News

After a successful partnership with When East Meets West concerning MIDPOINT programs Feature Launch and Shorts, a new joint program focused on TV series MIDPOINT Cold Open has been launched and since October 1, 2019, is open for submissions!

MIDPOINT Cold Open targets independent producers, with a background in feature film producing, aspiring to shift to high TV series content. 

“In the television world, the "cold open" is a narrative choice of jumping directly into a story before the opening credits of a series or show. As the program is tailored for producers that are transforming from a feature film industry into the world of series, we figured it is a "jump directly into a story" for them, too. The training really reflects a need to discover the television series world in an effective and quick "crash course", so to say,” says Katarina Tomkova, MIDPOINT program coordinator of Cold Open (as well as she is in charge of other series-focused programs TV Launch and Writers' Room), while explaining the program title.

The head of the WEMW, Alessandro Gropplero, reflects the collaboration: "In 2018 WEMW and MIDPOINT initiated a partnership to help emerging filmmakers to develop at best their projects and have a first unique access to the international market. In these two years this collaboration not only proved to be very successful but clearly highlighted our similar vision and strategy. For this reason we decided to move one step further and create the basis for a new mini lab based on the pedagogical approach and expert team provided by MIDPOINT TV Launch."

The main goal of this program is, from his point of view, "to offer a better understanding of the basic steps you need to undertake when running a TV show and, on a more general level, to stimulate European producers to think more of TV series as a concrete opportunity for their company business model."

About the program
“In terms of television, we're not requiring any experience,” says Katarina while describing the target group of the program. “We expect the applicants to however have some experience in the feature film world and the drive and enthusiasm to shift to series,” she adds and continues by revealing a bit about the program structure:   
“The program will be combining open lectures, together with closed group sessions and individual consultations. They will guide the participants to the expected market and professional platforms and will also allow the participants to "compare notes", learn about if there are differences or similarities of various regions, and tools to address certain challenges of the development process and financing."

The application is accessible here and the deadline for submission is November 30, 2019.

MIDPOINT Cold Open is realized in partnership with When East Meets West. MIDPOINT operates under the auspices of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.