2018 Storytelling Workshop
About the Workshop
The Aegean Film Festival organizes the 2018 Storytelling Workshop; a unique approach to creative writing, idea generation and development. Successful applicants will spend 12 days in Athens and Patmos island, creating new script ideas, testing and developing them to a complete 5-page synopsis, under the guidance of an acclaimed team of tutors and consultants.
During the daily sessions, participants will get an in-depth introduction to storytelling and participate in intensive multiplication and brainstorming of ideas. In order to enhance creativity, participants and consultants will have the chance to attend a series seminars and a theatre production in the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus or the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. On Patmos, the participants will have the chance to attend the screenings and events of 2018 Aegean FF, development their ideas and present their final synopsis.
The Workshop is open to storytellers, writers, directors, creative producers and authors who want to:
– Generate and develop new ideas
– Discover their own individual cinematic language
– Enhance their skills in prewriting and practice their abilities as storytellers
– Network and team up with directors, producers and co-writers
– Select the One amongst their own many original ideas and crash test its potential with industry leaders
before engaging with the long journey of writing it into a script.
You can always keep a copy of the
Workshops brochure
What's Included
The all-inclusive participation fee is 2.600 EUR.
Please note that you can also apply for a scholarship in the application form.
The Full Package includes:
– 15 three-hour long consulting sessions
– 4 two-hour long seminars
– Catering during sessions
– Workshop related transportation
– Workshop Completion Certificate
In Athens:
– Opening dinner
– Theatre tickets for Epidaurus Ancient Theatre
– Airport & port transfers
– Ferry tickets from Piraeus to Patmos
In Patmos:
– 3-star accommodation for 6 nights
– Aegean Festival Pass (including access to all Festival screenings)
– Aegean Film Festival seminars
– Filmmakers Cocktail Event
– Bonfire Story-Pitching Event
– Invitations to festival’s closing party
– Discount on restaurants & other affiliated businesses
– Return ferry tickets with cabin to Piraeus
Additional options:
– 4-star accommodation for 5 nights in Athens
Scholarships
Since its inception in 2010, the Aegean Film Festival has committed to supporting storytellers, directors, writers and producers from all over the world to tell their stories. This year, we are proud to announce that together with the support of our educational partners, we are offering scholarships for the participation to the 2018 Aegean Storytelling Workshop for those facing financial difficulties covering the participation fees. We believe that brilliant ideas exist beyond bank accounts and shouldn’t be bound by numbers.
Workshop's Structure
The Workshop consists of three phases:
Idea Generation
Main goal of this initial step is to nurture the conditions under which ideas are generated. The participants will be encouraged to identify ‘the spark’ of their stories and talk about the drives behind storytelling. As the Workshop aims to challenge the participants’ imagination, the writers will have to visualize entirely new ideas along with the ones they brought with them in their luggage. At the end of this section, the participants will have to come up with a logline for each of their ideas and prepare for selecting the one they will develop throughout the workshop.
Idea Selection
During the idea selection phase, and in order for the writers to be able to choose an idea that will transform into a successful feature length or TV pilot script, the Workshop will focus on subjects including; the psychoanalysis of the writer, the deconstruction of the ideas and the discussion around the conscious and subconscious ‘jury’ we have in mind when writing. As the last step, before the selection, we will analyze the potential dimensions of each narrative and provide the necessary tools for the participants to shape their own personal, cinematic language.
Idea Development
During the last four days of the session in Patmos, consultants and participants will focus on developing the narrative structure, the main characters and possible endings of their stories. They will work on producing different drafts, one full scene and dialogue examples, while towards the end of this stage, they will prepare, practice and finally present to the group, their final story. This will take place on a special event, around a bonfire by the sea, where the presented stories will be recorded to create individual pitching videos.
On the final day, feedback from the groups and one-to-one consultations will complete the Workshop and all participants will leave Patmos with a 5-page synopsis and the 4-minute-video presentation of their project.
Additional Seminars & Cultural Events
A series of four open to the public seminars will be held by the festival guests. An intimate look into the minds and techniques of the world’s masters in order to motivate participants to take the long but exciting road of creating a film or a TV project. Additionally, a panel talk titled “The Future of Content Curation” will be hosted by representatives of major film festivals, television channels and online platforms, including Frederic Boyer, artistic director of the Tribeca Film Festival, representatives from Valletta Film Festival, Sundance TV, Cosmote TV and moderated by Alin Tasciyan, president of the International Federation of Film Critiques (FIPRESCI). The complete list of names of the panels’ and seminars’ representatives will be announced soon.
During the Athens phase and in order to inspire and intrigue the writers we have planned a cultural visit to a theatre play in Epidaurus Ancient Theatre.
Groups & Consultants
The Workshop will be organized into groups of 10-15 participants. There will be two consultants per group to guide and inspire the intensive work of the brainstorming and the developing of the ideas into synopses.
The main consultant of the Workshop is Jacob Krueger, founder of Jacob Krueger Studio. Jacob has worked with thousands of writers, from Academy and Tony Award Winners, to beginning writers picking up the pen for the first time. Jacob is a WGA Paul Selvin Award Winning screenwriter, playwright, producer and director.
Jacob’s first produced movie, the Emmy Award Winning “The Matthew Shepard Story” (2002) won him the Writers Guild of America Paul Selvin Award and a Gemini Nomination for Best Screenplay. He has collaborated on original film musicals with Tony Award winning composers Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg (Les Miserables, Miss Saigon) and with four-time Academy Award Composer Michel Legrand (Yentl, The Thomas Crown Affair), as well as a full slate of solo projects ranging from Feature Films to TV and Miniseries.
More names of guest speakers will be announced by the end of May.
2018 Key Dates
Application Deadline – June 16th
Arrival in Athens – July 11th
Athens Sessions – July 12th to 15th
Travel to Patmos – July 16th
Aegean Film Festival & Patmos Sessions – July 17th to 22nd
Travel to Athens – Night of July 22nd to 23rd
Locations
Athens: Multicultural, cosmopolitan & full of drama
Athens, the capital and largest city of Greece, is one of the oldest cities in the world, transforming through history and developing multiple different faces. Vibrant bars and nightlife, mediterranean cuisine, graffiti- covered walls with contrasting political conversations, ancient theatres and an overlooking Acropolis are only some of the characteristics of its diverse environment. In the streets of Athens where ideas have always found it easy to emerge, strange stories are waiting to be told.
The first part of the Workshop will take place in Athens hosted at the campus of the American College of Greece, in Agia Paraskevi.
Patmos: Remote, untouched, a writer’s revelation
With a population of 3000 and an area of 34.05 km2, Patmos island is of the islands of the Dodecanese complex of the Aegean sea and is most famous for being the location where St. John wrote the Bible’s Book of Revelation. While the fortified 10th-century Monastery dominates the scenery, Patmos’ calming atmosphere and views to the Aegean make it an ideal destination for those seeking either inspiration or a quiet retreat. Between the lace-like coastline and the whitewashed houses, Patmos’ international community of artists, writers, filmmakers and musicians celebrate its detachment in a cinematic way. Patmos Sessions and seminars will be hosted in the Patmos Aktis conference hall and the Groikos bay.
Application and Participation Fees
The Application Fee is € 10
The Participation Fee is € 2,600 (inclusive of all taxes and VAT).
The Participation Fee must be paid in full within 5 calendar days after the acceptance of the offer.
Payment can be done via all major credit/debit cards and/or direct bank transfer. PayPal and any other payment means are not supported. Upon acceptance & payment, an invoice for the full amount will be issued to the details of your choice.
To participate in the Workshop please fill in the online Application Form.
The Application Fee is non-refundable and is payable through PayPal upon submission.
Places will be offered as soon as qualifying applications match the selection criteria and at the discretion of the workshop’s organizers.
We expect places to fill up quickly, so apply early to avoid disappointment.
Successful Applicants offered a place on the Workshop, have 7 calendar days to accept the offer via email to [email protected].
Teams of two or more are requested to apply individually, mentioning their collaboration in the Notes/Additional Message field of the application.
Further Details
Additional Options
A series of additional services will be available upon request for all Workshop participants and their companions:
– Accommodation in Athens: €350
– Upgrade to ferry cabin: €45
Participants can also share a double room with a non-participating companion. An Aegean Festival Pass is also available at a discounted price for the companion.
– Companion Accommodation: € 200
– Extra Festival Pass and AegeanFF Affiliated Business Discounts: €100
Please keep in mind that you should secure your accommodation in Athens in advance and inform the Workshop regarding your arrangements.
All the additional options are available to select in the application form or via email and should be paid together with the Participation Fee.
Requirements & Eligibility Criteria
– Participants are required to arrange and pay for their transportation to and from Athens, Greece arriving
before or by Wednesday July 11th and depart from Athens after the morning of Monday July 23rd.
– Upon acceptance on to the course, we recommend that participants book their flights to Athens as soon as
possible to avoid higher flight costs.
– Participation in the Workshop entails travel by ferry to and from the port of Piraeus and the island of
Patmos, a journey of approximately 8 hours each way. On the 16th of July, participants and consultants
will take the ferry to Patmos and return to Athens on the overnight boat on July 22nd. Ferry cabin
included in the Participation Fee is for double occupancy (i.e. sharing of the cabin with another
participant). Participants can always upgrade to Single Occupancy (please select the appropriate box at
the application form).
– If you are not a citizen of a member state of the European Union or the Schengen Area, you must ensure, in a timely manner, that you have the appropriate visa/travel permission and a valid passport to travel to Greece.
– The language of the Workshop is English and so you must have the ability to communicate effectively in English, both verbally and in writing.
The selection criteria include but are not restricted to:
– the quality & originality of the concept (if any)
– filmography, plays, published work and any other relevant works
– education
– relevant work experience
– relevant internships and volunteer work
– in addition, the Workshop is open to emerging writers, screenwriters and playwrights who show a strong creative potential but no professional track record
For participants applying for one of the scholarships offered by our educational partners, in order to support those who face financial difficulties covering the participation cost, the following eligibility criteria also apply:
– Legal residency in Greece
– Greek citizenship in case residency is outside Greece
Please note that the following documentation might be required for the approval of your scholarship:
– Personal and family tax returns
– Proof of address
Cancellation
Cancellation is available with full refund until June 4th, 2018.
Cancellations from June 5th 2018 and onwards are not entitled to a refund.
Before applying, please check the full details and the Terms and Conditions of the Workshop.
The workshop couldn't have been realised without the kind and generous support of our Partners and Educational Sponsors
