This version of the Rules and Regulations was updated on October 16, 2024.
1. INTRODUCTION
The Drama Series Co-Writing Residency between Israel and France is a program initiated by the CNC (Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image animée), France and the GMFF (Gesher Multicultural Film Fund), Israel, in cooperation with the Israeli Scriptwriters Guild, The Israeli Producers Association and the French Embassy in Israel.
The residency has been created to initiate a fruitful collaboration between screenwriters from both countries. This Co-writing Residency of agreed long-term partnership aims to boost international series co-productions with both Israel and France, and to encourage the development of high-quality fiction series for an international audience.
Series Mania is one of the main partner of the project as it is internationally recognized as a major festival for high-quality series and organises a professional forum aiming to stimulate international coproduction. Series Mania has been designated as the organizer of the residency in France.
2. General description of the process
Up to 5 projects will be selected to take part in the residency. Each project will be carried by a team composed by at least two screenwriters, one from Israel and one from France.
The selected participants will take part in 3 workshops. The first workshop will be hosted in Israel*, the second workshop will be a follow-up online, with the final workshop hosted in France at the Series Mania Forum in Lille. The teams will have approximately 4 months to co-write the full bible of a fiction series. International mentors will tutor and follow personally and virtually the various stages of Residency development.
At the end of this process, the projects will be presented to potential international financial partners (producers, broadcasters, platforms…) during the Series Mania Forum in March –25-27, 2025.
*The organisers reserve the right to change certain aspects of this workshop and switch to an online training, depending on the geopolitical context.
3. Schedule
The timeframe of the residency will be structured as follows:
- 29/05/2024: Opening of the call for applications
- 17/06/2024 and 04/07/2024 from 11am – 12:30pm CET: Webinar “1.Meet the Residency” & “2.Pitch yourself” [Zoom]
- 16/09/2024 at 5pm CET: Deadline for submissions
- 28-29 October : 20’ interviews with shortlisted candidates
- 31/10/2024: Selection committee & announcement of results (by email to all candidates)
- 03/12/2024 from 10am – 11:30am CET: Residency launch with partners and meet and greet, bonding discussion with guests – if workshop online
- From 09/12/2024 to 12/12/2024: 1st workshop in Israel or Online
- From 28/01/2024 to 30/01/2024: Virtual follow-up workshop
- From 21/03/2024 to 24/03/2024: 3rd workshop in France, at Series Mania in Lille
- From 25/03/2024 to 27/03/2024: Series Mania Forum 2024 (Pitching session + matchmaking)
All the members of each selected team must be available and participate in the three workshops. Any absence without a proper justification can cause the exclusion of the project and the refunding of the expenses already incurred (travels, accommodation etc.)
4. Language
The common working language of the residency is English: this means that all written and spoken materials, at all steps of the process, must be in English.
The final series can be multilingual, in Hebrew, French, Arabic, English or any other European language.
5. Participation fees
The Drama Series Co-Writing Residency between Israel and France is totally free of charge for the participants.
All accommodation and hospitality expenses will be covered by the Partners. Travel costs for Israeli participants will cover a round trip from Tel Aviv to Paris. Travel costs for French participants will cover a round trip from Paris or any other French city to Lille.
The hereabove Drama Series Co-Writing Residency will cover the expenses of two participants per group (one French, one Israeli). Any additional participants linked to a selected project wishing to take part in the Drama Series Co-Writing Residency must be confirmed by partners and will have to cover their expenses (travel, food, accommodation, and talent registration at Series Mania Forum which will be at a discount rate).
6. Application rules
Applications must be submitted in accordance with the rules below and within the specified dates.
6.1. Teams
Applications must be made by a team composed by at least two co-writers, one from Israel and one from France, with a common project. To be eligible, candidates must prove to have a French or Israeli nationality.
Each team must have at least one experienced writer on board.
To qualify as experienced, a screenwriter must have either:
- written at least two episodes in a drama series (30/60 minutes) that has been produced and broadcast, or
- written a series that was produced and aired on the internet, with the sum of the episodes exceeding 70 minutes.
Documents proving the professional experience must be provided.
Persons with a direct or indirect connection to or interest in the GMFF and/or CNC, including members of the Board of Directors, lecturers and members of the professional committee, will not be able to submit proposals. In addition, representatives of the Israeli Scriptwriters Guild representatives of the Israeli Producers’ Association, and Series Mania Festival employees who work directly or indirectly in the project will not be able to submit proposals to the project.
Applications can be made only by teams composed by screenwriters, directors or creatives on their behalf.
The Residency is targeted at projects which may or may not have a producer or intended producer. Screenwriter who want to apply for the residency but don’t have a partner or a project, can try to find a partner through a dedicated Facebook group opened by the CNC, GMFF and Series Mania: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cowritingresidency, or during our two matchmaking webinars on June 17 and July 4.
6.2. Application requirements and materials
Applications can be made only by teams. Individual applications are not accepted.
To qualify for the selection, applications must be made online on the dedicated website page: https://submissions-series-mania.festicine.fr/en/residency-il-fr
No submission by email, post, or any other means will be accepted.
The submitted projects must meet the following requirements:
- Category: TV series only (TV movies, feature films etc. will not be accepted)
- Length: between 20 and 60 minutes per episode
- Genre: fiction series only (animation or documentaries will not be accepted)
- Only originals concepts for seasons 1 will be accepted. Adaptations from books will not be accepted. Remakes from foreign or domestic series, seasons 2 or returning shows will not be accepted.
When applying, each team must provide the following elements at once, as it is not possible to save and return to your application :
- The online application form fully in English
- A pre-bible of up to 5 pages of the series that you want to work on during the cowriting residency. It must include a seasonal layout and character description.
- A letter of intent from the team
- A pitch video of both partners (max 3 min), answering the questions: why this series, why now, why you two, indicating the nature of your partnership and your mutual aspirations.
- A resume presenting the professional experience of each writer
- A proof of Israeli of French nationality for each writer (a copy of passport or national ID)
Screenwriters can apply with more than one project: in this case they must provide the above documents for each project [up to 2 projects maximum for each participant].
All applications are totally free of charge.
Submission to the residency will be open for applications on May 29, 2024. The application deadline is on September, 16, 2024 at midnight (CET).
The procedure may include a live interview if requested to select the final group of writers.
7. Selection process
The results of the official selection will be announced by e-mail to the candidates by November 2024.
7.1. Selection committee
The applications will be examined by a selection committee composed by professionals from the TV industry.
7.2. Selection criteria
The selection committee will take in consideration the following criteria:
- The artistic value of the project
- The experience of the creative team
- The international potential of the project
- The originality of the concept compared to other series already available in the French or Israeli market
- The market appeal of the project according to the industry needs
- The universal social value of the proposal
The selection committee will aim to have a diversity in the genres (crime, period drama, comedies etc.) among the 5 selected projects.
A good gender balance between writers in the teams will also be considered by the committee as a positive criterion, although it is not necessary for the application.
The selection committee reserves the right not to choose any of the proposals submitted or to cancel the project, if no suitable proposals are found according to these rules and regulations, or at its discretion.
8. Intellectual Property
Applicants must own all the rights on the submitted project. It means that no option, agreement or contract with a production company, a broadcaster or a platform can be signed while doing the application and during the whole residency process.
9. Disputes
The aim of the residency is to encourage collaboration between screenwriters from France and Israel. As such, writers within each team acknowledge that they are working together in partnership to develop the story they have been selected with. In case of a dispute between the screenwriters of a team, the screenwriters must either resolve their differences on their own or choose to all opt out.
10. Confidentiality and communication
All the documents and information supplied within the submission are strictly confidential and will not be published for any reason.
The projects will be displayed online on the Series Mania Digital platform, including: a visual for the project, a logline, a synopsis, writer’s statement, and bible. The writers will also have a personal page on the Series Mania Digital platform, including: their biography, CV and contact information.
These elements can be used for communication purposes and be published in the press.
The screenwriters will be required to publicize in the final captions of the series, if it is produced, the involvement of the partner organizations using the logo and the captions to be provided to them by the foundations and the partner organizations.
