Take your short-film idea and make it a reality.
MIDPOINT Shorts 2021-2022
Shorts
Archive
Projects
Five promising short-film projects
Creative teams work in a group under the guidance of internationally renowned tutors.
APRIL 1989
A few months before the velvet revolution in the Czechoslovakia two teenage boys try to flee and emigrate to the west. With one desire to join the French legion and continue practicing their one and ...
Night Shift
Strait-laced cadet Yasin is assigned to his first shift guarding the Cypriot coastline from ‘outsiders’. Yasin is excited to be mentored by Gokhan; an exceptional veteran of the border patrol. ...
MIDPOINT participants:
Talat GokdemirAlasdair BayneAlasdair BayneTalat GokdemirTalat GokdemirAlasdair Bayne
Rites
A twelve-year-old Michal was born with a cleft lip. He feels inadequate because of his deformed face. His only friend Ondra convinces him to join a street gang to finally break free from a position ...
The Annunciation
Maria is a single career-driven woman in her mid 30s. A leading IT-firm is offering her an attractive position which, though, means no personal life. Before accepting the offer she needs to see the ...
Wedding, Berlin
Ramle and Yazur plan a big traditional Palestinian wedding for their daughter, Bissan, who was born and raised in Berlin. Omar, who is Bissan’s husband to be, has dreamt of this night for the past ...
Participants
The next generation of talented film professionals
Tutors
Inspirational professionals with passion for sharing experience
Build on the solid foundations of traditional script analysis, MIDPOINT Shorts brings experts from the short-film industry to the service of your stories.
Head of Studies & Group Leader
Pavel Marek is a globetrotter – born in India, early childhood in the USA, now a writer and director of Czech features, shorts and docs, and professor of directing at FAMU Prague.
As Head of Studies, Pavel oversees the methodology of the program, ensures participants' needs are met, and guarantees the practical value and industry impact of the training you receive.
As Group Leader, Pavel also oversees the development of all projects from the beginning of the program through graduation.
Pavel Marek
Czech Republic
Pavel Marek is a graduate of the Faculty of Computer Engineering, Technical University and the Directing Department at FAMU. He received a scholarship at the NFTS in the UK. During the communist era ...
Complete bio
Producer Tutor
The Producer Tutor makes sure each project develops effective promotional materials and realistic budgets and schedules.
Pitching Tutor
The Pitching Tutor helps participants prepare the presentation of their projects, not only for the program's final pitching session but for any eventuality.
Guest Tutors
Guest Tutors include established professionals who usually attend one of the two workshops to share their expertise.
Structure
Comprehensive project-development program for short-film projects
Five creative teams work together in a small group under the guidance of an internationally renowned and experienced script consultant. During the workshop, they gain a deeper understanding of their creative tasks and insight into financing, sales, festival and distribution strategies.
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Online Kick-offSeptember 29–October 1, 2021 | online
Participants become acquainted with tutors, with one another, and with the methodology they'll use during the workshop. They begin work on their scripts and set up the group's dynamics.
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Workshop 1: Script Development & Project PackagingOctober 18–22, 2021 | online
This workshop focuses primarily on creative development and dramaturgy. Participants also begin working on promotional materials and production strategies with the Producer Tutor. They also meet Guest Tutors from the short-film industry through special lectures and inspiring masterclasses.
Lectures
A Short Journey Through Co-Production MarketsAlessandro Gropplero
October 22, 2021, 10:00 a.m. | onlineAll around the year and all over the world there are hundreds of opportunities to pitch your film and find new financial and creative partners. No matter if you are developing a short or a feature, nor if it is a physical or a virtual presentation, it is always essential to plan your strategy and combine carefully all the ingredients you can use to best introduce your project.
Packaging a Short Film: Materials!Marija Razgute
October 19, 2021, 12:00 p.m. | onlineBefore a short film is ready for the screen the usual way of communicating it to the talents, partners or funds is providing them with your package of materials – treatment or script, logline or synopsis, intentions, budget, financing plan, distribution strategy and etc. The new loglines and synopsis of each group will be discussed throughout the lecture.
Creative TalkBen Vandendaele
October 21, 2021, 2:00 p.m. | onlineCreative talk with a versatile producer, sales agent and distributor, Ben Vandendaele, about the short film industry and both traditional and alternative ways of distribution.
Masterclass: THE HISTORY OF AVIATIONBalint Kenyeres
October 20, 2021, 4 p.m. | onlineNormandy, 1905. The picnic is over; the upper middle class party prepare to go home. They are waiting for just one last photograph, but someone is still missing from the group…
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All participantsOnline Consultations
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Workshop 2: Industry Insights & Project ShowcaseJanuary 20-26, 2022 | Trieste, Italy
This workshop serves as a platform to develop scripts further, while also incorporating distribution strategies and addressing presentation skills and promotional materials. The entire program concludes with a project showcase within the When East Meets West Co-Production Forum, plus one-on-one meetings with important decision-makers within the industry.
Lectures
Pitch or PerishStefano Tealdi
January 7, 2022, 10:00 a.m. | OnlinePublic and on-line presentations of new projects and professional talent have become widespread and filmmakers and producers must master the skills of verbally presenting themselves and thier new proposals in brief. The plenary examines what the pitch means for the various players attending a public forum, a one-to-one meeting or an on-line pitch, what it implies at different levels and how to structure and handle it.
Masterclass: I Am Afraid to Forget Your FaceSameh Alaa
January 24, 2022, 10:30 - 12:00 a. m. | Savoia Excelsior Palace / Trieste, ItalyMasterclass by Egyptian filmmaker Sameh Alaa, mostly about his short film I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face awarded by Palme d´Or at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival (and many other awards).
Festival Strategy for Shorts in the Long RunWouter Jansen
January 25, 2022, 9:30 - 11:00 a. m. | Savoia Excelsior Palace / Trieste, ItalyWith plenty of film festivals out there and new ones popping up every day, it is easy to get lost trying to find the ones that suit your film (and you) best. When and where to start whilst working on your film, what festivals to screen at in the beginning and what choices should you make after having your premiere? How can you get the most out of your festival run? What are the possibilities for spreading and screening your film online? In this we will explain the best way to get your short film out into the world.
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All participantsFollow-up Online ConsultationsSpring 2022 | online
Successful Shorts
Selection of our successful alumni
Magic Moments
Parents struggle to earn money, so sisters basically take care of each other alone.
-Why do we walk on the grass?
-So that we step into dogshit and are lucky.
Thanks to the bond they have, they might have already won over life´s shit.
Status:
realised
MIDPOINT participants involved:
Martina Buchelova, Erika Paulinska
Developed at:
MIDPOINT Intensive Early Melons 2013
Atlantis, 2003
2003, four years before Slovakia entered the Schengen Area. Martin and Denisija, a young couple from Ukraine, are trying to get illegaly to Germany through Slovakia, like many people before them. The border between Slovakia and Ukraine will be in a couple of years one of the most secured borders in Europe, but in 2003 it is still open for smugglers and for people hoping to find a new life in Western Europe. Martin and Denisija both dream about getting to Germany, a place they’ve never been to, both ready to sacrifice everything they have to reach this destination.
Status:
realised
MIDPOINT participants involved:
Michal Blasko, Jakub Brychta
Developed at:
MIDPOINT Shorts 2015
Inversion
A film about the complicated friendship of three adolescent girls, two swimming pools, and one malicious act of revenge.
Status:
realised
MIDPOINT participants involved:
Lucia Kajankova
Developed at:
MIDPOINT Shorts Dresden 2017
References
A motivational experience that elevates your project
We have managed to achieve almost final version of the script in three months. All the workshops were very wisely chosen and inspiring.
Elvira Dulskaia
Writer, Director, Shorts 2020–2021 Alumna
MIDPOINT Shorts met and exceeded my expectations with great organization, thorough and dedicated involvement in our project on all the important levels, from the concept and story development all the way to the promotion, marketing and sales, enriching it and teaching us along the way.
Nikola Kupresanin
Writer, Shorts 2020–2021 Alumnus
MIDPOINT Shorts program is an amazing opportunity to take your project to the next level with skillful industry professionals.
Emilios Avraam
Writer, Director, Shorts 2020–2021 Alumnus
It was a great experience, unlocking some parts of the production and the industry that were still unknown to me.
Vassilis Economou
Producer, Shorts 2020–2021 Alumnus
MIDPOINT gave us an important boost and showed us the right direction for our script.
Rozalie Brozkova
Producer, Shorts 2020–2021 Alumna
MIDPOINT Institute is one of the best workshops to attend for film development. This is my second time attending and it has proved that the team is very well organized and has all the great tools to help filmmakers get their films off the ground and into the world!
Tonia Mishiali
Producer, Shorts 2020–2021 Alumna
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