The second creative residency of the first edition of the Full Moon Creative Lab program, an initiative of the Transylvania International Film Festival (TIFF), kicks off. Between March 7-13, 12 screenwriters from Europe gather at the Bethlen-Haller Castle in Transylvania, where they have the opportunity to develop their writing skills, alongside international experts from the film industry. The Full Moon Creative Lab (FMCL) program is intended for writers of scripts for genre series: thriller, horror and fantasy. The TIFF initiative is supported by the Creative Europe Programme.
The American writer and producer Frank Spotnitz, will come to Romania for the first time, as a special guest of FMCL, and will hold a masterclass. With a career spanning over 25 years in television productions, he is the writer and executive producer of one of the most successful television series, The X-Files, as well as the two subsequent films. The X-Files won three Golden Globes for Outstanding Drama Series, a Peabody Award, and was nominated for Emmy Awards for both Writing and Outstanding Drama Series.
Spotnitz is also the CEO and founder of Big Light Productions, a London and Paris-based production company that specializes in international television series, including drama, comedy and documentaries such as: Emmy-winning The Man in the High Castle ; Medici: Masters of Florence and two seasons of Medici: The Magnificent (RAI, Netflix, SFR Play); Indian Detective (Netflix, CTV); Redemption (CBS, Global, TF1, RTL); season three of Crossing Lines (Tandem Productions/StudioCanal); and season two of Transporter: The Series (TNT, M6, HBO Canada).
Drawing on his experience in television in both the US and Europe, Frank Spotnitz will speak at the masterclass about the values that help create and sustain successful storytellers.
The projects selected at the first edition of Full Moon Creative Lab belong to screenwriters Adina Istrate (Romania) – the script of the thriller Aurora, Giulio Rizzo (Italy) – the horror-fantasy project ICU – Immortal Care Unit, and Barbara Skubic (Slovenia) – the script of the thriller Negative Split.
The 3 screenwriters mentioned above are joined by 9 other screenwriters from Romania, Italy, Ireland, Hungary, Slovenia, Poland and Bulgaria. They are: Barry Murphy (Ireland), Rosella di Campli (Italy), Richard Karpala (Poland), Sînziana Cojocărescu (Romania), Nadya Todorova (Bulgaria), Greg Simmons (Ireland), Cristina Iliescu (Romania), Attila Veres (Hungary ), Rafael Alberto Garciola (Germany).
Divided into 3 Writers’ Rooms, Full Moon Creative Lab participants will be guided by three facilitators, professionals from the film industry: Eilon Ratzkovsky (Israel), producer with over 25 years of experience in the production of films and TV series, Arnaud Louvet , French screenwriter and producer, involved in series projects for streaming platforms, and screenwriter and director Geo Doba from Romania, graduate of the prestigious Serial Eyes Program at DFFB in Berlin, where she received the Big Light Writers’ Apprenticeship Award (2021).
The first edition of Full Moon Creative Lab will end with a pitching session at the Transilvania International Film Festival (June 2024), in front of influential industry professionals, favoring opportunities for projects to find support in the market.
The second residence of the FMCL takes place at Bethlen-Haller Castle in the Baltă Citadel, built in the period 1560–1624. The castle has become a precious symbol of Jidva. Through an extensive restoration process, which began in 2003 and lasted almost 20 years, the castle was brought back to light and resettled in the cultural heritage of the community and of Romania.
Full Moon Creative Lab is a creative laboratory that will be held annually in Transylvania, offering screenwriters the opportunity to develop their skills, surrounded by international industry experts. The project aims to improve the creative process of screenwriters by connecting talented filmmakers from all EU member states. The lab marks the next step in the development of the Full Moon Script Contest, a program launched by TIFF in 2020.
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