The writing residency

The CineComedies Lab writing residency aims to foster the emergence of new talent and contribute to the development of the art of comedy in cinema.

© Festival CineComedies Lens-Liévin

CineComedies Lab: Writing residency dedicated to comedy

Open to French, Belgian and French-speaking scriptwriters from all over Europe, the CineComedies Lab writing residency aims to foster the emergence of new talent and actively contribute to the development of the art of comedy in cinema.

Selected scriptwriters take part in three intensive work sessions, at the end of which their projects are presented to European producers at the Liège International Comedy Film Festival (FIFCL), to be held from November 5 to 9, 2025.

Since its creation, the residency has enabled the development of 34 projects. Several of these have been optioned by producers and are now the subject of development agreements. In this context :

  • Producers acquiring a project from the CineComedies Lab can benefit from a €50,000 development grant from Wallimpact.

  • RTBF awards a €17,500 writing grant to a Belgian screenwriter.

Each edition of the residency is sponsored by a well-known figure in the world of comedy. Previous patrons include:

  • Stefan Liberski,(Tokyo Fiancée, The Art of Being Happy, Bunker Paradise)

  • Victoria Bedos, nominated for a César for Best Original Screenplay 2015 for La Famille Bélier

  • Jean-François Halin,(OSS 117, Les Guignols de l’info)

  • Agnès Jaoui, winner of 7 Césars, including 5 for screenplay(Comme une image, Le Goût des autres, On connaît la chanson, Smoking / No Smoking, Un air de famille).

  • Michel Leclerc,(Tastes and Colors, Class Struggle)

  • Benoît Mariage,(Cowboy, Les Convoyeurs attendent)

  • Lucien Jean-Baptiste, nominated for a César for Best First Film for La Première Étoile

The writing workshop is run by Jonathan Rio.

2025

Projects selected for CineComedies Lab 2025:

  • COMBAT DE COQ by Quentin Lecocq

  • EN MODE VOILÀ QUOI by Camille Fievez

  • LE CERCLE DES RATÉS ANONYMES by Anthony Granier

  • LE PANSEMENT by Laura Ghazal

  • LA COMMU’ by Laura Lambert and Géraldine Poulain

On this occasion, producers who acquire a project selected at the CineComedies Lab will benefit from Wallimpact development support worth 50,000 euros, as well as 17,500 euros from RTBF to finance a writing grant for a Belgian author.

The residency will be sponsored in 2025 by Belgian filmmaker Stefan Liberski, and the writing workshop is led by Jonathan Rio, screenwriter and creator of several projects, including the Rivages series (France Télévisions), the award-winning web series Fritures and the Askip series.

2024

Projects selected for CineComedies Lab 2024:

  • THE TOWEL SYNDROME – Alice and Louise Rebourg
  • IN A CORNER OF THE HEAD – Mathieu Gompel
  • FRANCINE FOREVER – Anne Loriot
  • THE WEEKEND IN BERLIN – Scott Noblet
  • SUR PLACE*– Gilles de Voghel and Véro Cratzborn
    (*Belgian project)

On this occasion, producers who acquire a project selected at the CineComedies Lab will benefit from Wallimpact development support worth 50,000 euros, as well as 17,500 euros from RTBF for a writing grant for a Belgian author.

Sponsored in 2024 by Victoria Bedos, the writing workshop is directed by Jonathan Rio, screenwriter and creator of several projects, including the Rivages series (France Télévisions), the award-winning web series Fritures and the Askip series.

2023

Projects selected for CineComedies Lab 2023:

  • ECLIPSE – Nicolas Gadesaude
  • FOOD TRUCK*– Stéphane Hénocque
  • GOW – Pierrick Chopin
  • MICHEL*– Émilie Sornasse
  • UNE TÊTE AU-DESSUS – Andra Tévy
  • SILVER SILVIA – Véro Cratzborn & Anne Fantinel

(*Belgian project)

On this occasion, producers who acquire a project selected at the CineComedies Lab will benefit from 50,000 euros in development support via Wallimpact. This support, provided by Wallimage, a new partner of the CineComedies Lab, aims to strengthen cross-border co-production and consolidate the cooperation between the CineComedies Festival and the FIFCL, initiated in 2022.

Sponsored in 2023 by Lucien Jean-Baptiste, the writing workshop is directed by scriptwriter Fadette Drouard(Patients by Fabien Marsaud and Mehdi Idir, Papicha by Mounia Meddour, La Fine Fleur by Pierre Pinaud, La Syndicaliste by Jean-Paul Salomé…), with the collaboration ofAli Bougheraba(Les SEGPA).

2022

Projects selected for CineComedies Lab 2022:

  • ANGIE & CIE – Vanessa Le Reste
  • CATARINA – Pierre Amstutz Roch
  • LOVE IN DUNKERQUE – Olivier Levallois
  • SOLO – Emma Degoutte and Tommy Weber
  • WAP DOO WAP*– Théophile Jonglez

(*Belgian project)

Sponsored this year by Belgian director Benoît Mariage(Les Convoyeurs Attendent, L’Autre, Les Rayures du Zèbre…), the writing workshop is led by screenwriter Fadette Drouard(Patients by Fabien Marsaud and Mehdi Idir, Papicha by Mounia Meddour, La Fine Fleur by Pierre Pinaud, La Syndicaliste by Jean-Paul Salomé…), with the collaboration ofAli Bougheraba(Les SEGPA).

2021

Projects selected for CineComedies Lab 2021:

  • DON’T SHOOT BABY! – Anne-Marie Puga and Jean-Raymond Garcia
  • ON SÈME – Agathe Ledein
  • GRANDS BOULEVARDS – Delphine Berger and Tonie Béhar
  • RIBOULDINGUE – Karine Mazeau
  • BOUQUET GARNI – Isabelle Lukacie and Philippe Enola
  • A CUSTOM ROLE – Irène Camargo de Staal and Tristan Zerbib
  • LOCO LOCO – Camille Grangé
  • À LA MATRAQUE – Thomas Desenne and Hugo Roth Raza

Sponsored in 2021 by director Michel Leclerc(Le Nom des gens, La Lutte des classes), the writing workshop is led by screenwriter Fadette Drouard(Patients by Fabien Marsaud and Mehdi Idir, Papicha by Mounia Meddour, La Fine Fleur by Pierre Pinaud, La Syndicaliste by Jean-Paul Salomé…), with the collaboration ofAli Bougheraba(Les SEGPA).

2020

Projects selected for CineComedies Lab 2020:

  • LA CAGNOTTE – Virginie Cheval
  • HURLUBERLU – Léa Jeanne Boehringer and Hugo Gertner
  • GARDE À VOUS – Sheila O’Connor
  • LE BIG LOVE – Caroline Taconet
  • COUPLE AND THE MOTOR – Anaïs Venturi

Sponsored in 2020 by Agnès Jaoui(Cuisine et dépendances, Un air de famille, On connaît la chanson, Le Goût des autres, Comme une image…), the writing workshop is directed by scriptwriter Fadette Drouard(Patients by Fabien Marsaud and Mehdi Idir, Papicha by Mounia Meddour, La Fine Fleur by Pierre Pinaud, La Syndicaliste by Jean-Paul Salomé…), with the collaboration ofAli Bougheraba(Les SEGPA).

2019

Projects selected for CineComedies Lab 2019:

  • MYSTERIOUS CUSTOMERS – Gilles Tinet and Simon Perrin
  • CONTREMARQUES POUR PANTIN – Bénédicte and Emmanuelle Portal
  • THE METHOD – François-Régis Jeanne, Justin Hamilton-Salem and Alexis Manenti
  • LE RAVISSEMENT – Bernard Jeanjean and Francis Magnin
  • ORIONU WAWREJKO – Constance Cardon and Marie Garnier

Sponsored in 2019 by French screenwriter Jean-François Halin(OSS 117, Mystère à Saint-Tropez, Au Service de la France…), the writing workshop is led by screenwriter Fadette Drouard(Patients by Fabien Marsaud and Mehdi Idir, Papicha by Mounia Meddour, La Fine Fleur by Pierre Pinaud, La Syndicaliste by Jean-Paul Salomé…), with the collaboration ofAli Bougheraba(Les SEGPA).

Residence partners

The CineComedies Lab is a program initiated by CineComedies and supported by the Communauté d’Agglomération La Porte du Hainaut, Creative Mine, Pictanovo, the Walloon Region, RTBF, the Liège International Comedy Film Festival and Wallimage.

It is organized in Arenberg Creative Mine (France), Lille (France) and Liège (Belgium).

PRESS CONTACT

Anne Pourbaix
Phone: +33 6 11 29 59 26
E-mail : anne@api-rp.com

www.api-rp.com