Mediterranean Film Institute has through the years involved an international group of experienced film professors and film professionals as trainers & experts in its various training activities. In 2021 this list includes:
Trainers in Script Development
FILM LAB
Christina Lazaridi (Head of studies & group leader, Film Lab) – Professor of screenwriting at the Film Division of New York based Columbia University, and at the Princeton University, USA. She is an experienced screenwriter & script editor in Europe and the USA, and has an Academy Award (OSCAR) nomination for her script One Day Crossing. She is a trainer for various script development programs in USA, Europe, the Middle East and South America, and the Academic Director of CINE QUA NON LAB, an international screenwriters’ retreat in Mexico.
Jan Fleischer (trainer in script development) – former Head of the Screenwriting Department of the National Film and Television School (UK), and currently a Professor of Screenwriting of FAMU (Film and Television School of the Academy of the Performing Arts in Prague); he is an experienced screenwriter & has worked as script editor in numerous European films, (notably script editor of Steven Friars’ films The Queen & Dirty Pretty Things).
Nicos Panayotopoulos (group leader, Film Lab) – one of Greece’s leading film screenwriters, as well as developers/writers of fiction TV series. He is also an accomplished European novelist, with his books translated and published in several EU countries. He is a Professor of screenwriting in the Stavrakos Film School in Athens, Greece and a former lecturer at the Cinema Department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece)
Ana Sanz Magallon (group leader, Film Lab). Story editor or script consultant for more then 30 released films, including “Bajo las Estrellas” Goya Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (2008), “El truco del Manco”, Goya (Spanish Academy) Award for Best New Director (2009), “Tres dias con la familia”, Goya Award for Best New Director (2010), “Estiu 1993”, Goya Award for Best New Director, and Spanish selection for the Oscars (2017). Some clients: A3 TV, Tele 5, Morena Films, Tornasol, Alta Films, Lola Films, Distinto Films, BRB International, DeaPlaneta, El Deseo- Mediapro, Sogecine, Querejeta PC, Trueba PC, Escandalo Films, Fausto Producciones, Arena Audiovisual.Head of Communications and Script Development Expert Media Business School January 2013-September 2013. Tutor in Script Development Workshops in Europe: Media Programme / Creative Europe – supported training initiatives like Co-pilot, Nipkow, Equinoxe Germany, Four Corners, Mega Plus, Berlinale Residency. In Latin America: Worshops organised by the film authorities of Colombia, Dominican Republic, Peru, Venezuela. Cine Qua Non Lab in Mexico.
Dimitris Emmanouilidis (group leader, Film Lab). He belongs to the new generation of MFI trainers. Talented screenwriter & script editor for numerous produced films. Participated in MFI as an assistant trainer in 2014 (guided by Susanna Styron) and he has been very active ever since. He is collaborating with various training activities, such as ALBASCRIPT PLUS and MEETINGS ON THE BRIDGE and TORINO FILM LAB and he has been teaching in the MFI the past 3 years.
SERIES LAB
Michel Sabbe (group leader, TV Lab). An active writer for both Film & TV. He has written numerous TV series for VTM, VIER & VRT. He has been appointed as a script editor in RTBF for both ‘ENNEMI PUBLIC’ (Winner of Cannes MIPTV’s International Drama Competition 2016) & ‘CHAMPION’, supported by Fonds Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, 2018. He is also a trainer of screenwriting in Ghent University, Communication Sciences (2016-present) & a TV-series concept workshop, for selected projects under development by the RTBF broadcasting company 2016
DOC LAB
Ove Rishøj Jensen (Documentary consultant, producer and outreach manager)
Working in the international documentary sector since 2003, Ove Rishøj Jensen has an extensive network within the industry. In addition to producing and co-producing films, he gives lectures and run workshops about script writing, project development, international financing, co-production, impact, outreach and distribution.
Since 2011 Ove has worked for the Swedish production company Auto Images as Producer and Outreach Manager, which he continues to do. Here he has produced and created outreach campaigns for documentaries like Only the Devil Lives Without Hope and Every Face Has a Name.
Alongside working for Auto Images, Ove launched in 2019 his own company for documentary training and consultancy, entitled Paradiddle Pictures. Here he collaborates with partners like IDFA, Fresh Pitch China, Dix in Vitro, Mediterranean Film Institute, Nordisk Panorama and many others.
From 2003 to 2019 Ove worked for EDN – European Documentary Network. He has a master’s degree in film studies, with additional studying of cultural journalism and humanistic computer informatics.
A French-Greek filmmaker, Marco Gastine has written, directed and produced about 20 films or series, mostly creative documentaries, as “Marseilles, a Greek profile” (Best Greek Documentary Award 2004), “Themis” (Cannes Festival 2009), “Demokratia, the Way of the Cross” (nominated for Prix Europa 2013) and “As Far As the Sea” (Best Documentary Award at Los Angeles Greek Film Festival 2020). Through Minimal Films (Athens), his own production company, he has also produced or coproduced other Greek and international filmmakers’ documentaries. He has been teaching in Athens Film School and various documentary workshops, like the MFI DocLab since its creation.
Trainers in Production/ Project Development
Simon De Santiago (trainer in production, sales & distribution). An accomplished producer involved in films like Alejandro Amenabar’s Oscar-winning film THE SEA INSIDE, as well as AGORA by the same director and BIUTIFUL by Alejandro G. Iñarritu; an experienced international sales & acquisitions executive at Sogecable in Spain and now partner and producer at top independent film and TV production company MOD Producciones; a core trainer in production for MFI Script 2 Film Workshops.
Martina Bleis (expert in project development). Berlinale Co-production Market. Martina Bleis has worked in several positions at film festivals as well as in film and TV production for almost 20 years. At the Berlinale Co-Production Market, she heads the selection committee and strategically consults the producers of the selected projects. Furthermore, she heads the CoPro Series Pitching as well as the publications and press activities of the Berlinale Co-Production Market. Since 2011, Martina is also consulting for Connecting Cottbus, the East West co- production market at the Film Festival Cottbus, Germany. Here, she participates in the project selection, advises and prepares the producers and directors of the selected projects for their pitching presentation, edits project texts, moderates sessions and advises on the programme. Furthermore, she has mentored producers and directors at events such as Transilvania Talent Lab, Haifa International Pitching Forum, PriFilmFest Pristina, and Odessa International Film Festival, and she has also consulted for other international institutions, such as Telefilm Canada, Berlinale Talents, and Cinema do Brasil.
Marjorie Bendeck (expert in pitching project development). Marjorie Bendeck is an independent consultant with experience in festivals, funds and film production. She was head of the selection committee and participant coordination at the Berlinale Talent Campus from 2003 until 2012. She is a selection consultant and advisor for the World Cinema Fund, Ateliers du Cinéma Européen (ACE), Berlinale NATIVe, Nuevas Miradas EICTV Cuba, among others. She is a trainer for public pitching, most recently at Connecting Cottbus co-production market and Tbilisi IFF Pitch Forum and provides individual script consulting for projects, mainly focusing in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Renate Roginas (trainer in project development). For eighteen years, Renate Roginas has headed International Business Affairs at TELFRANCE, one of the major French production companies based in Paris, and its subsidiaries in France and abroad -Netherlands and Switzerland. Due to her successful co-productions across Europe, TELFRANCE became the winner, in February 1999, of the Monte Carlo Festival’s first European Producer’s Award. Renate is also a tutor, teacher and an expert of various European training programs and film schools, such as the Media Business School, l’Institut National Audiovisuel, European and Mediterranean Films Crossing Borders and the Baltic Film and Media School in Tallinn. In March 2000, after the withdrawal of EMDA, Renate Roginas acted as Head of Selection for MEDIA ASSISTANCE of the MEDIA II Development Program of the European Commission. She has been Executive Secretary of Eurimages from 2001 until 2005. In May 2008 Renate has launched a worldwide cultural society based in Berlin, VILLA KULT. The villa is primarily a creative meeting place for artists and lovers of arts and culture in order to find new and revolutionary ways of expression.
Isabelle Fauvel (trainer in project development). After working as a producer with a focus on international co-productions, Isabelle Fauvel created Initiative Film in 1993 : the very first company dedicated to film development. Since then, she has been the privileged partner and advisor of writers, directors and producers for all matters regarding project and talent development. Over the past 30 years, Isabelle has consistently widened the spectrum of her activities, spanning scriptwriting consultancies, talent scouting, literary book scouting, story editing, trainings and workshops… accompanying talents and producers, and offering them insightful advising during the whole project incubation period. Isabelle is also a pioneer in bridging the gap between literature and cinema, which have always fed on each other. Within this perspective, she also conducts book scouting and adaptation analysis, advising publishers in the promotion of their catalogues and supporting filmmakers to find their next story. Being at the core of connections, whether between these two sectors, or between partners and projects, Isabelle is the go-to matchmaker, creating sustainable links at all stages of development and fostering the professional growth of both emerging and confirmed talents. As part of her expertise, Isabelle regularly holds talks and masterclasses during co-production markets, with more than ten events to this day. She is also a speaker in international universities and film schools, a tutor for TFL (Torino Film Lab), an expert for MFI (Mediterranean Film Institute), ACE Producers and for a large number of programmes, also creating training programmes on demand. In addition, she has been a talent scout for the Jerusalem International Lab since its creation in 2012. Besides film events, she also ventures into publishing events. As such, she facilitated book adaptations during Etonnants scénarios/Bamako and AdaptLab within TFL. She also collaborates with Shoot the Book!, the crime novel festival Quais du Polar in Lyon or, as well as Pro Helvetia’s program for Swiss publishers. As a producer, Isabelle has worked on several feature films selected for prestigious festivals such as the Cannes Film Festival, the Berlinale and Toronto International Film Festival and won many (inter)national prizes like the Jury Prize and Caméra d’or award in Cannes, and even an Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Since creating Initiative Film, her aim has always been to contribute to the circulation of ideas and talents, to match the right partners with the right projects and to boost film development. She works alongside Hakim Mao who has been a partner since 2018. Based in Paris, Initiative Film collaborates with societies all across the world. In June 2023, the company turned 30.
Nicolò Gallio (trainer in film marketing & audience development) holds a Ph.D. in Film Studies from the University of Bologna. He has a background in PR and media relations and over 8 years of freelance and agency experience producing content for a wide range of cultural and creative industries, offline and online media outlets. As a researcher, his main interests are related to the impact of digital media on the film industry and include audiovisual narratives, transmedia storytelling, marketing and fandom, as well as crowdsourcing and crowdfunding, topics on which he has lectured at the University of Brighton, Middlesex University and Birmingham City University.
Guest Experts
Pavel Jech, Czech Republic (trainer in script development) – an experienced screenwriter & script editor; Former dean and screenwriting professor of FAMU (Film and Television School of the Academy of the Performing Arts in Prague); guest trainer for European training activities like MFI Script 2 Film Workshops & Sources 2, international film schools/departments like the National Film and Drama School in Lodz, Poland, and Yale University, USA; a Berlinale Talent Campus mentor; acting Head of studies for European Training activity MIDPOINT-Central European Script Center.
Brigid O’Shea (trainer in documentary development) is an Australian native who has been living and working in Germany for more than 10 year After completing a fine arts degree in Melbourne and Berlin, she worked for the Berlinale Talents and later the Co-Production Market, as well as for the last 5 years organizing the DOK Leipzig Co-Production Meeting and related DOK Industry events. She has worked for various training documentary training initiatives like the Documentary Campus and Institute of Documentary Film in Prague, and gives workshops on European financing possibilities and co- production for beginners in places like North America and the Balkans, as well as in Germany. She is head of DOK lndustry since 2015.
Masterclasses
Philippe Falardeau
Philippe Falardeau is a French-Canadian film director and screenwriter (born 1 February 1968 in Hull, QC) and one of themost successful and acclaimed contemporary filmmakers. His award-winning films LA MOITIE GAUCHE DU FRIGO (2000), CONGORAMA (2006), C’EST PAS MOI JE LE JURE! (2008) and GUIBORD S’EN VA-T-EN GUERRE (2015) are lighthearted comedic dramas that feature sharp social commentary. His acclaimed international breakthrough, MONSIEUR LAZHAR (2011), earned an Academy Award nomination and numerous awards, including Genie Awards and Prix Jutra (now Prix Iris) for best film, direction and screenplay. In 2014, he directed the film THE GOOD LIE, which stars Reese Witherspoon and premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival to positive reviews. He followed this up with MY INTERNSHIP IN CANADA (2015), which premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. In 2015, Falardeau directed the film CHUCK, which depicts the life of the heavyweight boxer Chuck Wepner, played by Liev Schreiber, and his 1975 fight with the heavyweight champion, Muhammad Ali. The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 2, 2016, and was subsequently released on May 5, 2017, by IFC Films. MY SALINGER YEAR (2020), starring Margaret Qualley and Sigourney Weaver, opened the 70th Berlin International Film Festival.
Joslyn Barnes (Guest Speaker, Nisyros) Among the feature films Joslyn Barnes has been involved with producing since co-founding Louverture Films with Danny Glover and partners Susan Rockefeller and Bertha Foundation are: the César nominated BAMAKO by Abderrahmane Sissako, Elia Suleiman’s THE TIME THAT REMAINS, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s 2010 Cannes Palme d’Or winner UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES and CEMETERY OF SPLENDOUR, Tala Hadid’s THE NARROW FRAME OF MIDNIGHT, Deepak Rauniyar’s WHITE SUN, Lucrecia Martel’s multiple award winner ZAMA, and Nadine Labaki’s 2018 Cannes Jury Prize winner CAPERNAUM, now nominated for the César, BAFTA and Oscar® awards for Best Foreign Film. Among the documentaries are: Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner and Emmy® and Oscar® nominated TROUBLE THE WATER, the international hit BLACK POWER MIXTAPE 1967-1975, the Sundance Grand Jury prize, Peabody and Grierson winner THE HOUSE I LIVE IN, the Berlinale award-winner CONCERNING VIOLENCE, the HOUSE IN THE FIELDS by Tala Hadid, the Oscar® nominated and Emmy® winning STRONG ISLAND by Yance Ford, Sundance Special Jury Prize, Cinema Eye, Gotham and IDA award winner HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING by RaMell Ross which is nominated for the ICS, Independent Spirit Award and Oscar® for Best Documentary. Forthcoming documentaries include ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT by James Longley, AQUARELA by Victor Kossakovsky and RaMell Ross’ short film EASTER SNAP. In 2017, Barnes was the recipient of both the Cinereach Producer Award and the Sundance Institute | Amazon Studios Producer Award. In 2018, she won the Emmy® Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking, and in 2018 and 2019 earned Oscar® Nominations for best Documentary Feature.
Dan Attias (Guest Speaker, Rhodes). Dan Attias has worked as a director in the film and television industry for 33 years. As a director of episodic television he has received the Directors Guild of America award for outstanding direction of dramatic television and has been nominated for multiple Emmy awards for his comedy directing. He continues to work on some of the most celebrated and critically acclaimed American television shows, including Homeland, The Americans, and Ray Donovan. Previously he has directed The Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under, True Blood, Entourage, The Killing, The Walking Dead, True Detective, Bloodline, House, Lost, Alias, among many others. His first professional directing assignment was the feature film, “Stephen King’s Silver Bullet,” produced by Dino DeLaurentiis.
We are currently discussing also with for a possible future contribution to the program
Jeremy Podeswa (Guest Speaker, Nisyros) is a Canadian film and television director. He is best known for directing the films THE FIVE SENSES (1999) and FUGITIVE PIECES (2007). He has also worked as director on the television shows SIX FEET UNDER, NIP/TUCK, THE TUDORS, QUEER AS FOLK, and the HBO World War II miniseries THE PACIFIC. In 2014, he directed episodes five and six of the fifth season of the HBO series GAME OF THRONES,[3] earning a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for the latter episode. He returned the next season, directing the season premiere and the second episode. He also directed the season premiere as well as the season finale of the seventh season.