Projects | Scripteast

THE SIBYL

Eva is a 40 year-old single mother. She falls in love with Voytek, and wants to build real, tangible relationship and home, but her daughter, Marta (12), has different plans: she wants the end of the world. And she believes that to evoke the apocalypse, she and her mum need to go to Jerusalem and meet her father who she has [...]

Zuzanna Solakiewicz

Born in 1978. Graduated in Humanities, University of Warsaw. Between 2005 and 2009 lived in Israel and studied film directing at the Sam Spiegel Film & TV School in Jerusalem. Completed an internship at the Lodz Film School. Author of historical and anthropological essays. Her shorts and documentaries are successfully presented at many international film festivals. Participant of workshops such as Berlinale Talent Campus, 2015, New Horizons Studio 2017, + 2017, Script Atelier 2017/18 (with The Sybill film project.

The Libel

Based on 4000 pages of original court record 12 years before the Dreyfus Affair, in April 1882, a 14-year-old Hungarian peasant girl from Tiszaeszlár village heads out to the store, never to return home. 15 Orthodox Jews are arrested by authorities under the accusation of ritual murder. Móric Scharf, a 13 years old [...]

Diana Groó

Diana Groó received her education in Budapest. In 1992 she attended ELTE University Faculty of Arts (Faculty of French Literature and Judaism), in 1995 she attended the University of Theatre and Film Arts Budapest where she obtained her BA and Master’s in Film and TV Directing in 2000. Co-founder of Katapultfilm studio (2002), Malcah Films (2013) and DunaDock Workshop & MC (2013). Diana recieved her academic doctoral degree DLA (PhD) summa cum laude at University of Theatre and Film Arts –Budapest in 2018. She is associate professor, lecturer and head of the Film and Media Specialist Program at Metropolitan University Budapest.

Languages: (Very good): English, French, Russian / (Good, Limited): Herbrew, German, Portuguese

PROFESSIONAL BACKROUND:

After her prize winning shorts and documentaries, her debut feature film was ’A Miracle in Cracow’, a Central European Jewish magic tale, in Polish-Hungarian coproduction in 2004 with coproducer Krzisztof Zanussi. Her documentary “What Lies Ahead”– about disabled children of the Hungarian Pető Institute, was awarded by the Jury of Verzio 4 Int. Human Rights Doc. Filmfestival in 2005. Her second feature film “Vespa ” _(2010) /a road movie of a Romani teenager/, awarded by UNICEF, winner of the Dialog Prize for Intercultural Communication in Cottbus, the Best Director’s Award in Geneva and Los Angeles. Her “Wild Imagination” art-history series, presenting the art of Marc Chagall, August Renoir, Pieter Bruegel and Henr Rousseau opened the contemporary art exhibition of Herzlya Muzeum in Israel in 2005. The “Intervisual Mediaprogram between Painting & Cinema” at Haifa University, involved the serie into its courses along with the works of Peter Greenaway, Derek Jarman and others.

In 2008 Diana premiered first time in Hungary the stage adaptation of Katherine Kressman Taylor’s prophetic novel about the Nazism “Address Unknown_”, that she staged also in Sao Paulo Theatro Hebraica in 2011.

Her latest work is “Regina” (2013) a poetic documentary of the World’s First Woman Rabbi was the winner of the Lia Award at 30th Jerusalem Film Festival 2013, won the Hungarian Filmcritics Special Award in 2014, the GRAND PRIX – of Szolnok International Film Festival of Cultural Arts and the Warsaw Phoenix Award at Warsaw Jewish Motifs Filmfestival. In 2014 beyond many festivals the documentary was screened at the Lincoln Center in New York, at the Library of Congress in Washington,and at Unesco Palais in Paris for the occasion of the International Rememberence Day of the Holocaust. The documentary film is archived at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem. The film stars the voices of Rachel Weisz (English version) and Martina Gedeck (German version). Television Premiere: BBC4, 3 February 2015

Current project : The Blood libel case of Tiszaeszlár in Hungary 1883 – the story of the great trial – in phase of project development in co-production with ECLIPSE FILM.

THE LAST DAD

Year 2035. Warsaw. A city of smog, with huge social differences, where districts of poverty are next to rich housing estates - glass skyscrapers. In one of those rich places lives an only child Ania (11), who during the Christmas Eve unwraps a gift - a modern teddy-dogrobot. Teddy-dog-robot is a hit of the toy industry, [...]

Michał Walczak

Born in 1979, playwright, director.

Graduate of the drama directing department of Zelwerowicz Theatre Academy in Warsaw (2009). Univeristy degree for the author’s spectacle of „The Last Daddy” premiered at the Lalka Theatre in Warsaw. Holder of the Minister of Culture scholarship for 2004. Regarded as one of the most interesting playwrights of his generation.
His plays quickly found their way to Polish stages. His debut „Piaskownica” was staged in 2003 at the Jerzy Szaniawski Theatre in Wałbrzych, directed by Piotr Kruszczyński, followed by „Kopalnia” – a play commissioned specifically for this stage. In the following years, his plays were taken to the stage by numerous directors, including Tomasz Man, Paweł Miśkiewicz, Jarosław Tumidajski, Giovanny Castellanos. His works has been translated to English, German, Lithuanian, Italian, French and Hungarian. His directorial debut was staging of his own play – „Podróż do wnętrza pokoju” – for the Garaż Poffszechny stage of Teatr Powszechny in Warsaw (2003, artistic supervision – Władysław Kowalski). Michał Walczak was an assistant for Zbigniew Zapasiewicz at the Theatre Academy for Witold Gombrowicz’s „Iwona, księżniczka Burgunda” (2004). In 2004 he directed Gombrowicz’s „Kosmos” for Klub Le Mademe in Warsaw, in 2006 his own „Kac” for Nowy Teatr in Łódź. Wrote and directed „To nie jest kraj dla wielkich ludzi” for Teatr Montownia (2008), „Ojciec polski” for Teatr Polonia in Warsaw (2009) and „Rekonstruktor” for the Drama Laboratory in Warsaw (2011).
Walczak also writes plays for children. His „Smutna królewna” was directed by Paweł Aigner for Montownia
Theatre in Warsaw (2004). Walczak himself directed „The Last Daddy” for Warsaw’s Teatr Lalka (2007).
His „Janosik. Naprawdę prawdziwa historia” was directed by Łukasz Kos in 2010.
Walczak was awarded many awards in Poland and abroad for his plays, his playes has beed translated to English, German, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Ukrainian, Italian, French, Russian, Ukrainian and many others.

Maria Wojtyszko

Born in1982 in Warsaw, screenwriter, playwright and dramatist.
Studied cultural studies at Warsaw University, screenwriting at Łódź Film School and directing of feature
films at Andrzej Wajda’s Master School of Film Directing. She also attended Drama School at the Drama
Laboratory. Participated in numerous international screenwriting workshops, including MIDPOINT, PASSION
TO MARKET and FILMS FOR KIDS PRO. Holder of scholarship of Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
Since 2012 works at the Wrocław Puppet Theatre as literary director. She is the writer of TV series
(„Miodowe Lata”, „Doręczyciel”, „Przystań”, „Tancerze”, „Bez tajemnic”) and co-writer of short films („Zagraj ze mną” directed by Rafał Skalski, „Jutro mnie tu nie będzie” by Julia Kolberger, „Liebling” by Izabela Plucińska).
Her work as an author of stage adaptations and playwright includes, among others, „Smutna Królewna”
by Michał Walczak, directed by Paweł Aigner for Montownia theatre, „Koziołek Matołek” directed by Ondrej
Spisak for Teatr na Woli, „Momo” by Daria Kopiec for Pinokio Theatre in Łódź, „Peer Gynt” directed by Rafał
Sabara for Teatr Słowackiego in Kraków and „Madame” directed by Jakub Krofta for Teatr na Woli, „Królowa
Śniegu” directed by Robert Drobniuch for Kubuś Theatre in Kielce, „Wakacje Mikołajka” by Jakub Krofta
for Teatr Lalka in Warsaw. She writes plays for children („Pacan. Historia o miłości”, „Królewna Logorea
i Niedźwiedź”, „Dlaczego nie skaczesz?”). In 2010 she won first prize in a competition organized by Centrum
Sztuki Dziecka in Poznań for her play „Pierwszy Człowiek Świata”.
Her works also include dramas for young people and adults.
In 2006 received the award of Teatr Stary and „Dialog” monthy for her drama „Macica”, which premiered in
Poland at the Teatr Żeromskiego in Kielce and had its world premiere at the Lofft theatre in Leipzig. In 2015,
the play was staged by Brett Teater in Vienna.
The performance based on her play „Sam, czyli przygotowanie do życia w rodzinie” won Grand Prix of
20th Polish Contemporary Play contest.
Her plays has been translated to German, Czech and Finnish.

STILLBORN

STILLBORN is a portrait of a woman of change, in a country in change. A story of a woman in Poland, during the political/social shift from communism into solidarity, and her courageous pursuit of inspiring freedom and change thru her art, her essence and her mysticism. Starting in October 1987 and ending with Poland’s [...]

Olga Chajdas

Born in 1983 in Poznan, Poland. She graduated in Film Production at the Lodz Film School. In 2009 she completedcourses in Andrzej Wajda’s School of Film Directing.

Olga started as assistant to director, then 2nd and 1st AD on

numerous feature films and TV series (among them Oscar nominated In darkness by Agnieszka Holland). She directed for theatre (Edward Albee’s “The goat or who is Sylvia”, Tuvia Tenenbom’s “The Last Jew in Europe”), award winning television series (The Deep End) and recently short films – 3xLOVE won Grand Prix at Distances Short Film Festival in Dublin and Morning has broken premiered at Raindance Festival 2017.

NINA, Olga’s full-length feature debut premiered in International Film Festival Rotterdam winning BIG Screen Award. She’s one of four women directors to direct first Polish Netflix series entitled 1983.

Lena Góra

Lena Gora is am actor and a writer/director. Born in Gdansk, Poland to Slawek Gora, a figurative artist and Ela (Malwina) Gora, a singer in a number of 80s alternative polish bands. Lena began acting at a young age in local theatres in Poland.

Moving to London at 15, she became a member of The-O Adams’ Company and acted as Head of Performance for London’s, Caligula (‘London’s answer to Studio 54’: Time Out.) In 2010 she relocated to New York where she became a member of the The Actors Studio.

Lena is now based in Los Angeles. Some of her most noteworthy performances include “Stand Alone”, “FAIL”, “Cops and Robbers”, “DJ” and VICE series “Dalston Superstars”. In spring 2016 she was one of 10 Strong Women portrayed by Alistar Guy, alongside Daphne Guiness, Melanie Griffith and Tippi Hedren.

In 2017 she premiered her directorial debut Hospital Green.

She is currently in pre-production of Lilith directed by Jeff Preiss and Stillborn directed by Olga Chajdas.

Spinners

In a world, where alien creatures, SPINNERS, for years have replaced whole population with lifeless avatars, a college girl, CARLEEN, 20, on a dark night meets a mysterious young man, RICHARD, 20, who seems to have appeared from nowhere. City’s growing power cuts, which makes local citizens lose their minds, and growing [...]

Ivars Tontegode

Director, writer

The director of the film, Ivars Tontegode, is widely known for his urge to experiment
and depict the inner struggle and evolution of strong personalities in a highly
creative and modern manner. “Spinners” will be his second fiction film and first
genre film.
Work:
“Casting” (short) 2008
“Mušas mantinieks” (short) 2008
“Obsession” (short) 2009
“Mushroomers” (feature) 2012
“Knutification” (documentary) 2017
“Spinners” (feature) 2018 –
Awards:
Latvian national film award “Lielais Kristaps” (“Obsession”)
Warsaw International Film Festival – Best Director, Audience Award (Mushroomers)

Rene Turtledove

Screenwriter

Rene Turtledove is born in Bauska, Latvia on the 16th of October 1991.
From 2009 till 2011 he attended Riga Film school courses in writing, directing and history of film.
Since 2014 Rene Turtledove has worked at film studio “Drejas” as a documentary film director and editor.
Since 2015 Rene has worked in advertising as a director and editor for brand commercials.
Since 2016 he started writing scripts and assisting the director for film studio “Platforma Film”.
Since 2017 he has debuted as an animation film director with the film “The Esperance of Will”.

FILMOGRAPHY

Assistant to the director
The Ring of Kings (fiction) 2018
Ukraina (documentary) 2014
Director
4AM in the morning (documentary) 2015
Boys (documentary) 2016
The Esperance of Will (animation short) 2017
Script Writer
Lucky in Afghanistan (fiction) 2016 –
The Esperance of Will (animation short) 2017
Spinners 2018 –

NIGHTSIREN

Charlotte and her younger sister Tamara are raised in the dense woods by their abusive mother. One day the sisters vanish. Their mother accuses their gypsy neighbor Otilia of kidnapping and witchcraft, who is then stoned and ostracized by the villagers. The broken mother eventually commits suicide. Months later, Otilia [...]

Barbora Námerová

Barbora Námerová (1985, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia) graduated from film academy FAMU in
Prague, department of screenwriting and story editing. Her first feature screenplay
“Filthy”(Tereza Nvotová, 2017) premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. “Filthy”
attended more than 30 festivals around the globe and has won over 20 prizes. Barbora was
nominated for the prestigious Czech Academy Awards and Czech Film Critics Awards where
“Filthy” won Best Picture. Barbora is currently working as a story editor with Gyorgy Krystof,
whose last film “OUT” premiered at Cannes (Certain Regard, 2017), as well as on various film
projects for moloko film production company. She is also part of the film label collective
gurufilm, with whom she made a short film “Retriever”, which premiered at Cannes Film Festival
(Cinéfondation, 2015).
She is currently working in on her second feature screenplay “The Nightsiren” and television
miniseries in US-Slovak co-production “Convictions”, based on a cold-war era autobiography in
stalinist Slovakia.

Tereza Nvotová

Tereza Nvotová (1988, Trnava, Czechoslovakia) graduated in film direction from film academy
FAMU in Prague. Her feature debut “Filthy” has been screened in major festivals around the
world including but not limited to Rotterdam, Karlovy Vary, Cairo, and Santa Barbara. During its
distribution “Filthy” took home 20 awards, making it one of the most successful Czech and
Slovak films of the year. Tereza collaborates with various broadcasting companies, most notably
HBO Europe who has co-produced three of her feature films. Her latest HBO documentary “The
Lust for Power” has been critically acclaimed and has caused heated debate about populism and
corruption in politics.
In addition to her work as a film director she creates radio podcasts, travel and historical
documentaries, music videos, promos and commercials.
She is currently working on her second feature “The Nightsiren” as well as the television
miniseries “Convictions”.

Mother

ELENA dreams to make theater since childhood in conflict with her mother who says all artists are prostitutes with no families and no children. Workaholic Elena stages unwatchable performances and under stress, she loses her period at the age of 32. She tries a hormone intervention with her husband and professional guru [...]

Zornitsa Sophia

Zornitsa Sophia is a Master of Fine Arts with major in painting, alumni of NAFA, Sofia. She specialized in School of Visual Arts, New York and American University, Washington DC. As an initiative of her own, she restored the church in the Sofia Male Prison, together with the convicts. She worked 4 years as Art Director in EURO RSCG while she took part in over 50 visual arts festivals and exhibitions around the world with video art, installations, actions and paintings, before she got involved with filmmaking. She specialized directing under the supervision of Academic Lyudmil Staykov in National Academy of Film and Theatre Sofia for one year.

Her first film as writer, director and producer is MILA FROM MARS (2004) „the film marks the bow of a director to watch” (Variety), “full of invention and daring” (FIPRESCI review), “wild young cinema” (at Manheim-Heidelberg IFF) won 16 awards, including Best Film and Extra Special Jury Award for Ensamble Cast at Sarajevo IFF, Rainer Werner Fassbinder Prize and Ecumenical Jury Award at Mannheim-Heidelberg IFF, 5 awards at Bulgarian National Film Festival „Golden Rose” including Best Film, Best Actress and Best Debut. The film was the Bulgarian submission for the Academy Awards’05 and a national box office hit, released theatrically, on DVD, on TV and sold in 5 countries.

In 2005 Zornitsa Sophia delivered her daughter and her first documentary DEATH AND ALL THE WAY BACK, followed by the documentary MODUS VIVENDI 2006, her second feature film FORECAST, 2009 released theatrically, on DVD and on TV, “an optimistic realism” by the German press, developed with the support of MEDIA Programme of the European Community.

“VOEVODA” is Zornitsa Sophia’s third feature film as writer, director and producer and first as actress. It premiered at two A category film festivals – Shanghai IFF (World) and Moscow IFF (International) and is a national box office hit with record admissions, realeased also on the biggest Bulgarian TV channel, sold internationally by Ytinifni Pictures.

Zornitsa Sophia directed over 30 episodes in 6 prime time TV series: KANTORA MITRANI (2011), WHERE IS MAGI (2012), HOME AREST (2012), SEX, LIES AND TV (2013), TREE OF LIFE (2013) STOLEN LIFE (2016, 2017, 2018).

Following her successful theatrical debut in January 2013 with the awarded WHEN THE RAIN STOPS FALLING by Andrew Bovell (ASKEER and 2 awards) Zornitsa Sophia develops couple of new theater projects.

Zornitsa Sophia is member of Bulgarian Film Directors Association and Unity of Bulgarian Filmmakers since 2005 and since 2011 she is a voting member of the European Film Academy. She has served as a Jury member in several film festivals: Warsaw IFF, Valencia IFF, Pilzen FF and NATFA FF and in the Artistic Committee of Bulgarian National Film Center.

M

Marko (8) lives with his Father in a forest. Fathers rules are simple: All outside is evil; Never leave the magical forest. Marko never doubts. He has a M-shaped mark on his hand, but what could it mean? The Father bares a strange illness that slowly consumes his sanity. One day Marko disobey father’s orders and crosses [...]

Vardan Tozija

Born and raised in Skopje, Macedonia. Graduated at the Faculty of Drama Arts in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, Film and TV directing. Also attended law studies and political science studies at the State University of Cyril and Methodius.

FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE

Two days before the wedding the bride said she is not going to do it. When the families realize she is not joking, all hell broke loose. It is way too late to cancel. Everything is ready: the guests, the gifts, the musicians, and the prosciuttos. Entire peninsula knows about it. The bride can't explain it. It is [...]

Ivan Marinović

Wrote and directed several short student films and other exercises over the period of studying at FAMU: The Confession (2008), A Football Story (2009), Recurrence (2011) Won Crossroads award on 50th Thessaloniki film festival’s market, for his first feature screenplay PASQUA (2009 His first documentary project “PRAISE THE SEA, STICK TO THE SHORE” placed second on Supetar Super film festival in Croatia.
His feature debut project “THE BLACK PIN” got selected for Script Station program on 63rd edition of Berlinale – International film festival in Berlin, Germany. In April of 2013 the project won the first prize on national film concourse in Montenegro. In 2014 was selected for Jerusalem film lab (JFL) where it won 2nd award for best screenplay. Later that year the screenplay was awarded also on Cinelink (Sarajevo Film Festival). The film premiered in Official Competition of 22nd Sarajevo Film Festival in August 2016.
The Black Pin was chosen as a Montenegrin Oscar Candidate for 2016.
Founder of the Independent film company ADRIATIC WESTERN in Montenegro, with aim to produce and develop projects of new coming Southeast European talents. The Black Pin is the company’s first feature project.
In 2018 Ivan became a member of EFA – European Film Academy. He is the first (and only so far) director from Montenegro to become an EFA member.
Thanks to the success of THE BLACK PIN Ivan got invited into the writer’s room of HBO’s THE ISLAND (OTOK/OSTRVO) – An in development HBO drama for Adria region where he collaborates with headwriter Ivan Knežević, co-writer Mile Božićević, and head of development Ana Balentović.
He became the programmer for feature films of the Montenegro Film Festival in Herceg Novi, which is an International Film Festival of National Importance. Ivan significantly changed the concept of the festival, with a plan to open it up to the world, and to turn it into one of the most important regional summer festival experiences.

FLIGHT OF BLACK SWALLOWS

Rusudan Pirveli, Givi (Beso) Odisharia Caucasian FILMODROM Based on a true story. 1956. While Communist system insists to involve every citizen, Tina tries to live within her own life with her 6 years old son Lado, mother and younger brother Ilo. Until one day her neighbor and old friend Tamar, arrives back after 16 [...]

Rusudan Pirveli

Rusudan Pirveli (1975, Georgia) graduated from the Department of Japanese Language at Tblisi University and was educated in film direction at the Georgian State Institute of Theatre and Film. She directed numerous documentaries and short films and is also active as an editor. Her short films were screened at several international film festivals. Susa is Pirveli’s first feature film. It will have its world premiere during the Rotterdam film festival 2010.

CHEMISTRY

After a childhood spent in the working class neighborhood of a small industrial town on the shores of the Black Sea, Ana Petreanu is now captain of a major handball team and married to the financial manager of the factory that sponsors the club. But a serious injury clouds this perfect picture. Ana is confronted with the [...]

Adina Dulcu

Adina Dulcu graduated from “I. L. Caragiale” National University of Theater and Film, in Bucharest, and obtained a Masters’ degree in Film Studies, at the “Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès”. She lives between Romania and France and has developed a multi-layered career as a producer, scriptwriter, head of development and assistant director. Enriched by all these experiences, she began developing her own projects. Her first short film as a director, “Network Unavailable”, has just concluded its international festival circuit, including festivals like Mumbai IFF, Dublin FF, Cartagena IFF, or “Let’s CEE” Vienna. Adina has recently completed her second short, “The Island”, and is in development with her first feature, “Chemistry”, initiated at “L’Atelier Scénario Fémis” and supported by a development grant from the Romanian Film Centre. The project was already selected at “Transilvania Pitch Stop 2017” (at “Transilvania” IFF) and at “CineLink Development Workshop and Coproduction Market 2018” (at Sarajevo IFF).