ALBASCRIPT First Edition
A promising development for the future of the Albanian film industry
A journey through Albanian themes, with a line-up of projects using drama and comedy to address the current concerns of Albanian society and refreshing feedback on stories that draw on the totalitarian past. This is how one might describe the recent script developing workshop ALBAScript, made possible thanks to the partnership between the Albanian Film Center and Cineuropa.
The authors of 18 feature and short Albanian films in different stages of development were selected to participate in the workshop, with the guidance of Isabelle Fauvel and Giovanni Robbiano for the feature films and Izer Aliu and Andamion Murataj for the shorts. The first phase of the workshop took place in the beautiful small town of Pogradec, overlooking Lake Ohrid, a quiet natural retreat about 120 km east of the Albanian capital, Tirana.
Andamion Murataj, the programme director for ALBAScript, states that “Now is the time to introduce a professional scriptwriting workshop such as this one in Albania, calling in some of the best screenwriting tutors we know of, who have extensive experience in similar programmes across the region”.
Isabelle Fauvel, who provides consultancy services for many regional markets via her company Initiative Film, was an asset to the workshop as Head of Studies. “What drew me in is that all the participants have different degrees of experience, but even the most advanced, who brought us projects that looked like final drafts, were still open to positive criticism. In a short space of time, you have to really work to connect with people you’ve never met before and try to establish mutual trust. In this regard, it was a very thorough workshop, comprising three days, ten feature film projects with two tutors overseeing five of these each, with each at different stages of development, and eight shorts.
The idea was to offer feedback on the very interesting and very challenging works in progress, all of which were at different stages of development, aiming to strengthen them and steer them towards the production stage”, states Fauvel, who shared her experience and presented her views on when and how to co-write and co-produce a local film.
Izer Aliu, a Nordic writer and director of Albanian origin, is a tutor on the short film program. Aliu, known for his Student Academy Award-winning short To Guard a Mountain, is a role model for those wishing to shoot a local story with limited means and still achieve global success. According to Aliu, “There are promising things in all the scripts that are being developed. Albania has good stories and most of all, good people who want to tell those stories, and that’s what’s most important”.
Giovanni Robbiano, a writer and director, who also runs FAMU International, is a great connoisseur of Albanian contemporary cinema. He advises participants on how to further develop their scripts in such a way that they appeal internationally whilst remaining authentic. He is a font of knowledge for Albanian filmmakers on how to network and access further film training through alternative workshops across the region.
Content with his Albanian experience in Pogradec, Robbiano notes “Although it has been three intensive days, I have to say that they went well, and we’re already thinking about how we can make things even better in the future.
One of the participants in the workshop was Artur Gorishti, the writer and director of his first feature film project Fireflies, who has extensive experience as an actor. He feels confident in his work and says: “Now that the first phase of the workshop is over, I feel that it was the best thing I have done so far for my project. It not only gave me the opportunity to evaluate where I am with it, but it clarified where exactly I want to go with this project”.
For Ilir Butka, the head of the Albanian Film Center, further developing promising scripts through workshops like ALBAScript is essential, not only to help Albanian authors to effectively communicate their stories internationally, but, looking at the bigger, as part of the country’s new strategy to catch up with recent European film development. In this regard, partnering up with Cineuropa for this workshop is a big step towards bringing new Albanian film to the attention of international film markets and festivals.
Cineuropa link related
  
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ALBASCRIPT plus
Second Edition
In order to encourage the cooperation between the filmmakers of Balkan countries and creative forces of the wider Europe, ANCC announced the Call for Applicants for the workshop ALBASCRIPT +. Based on the success of our local ALBASCRIPT 2016 workshop, the newly expanded ALBASCRIPT PLUS was opened to include narrative features and shorts from filmmaking talents residing in the Balkan region. ALBASCRIPT + was a five-day residential workshop that offered the selected Balkan screenwriters the opportunity to work intensively on their narrative scripts in an environment structured to foster regional collaboration and quality development. The participants had hands-on work with script experts with a rich knowledge of regional film scene as well as the co-production prospects in the region. Participating filmmakers were encouraged to strengthen creative partnerships, provide feedback to their peers and increase the efficiency of the development process. Each pre-selected project attended group work as well as personalised individual work with renowned international scriptwriting advisors, aiming to improve the screenwriters’ skills not only to develop their projects to their utmost potential but also prepare to be effectively pitch their projects at the pitching forums. The workshop took place in Tirana, Albania, from October 2nd -7th, 2017.
    
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ALBASCRIPT plus MENTORS
 Giovanni ROBBIANO Born in Genova in 1958, Giovanni Robbiano is a screenwriter, director and producer as well as film trainer. He studied film at Bologna’s University and later at Columbia University School of Arts in New York. After returning to Italy he worked as a screenwriter, writing for both TV and feature films. He directed three feature films FIGURINE (1997), 500! (2001) and HERMANO (2004). His screenplay TUTTI I RUMORI DEL MARE (2012) directed by Federico Brugia won prizes in Annecy, Bari, BAFF and was selected in many international festivals. Robbiano has been teaching film at Bologna University (It), IULM in Milan (It),Genoa University (It), Evry Val d’Esonne University UEVE (Fr). He has been a trainer for the EEUU Media Program since 2000, teaching at MFI in Greece, Midpoint and SMS (Lithuania). Robbiano is the head of international department at FAMU in Prague. He recently joined the faculty at FIOFA Film Institute of Ohrid Film Academy, in Macedonia.
 Amedeo D’ADAMO teaches film directing and marketing at the Catholic University in Milan and Brescia, as well as film producing in “Réseau Du Cinéma”Master at the Italian Swiss University in Switzerland. He teaches at the Documentary Summer School at Locarno Film Festival. He often mentors in various programs including the MAIA Film Producing Workshop. As a filmmaker, Amedeo’s work has traveled to many festivals such as Rome, Miami, Austin, Torino, Bologna and others. His published work includes essays on Science Fiction, film and TV music. His new book Empathetic Space On Screen: Crafting Powerful Place and Setting is a key title forthcoming in December 2017 from Palgrave: it is about how to write stories where the character is expressed in the film’s production design, cinematography, costume and music. He was the founding Dean and then President of the Los Angeles Film School. He holds an MFA in Film from Columbia University.
 Blerta ZEQIRI is a writer and director from Kosovo known for the short film THE RETURN that won the Best International Short Fiction Award in the Sundance 2012. She graduated from the filmmaking department of University Paris 8 in France. She has written and directed several shorts, many of which were selected in top festivals such as Oberhausen Short Film Festival, Palm Springs Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Hamptons International Film Festival, Leeds international Film Festival, Sarajevo International Film Festival etc. Blerta teaches scriptwriting and directing at Academy Evolution in Prishtina. She often
mentors to workshops in the Balkan region. Blerta Zeqiri is a member of the European Film Academy and just completed her debut feature film THE MARRIAGE.
Dimitris EMMANOUUILIDESis a screenwriter and script consultant based in Athens. He wrote the feature films APPROACH (2016), THE HEIRESS (2009) and co-wrote MEMBRANE (in development). He also wrote the short films SHOULDER FOR HIRE (2007), DESTROY ALL BRAINS! (2003), ERROR (2001) and co-wrote the short films MESECINA (2009) and TRANSIT (2007).He wrote several episodes for the TV series STORIES FROM THE OTHER SIDE (2007) & REAL LOVE (2008). Dimitris Emmanouilides works as a script development mentor for MFI Script 2 Film Workshops in Greece.
  
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SELECTION
Balkan Film Market thanks all writers who applied to attend the ALBASCRIPT PLUS workshop that takes place in Tirana Albania from 2nd to 7th October 2017. The selection body carefully checked at the submission and evaluated them for the authentic qualities, cross-Balkan relevance and international potential.
BFM is thrilled to announce the following projects selected for further script development through ALBASCRIPT PLUS workshop:
FEATURE FILMS
AMERCEMENT by Fokion Borgis and Panos Tragos GREECE
BUNKER by Marko Crnogorski and Jana Paunoska FYROM
CLOSE THE DOOR by Parta Kelmendi KOSOVO
HOTLINE by Dren Zherka KOSOVO
HOSTAGE by Saimir Gongo ALBANIA
LIFE IN CONCRETE by Ermela Teli ALBANIA
MEN OF DEEDS by Radu Romaniuc ROMANIA
THE END OF THE WORLD by Aleksandra Urosevic SERBIA
THE FIRST WIFE by Elkjana Gjipali ALBANIA
THRAX by Hristo Hristov BULGARIA
SHORT FILMS
CONCERTO by Blerina Goce ALBANIA
IN THE STORMY YEARS by Kejdi Demneri ALBANIA
SHE by More Raça, KOSOVO
SMOKE RISING by Konstantinos Kalogridis GREECE
THE POST by Kiril Maksimoski FYROM
TRANSBUS by Nart Zeqiraj KOSOVO
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MONDAY OCTOBER 2
10:00 OFFICIAL OPENING
BFM 1st Edition Welcome Message
10:30 OPENING ALBASCRIPT PLUS, day 1
Presentation of the programme, mentors, and partners. Presentation of the projects and authors. Constituting a structure and working groups.
13:15 – 14:30 LUNCH TIME
14:30 Split in smaller groups. Work and discus with mentors and peers, making suggestion and setting up goals.
20:00 ITALIAN RECEPTION
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 4
ALBASCRIPT PLUS, day 3
09:00 Group work. Follow up.
11:00 Individual Work
13:30 LUNCH TIME
14:30 One on-One with mentors
20:00 RECEPTION KOSOVA CINEMATOGRAPHY CENTER
FRIDAY OCTOBER 6
09:00 ALBASCRIPT PLUS Day 5
11:00 ALBASCRIPT PLUS
MASTER CLASS with Arash T. Riahi SOURCES 2
13:00 LUNCH TIME
11:00 ALBASCRIPT PLUS
MASTER CLASS with Brigitta Manthey Balkan Co-Productions at Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg
20:00 RECEPTION
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TUESDAY OCTOBER 3
ALBASCRIPT PLUS, day 2
09:00 Presentation of the programme, mentors, and partners. Presentation of the projects and authors. Constituting a structure and working groups.
10:30 Individual work with mentors discussing specific need project by project.
13:00 LUNCH TIME
14:00 Individual work with mentors.
20.00 RECEPTION FILM CENTER SERBIA
THURSDAY OCTOBER 5
ALBASCRIPT PLUS, day 4
09:00 Individual work with mentors discussing specific need project by project.
13:00 LUNCH TIME
14:30 ALBASCRIPT PLUS
MASTER CLASS with Julien Ezanno CO-PRODUCTION
15:30 ALBASCRIPT PLUS
Individual Works
20:00 RECEPTION SERBIAN
SATURDAY OCTOBER 7
09:00 ALBASCRIPT PLUS, WRAP UP day 4
Group Work. Building network and writers circle.
13:00 LANCH TIME
18:00 CLOSING CEREMONY Awards & Wrap Up Party
https://balkanfilmmarket.com/albascript-plus/
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| In collaboration with Cineuropa, The Albanian Film Center will be holding a course to coach Albanian film professionals in developing their scripts. Under the guidance of Isabelle Fauvel, founder of audiovisual project development company Intiative Film; Giovanni Robbiano, winner of the prestigious Italian scriptwriting award the Solinas Prize; and Izer Aliu, known for his award-winning short films To Guard a Mountain and The Good Life Over There, the 20 participants will learn about developing and marketing their projects, dramaturgy, as well as collaborating with co-writers, script consultants and story editors. After the three-day course, held from 1-3 August, there will be a six-month follow-up period, during which the scriptwriters can re-write their scripts and receive feedback from professional script editors. The project director is Andamion Murataj, an Albanian scriptwriter, director and producer. In 2010, he won the Silver Bear for Best Script (with Joshua Marston) for the movie The Forgiveness of Blood. |
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Ten feature scripts and ten short scripts have been selected to participate in this course. The selected feature projects that will be mentored by Isabelle Fauvel include: A Shelter among the Clouds by Robert Budina, Just a Baby by Dhimitri Ismailaj, The Bright Future by Julian Biba, The Nobles by Ylljet Aliçka and Albanian Style by Paskal Semini. On the other hand, Giovanni Robbiano will tutor the other five feature films: Dajna by Erenik Beqiri, Return to the Pirates Cave by Iris Elezi, The Flying Circus by Fatos Berisha, The Path of Fireflies by Artur Gorrishti and Three Lions Heading to Venice by Jonid Jorgji. Finally, Izer Aliu will look after all ten of the selected short films: Aquarium by Kreshnik Saraçi, A True Story by Viron Roboçi, Meeting the Unknown by Nerta Veliu, Nobody by Florenc Papas, Popcorn by Blerina Goce, Shadow by Gledis Bica, The Coca-Cola by Anxhela Cikopano, The Funeral Crasher by Albana Kozeli, The Morning After by Enxhi Rista and Violinist by Saimir Bajo. |
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