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MIDPOINT 2020

MIDPOINT announces TV Launch 2020 selection

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- Nine TV series projects from Central and Eastern Europe will participate in the "idea to market" project development workshop

MIDPOINT announces TV Launch 2020 selection

MIDPOINT TV Launch 2020 has announced the selection of nine projects that will participate in the six-month development course, an "idea to market" series project development programme for creative teams of emerging professionals hailing from Central and Eastern Europe. The projects will go through an intensive scriptwriting process and will also meet international market experts and decision makers.

The schedule, which has been altered from that of the previous edition owing to the different starting dates for this year’s iteration, also had to adapt to the current pandemic situation. Hence the first workshop will be held online from 10-22 June, while, according to the current plan, the second workshop will take place in early September in Prague. The third and final one is being organised in collaboration with Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event and will run in late November during the upcoming Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

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The nine TV series projects come from Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Serbia and Ukraine, and Katarina Tomková, programme coordinator of MIDPOINT TV Launch, offers her insight on the selection: “We are very happy to welcome nine exceptional projects representing genre and regional diversity: they range from historical drama, through legal dramedy or mystery drama, to sci-fi comedy, coming from territories we’ve worked with before, but also bringing the first representatives of Ukraine and the Baltics (Latvia) to the TV Launch programme."

Alongside the projects, two development-executive participants were also supposed to be selected, but this part of the programme had to be cancelled, as Tomková adds: "With regard to the current coronavirus situation, the 2020 edition of MIDPOINT TV Launch is being organised without the attendance of the development-executive participants." The physical presence of the aspiring development executives is an essential factor in building the necessary relationships with the projects, and unfortunately, this won’t be possible.

The head of studies of TV Launch, Hungarian producer Gabor Krigler (Joyrider), also commented on the struggles that the team has had to cope with in light of the new situation: “Just like everyone else, we have been forced to reconsider a lot of the aspects of the programme. Just a few months ago, I never would have thought we'd be forced to do our crucial first encounters with all the participants and their stories in a virtual space. However, I’m a big believer in creative limitations. Some of the best episodes of serial television came from the writers being forced to think way outside of the box. Stepping out of our comfort zone can lead to amazing, unique and novel solutions. When a great story wants to be born, there's no stopping it.”

Krigler is one of the three dedicated group leaders, alongside British writer and development executive Ben Morris (Mr. Selfridge, Bancroft), and French writer and producer Cyril Tysz (SKAM France). Furthermore, the three guest tutors for the first workshop are Maggie Murphy, Ben Harris and Steve Matthews.

The MIDPOINT TV Launch 2020 selection is as follows:

Afterparty (Croatia)
Writer: Dora Šustić
Producer: Maja Pek–Bruenjes

Agents (Serbia)
Writer: Gvozden Đurić
Producer/director: Uros Tomic

Hotel Intercontinental (Hungary)
Writers: András Vörös and Péter Akar
Producer: Laszlo Dreissiger

Hugo & Co. (Czech Republic)
Writer: Tomáš Plhoň
Producer: Gordon Lovitt

Lazlo (Latvia)
Writers: Ermins Baltais and Kristina Martinuka
Producer: Aija Berzina

Malevich (Ukraine)
Writer/director: Daria Onyshchenko
Writer/producer: Anna Palenchuk

The Monarchy (Czech Republic)
Writer: Barbora Námerová
Producer: Miloš Lochman

NEIGHBORS (Ukraine)
Writer/producers: Alexandra Tkachenko and Marina Chikalovets

NOSTOS (Greece)
Writer: Stavros Pamballis
Writer/producer: Christos Konstantakopoulos

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