feature inclusive casting and hone in on a variety of topics relevant to millennial and Gen-z audiences. Although television studios are gradually beginning to pay more mind to diverse audiences, Stage 13 has hit the ground running, and its success hasn’t gone unnoticed; it received five Emmy nominations last month.
Stage 13 is looking to keep its momentum going with “Two Sentence Horror Stories,” a horror anthology series that will premiere its first...
That’s not because the content is offensive or controversial. Quite the opposite, actually: Since launching in 2017, Stage 13 has carved a niche for itself in the increasingly crowded television industry by championing the diverse individuals and social issues that larger studios tend to shy away from.
The Burbank studio, part of Warner Bros. Digital Networks, creates short-form scripted and unscripted television shows that feature inclusive casting and hone in on a variety of topics relevant to millennial and Gen-z audiences. Although television studios are gradually beginning to pay more mind to diverse audiences, Stage 13 has hit the ground running, and its success hasn’t gone unnoticed; it received five Emmy nominations last month.
Stage 13 is looking to keep its momentum going with “Two Sentence Horror Stories,” a horror anthology series that will premiere its first...
- 8/8/2019
- by Tyler Hersko
- Indiewire
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Lori McCreary, Franklin Leonard, Ted Gagliano, Leslye Headland, Dan Goor, Alexandra Rushfield, Hayden Schlossberg and Deadline’s Pete Hammond are among the names that have been added to the final roster of speakers and moderators for the 11th annual Produced By Conference, set for this weekend at Warner Bros Studios in Burbank.
The annual confab presented by the Producers Guild of America features two days of panels and workshops, including a Producers Mashup event that will include the likes of Erik Feig, Gary Goetzman, Mark Gordon, Matthew Weiner and Yolanda T. Cochran participating in sessions that give attendees the opportunity to learn from and network with producers and executives across film, TV and digital media.
Sessions this year feature conversations with the likes of Warner Bros’ Toby Emmerich and Peter Roth, Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito, Mindy Kaling and Nancy Meyers, and Quibi’s Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman. They...
The annual confab presented by the Producers Guild of America features two days of panels and workshops, including a Producers Mashup event that will include the likes of Erik Feig, Gary Goetzman, Mark Gordon, Matthew Weiner and Yolanda T. Cochran participating in sessions that give attendees the opportunity to learn from and network with producers and executives across film, TV and digital media.
Sessions this year feature conversations with the likes of Warner Bros’ Toby Emmerich and Peter Roth, Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito, Mindy Kaling and Nancy Meyers, and Quibi’s Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman. They...
- 5/31/2019
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
TBS has recruited Lou Diamond Phillips, Kristy Swanson and rapper-actor Coolio to star in the upcoming original thriller Red Water. The film, from Sony Pictures TV, centers on a bull shark who wreaks havoc in a Louisiana river. Phillips and Swanson play a divorced couple searching the river for natural gas whose boat is hijacked by a pair of criminals (Coolio, Jaimz Woolvett) on a quest for stolen money dropped in the river. Recovery of the cash is complicated by relentless shark attacks. Charlie Carner is directing the telefilm from a script by Christopher Mack and J.D. Feigelson. Michael Larkin (ABC's Murder in the Heartland) is executive producing the movie, scheduled to premiere Aug. 10, with Mitch Engel (TNT's George Wallace) producing. On the big screen, Phillips next appears in Stark Raving Mad and the Ron Shelton-directed Two Cops.
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