Created by the CineComedies Festival and in partnership with the Liège International Comedy Film Festival since 2022, the CinéComedies Lab is back for its 6th edition.
Screenwriter, director, actress and singer Victoria Bedos will sponsor this year’s event, taking over from Jean-François Halin, Agnès Jaoui, Michel Leclerc, Benoît Mariage and Lucien Jean-Baptiste.
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Laura Stevens
After starting out as a novelist, Victoria Bedos went on to write The Aries Familyhis first screenplay for the cinema, an original story that was a great success in France and was adapted in the United States under the title “CODA“. This American remake won the 2022 Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor and Best Picture. She then collaborated on the writing of “Normandie Nue“by Philippe Le Guay with François Cluzet, Toby Jones and François-Xavier Demaison and, in 2023, directed his first feature film: “La Plus belle pour aller danser“with Brune Moulin, Philippe Katerine and Pierre Richard.
Victoria Bedos is currently writing and directing a series for Netflix, as well as three feature films and the sequel to“La Famille Bélier“.
Open to French, Belgian and French-speaking scriptwriters from all over Europe, the CineComedies Lab writing residency aims to contribute to the emergence of new talent and the development of the art of comedy in cinema.
The selected scriptwriters will benefit from three work sessions, after which their projects will be presented to European producers at the next Liège International Comedy Film Festival (FIFCL) from November 6 to 10, 2024.
Since the creation of the residency, 29 projects have been developed, and several scripts have been optioned by producers and are the subject of a development agreement.
The writing workshop is run by scriptwriter Fadette Drouard (Patients, Papicha, La Fine Fleur, La Syndicaliste…) in collaboration with Ali Bougheraba (Les SEGPA).
Description of the residence
The aim of the residency is to support authors in the delicate development phase of their screenplays, helping them to solve problems of dramaturgy and rhythm, and to explore the various narrative possibilities.
In a spirit of exchange and cross-fertilization, they are supervised by consultants who are themselves screenwriters, confronted with the difficulties of writing on a daily basis. They are also trained in the art of the pitch, an essential exercise in convincing professionals to finance a project.
A maximum of 6 feature-length projects will be selected.
Key dates for the residence
June 14, 2024: registration closes.
July 9, 2024: Announcement of the selection, i.e. 6 feature film projects selected by a committee of experts.
September 9 to 13, 2024 at Arenberg Creative Mine: First session focusing on the evaluation of each project in order to set up the narrative structure of the scenarios and the character sheets.
October 7 to 10, 2024 at Arenberg Creative Mine: Second work session on the scenario.
October 11, 2024 at École 24, Tourcoing (Lille Métropole): Workshops and professional meetings.
November 3 to 6, 2024 at FIFCL, Liège (Belgium): Third session: preparation for the art of the pitch and presentation of projects to professionals.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Documents to be supplied
Candidates must submit the following documents:
1 short synopsis (pitch) of 3 lines
1 synopsis of up to 3 pages
2 dialogue sequences
1 note of intent
1 biography
Visual references
Residence locations
Arenberg Creative Mine, a regional center of excellence in digital imaging and media, will host the first two sessions. Liège will host the final session.
Submission of projects by e-mail
lab@festival-cinecomedies.com PDF max 4 Mb.
Cost of residence
Residency is free of charge. Accommodation, meals and car transfers are provided by CineComedies Lab. However, residents are responsible for their own travel to and from > place of residence > home. Only one author per project is allowed.
Selected authors must be available on the dates of the residency.
Contact
The CineComedies Lab is a program initiated by the CineComedies Festival and supported by the Communauté d’Agglomération La Porte du Hainaut, Creative Mine, Pictanovo, the Institut Français and the Hauts-de-France Region, the Walloon Region, the Liège International Comedy Film Festival and Wallimage.
It is organized in Arenberg Creative Mine (France), Lille (France) and Liège (Belgium).