Pustink, the International Screenwriting Residence, has selected its participants for the 9-day workshop held at Cetate Cultural Port, where they will develop their scripts under the guidance of industry professionals.

This year, there were 119 applications from 44 countries, eight of them being selected by the Residence curators, Andreea Borţun and Bryn Chainey. The eight finalists are:

Ori Aharon (Israel / Romania) – OSHER

Phyllis Grae Grande (Philippines) – Everybody Leaves

Tess Martin (USA) –Tracing Rita

Alexandru Mavrodineanu (Romania) – A serious man

Kerstin Neuwirth (Austria) – ABITANTI

Jayisha Patel (United Kingdom) – When Ash Falls

Diana Voinea (Romania) – Chronicle of a disappearance

Jack Wake-Walker (UK) – Scarlett123

The field experts invited at this edition include:

Marie Dubas, producer, graduate in Literature and Philosophy and graduate of EAVE 2013 (European Producers Workshop). She has her own production house, Deuxieme Ligne Films, in Normandy, France.

Len Rowles, also a film producer, founder of the Humdinger Films production house. Her portfolio includes short films nominated at Oscar or BAFTA.

Judade Kadaan, is also a guest of the 2019 Pustnik Residence. The Syrian director has received the Lion of the Future award at Venice Film Festival 2018, for her debut feature, The Day I Lost My Shadow.

Bianca Oana, producer of the awarded and much appreciated Touch Me Not, winner of the Golden Bear at Berlinale 2018, will also be present at Pustnik as a mentor for the participants.

As well as Laurence Coriat, screenwriter of Wonderland and A Summer in Genoa, films directed by Michael Winterbottom.

Pustnik Residence is the only Romanian initiative of this kind and seeks to built a creative space where the participants are staying far from the city hustle during the entire workshop (accommodation, food and travel costs from Bucharest to Cetate Cultural Port are covered by Pustnik) so that they can focus exclusively on the development of their screenplays. Teamwork and exchange of experience are encouraged. The participants will learn from the special guests, as well as from each other.

Applications were open for filmmakers on their first or second feature, who have already written the script for at least one short film or for a feature previously presented at a well-known international festival.

The Residence will take place between September 2nd-10th, 2019 at Cetate Cultural Port. For more details about the International Screenwriting Residence Pustnik, visit their website or Facebook page.

Melissa Antonescu

Writer, photographer and videographer. For Films in Frame she writes news about the latest happenings in the film world and brings to the readers' attention the productions that can be seen at the cinema. When she's not writing articles, she's photographing people in a small studio or searching for new cake recipes.