European screenwriters gather in Transylvania for the third Full Moon Creative Lab #2 residency
This week marks the third creative residency of the second edition of the Full Moon Creative Lab, an initiative by the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF).
Between June 15–19, twelve European screenwriters came together at Bethlen-Haller Castle in Transylvania, where they had the opportunity to refine their writing skills alongside international film industry experts. The Full Moon Creative Lab (FMCL) is dedicated to writers developing genre series — including thriller, horror, and fantasy. Transilvania IFF's initiative is co-funded by the European Union.
Divided into three Writers’ Rooms, participants were mentored by three facilitators, seasoned professionals in the film industry: Eilon Ratzkovsky (Israel), a producer with over 25 years of experience in film and TV series production; Arnaud Louvet, a French screenwriter and producer involved in streaming platform series projects; and Michaela Sabo, a Slovak screenwriter and creative producer. For this final residency, the team was joined by Agathe Berman (France), a producer and pitching expert.
As in the previous edition, the second Full Moon Creative Lab will conclude with a pitching session on June 20 during the Transilvania International Film Festival, in front of prominent industry professionals, creating opportunities for the projects to find support in the market.
The open call for this edition was launched in June 2024, during last year’s Transilvania IFF, and the twelve participants were selected by a jury from over 80 applications.
The three selected projects are:
Normal Porn For Normal People – Hiram Harrington (Ireland)
Marciban – Zsuzsanna Bak (Hungary)
Under the Mountain – Madeleine Feret Fleury (France)
During the residencies, the selected screenwriters were joined by nine other colleagues from Romania, Germany, Estonia, Bulgaria, and Croatia: Matthias Börner (Germany), Lisa Brunke (Germany), Eve Tisler (Estonia), Filip Columbeanu (Romania), Iveta Stavreva (Bulgaria), Eva Todică (Romania), Daria Stilin (Croatia), Joona Kivirinta (Finland), and Mile Božičević(Croatia).
The third FMCL residency took place at the Bethlen-Haller Castle in Cetatea de Baltă, built between 1560 and 1624. The castle has become a treasured symbol of Jidvei. Thanks to a major restoration process that began in 2003 and lasted nearly 20 years, the castle has been revitalized and returned to the cultural heritage of the local community and Romania.
The program is an APFR (the Association of Promotion of Romanian Film) initiative, supported by Jidvei, AFCN, UPFAR, and co-funded by the European Union.
The Full Moon Creative Lab is a creative residency that takes place in Transylvania, offering screenwriters the chance to develop their skills alongside international experts. The project aims to enhance the creative process of screenwriters while connecting talented filmmakers from all EU member states. Now in its second edition, the lab continues the mission started by the Full Moon Script Contest, a program launched by TIFF in 2020.
