Eureka Series is a 10-week training course to experience a European writers room and develop collaborative writing skills by developing an original series concept in groups, advised by series professionals. Launched in 2021 in partnership with La Fémis, it is an initiative created by Series Mania Institute to train professionals in the rapidly changing TV series industry.
A program for emerging screenwriters from all over Europe, with a strong professional interest in series writing.
Eureka Series is supported by the Creative Europe MEDIA program of the European Union.
Objectives
- Master the creative process of collaborative writing
- Understand how the European series ecosystems operate
- Acquire the skills to pitch and sell a European series to investors
- Break down barriers between series professionals to acquire a common work language
- Develop a European network by teaming up with other emerging writers and experienced professionals
Method
- Development of an original series concept in a writers room environment throughout the training
- Lectures and workshops with experienced European series professionals
- Masterclasses with industry executives ; case studies on recent European series with their creative teams
- Evaluation of participants’ progress through quizzes and assignments
- Final presentation in front of a professional panel
The program
Eureka Series aims to develop collaborative writing skills by experiencing an European writers room environment.
Divided into groups after a few days of training, participants learn to collaboratively write by developing original series concepts. Each group will be accompanied by a writer mentor throughout the training.
Additionally, each week of the training program is dedicated to a specific aspect of series creation taught by professional tutors, such as defining a concept, characters and season development, and understanding the European and international series landscape.
During the Final Residency in the last week of the program, participants learn how to pitch their series concepts in a quiet and pleasant environment.
The training culminates with a Final Presentation, during which each original series concepts is pitched and assessed by a professional panel.
FORMAT
Editions: two editions a year
- Spring edition: from March to June
- Fall edition: from September to December.
Location: Lille, France (10 rue des Poissonceaux), and remotely (two weeks)
Language: English
Number of participants: up to 12 emerging European series professionals
WHO CAN APPLY?
European emerging screenwriters, with a strong professional interest in series writing.
Are welcome to apply: Recent alumni of film and television schools, Audiovisual professionals retraining to screenwriting, Experienced screenwriters in other formats (short, feature, animation…).
Requirements: Selected applicants must have already written a script (TV series, online series, short film or feature film), whether or not it has been produced.
Eligibility:
- Candidates must be over 18 years old or above
- Candidates must have the desire to work in Europe in their professional future
- Candidates must hold nationality or a long-term residence permit from one of the following countries: Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine or the United Kingdom.
If you have special circumstances, such as a disability, please let us know so that we can discuss your needs. Contact: smi@seriesmania.com
tuition fees
€3 500 per participant (taxes included)
For French participants, depending on your eligibility, all training programs can be funded in part or in full by AFDAS or other funding organizations.
For other participants, we encourage you to contact local funds or writers/producers guilds to inquire about potential funding.
Series Mania Institute offers some bursaries for a limited number of participants, depending on their incomes. Bursary requests must be made by email at the initiative of the participant upon their selection. Series Mania Institute will analyze each bursary request according to personal financial resources.
Series Mania Institute urges all applicants to anticipate further costs that are not included in the tuition fees, such as travel, accommodation – Series Mania Institute will provide all participants with a list of useful websites – and daily expenses.
EUREKA SERIES IN FIGURES
Latest update – January 2024
- 5 editions since 2021
- 58 participants trained
- 23 different nationalities represented though our participants
- Participants of the last edition rated the training program 9.1/10.