TorinoFilmLab has unveiled the 2023 editions of SeriesLab and SeriesLab Talents, two initiatives devoted to TV series creation. Exclusively, Variety reveals the details of the nine projects, and the five participants.
The seventh edition of SeriesLab has nine innovative and market-oriented series projects from around the world. The course aims to develop drama series projects through a five-month program – running from September 2023 to early 2024 – featuring three five-day long residential workshops and including a final industry pitching presentation at the Berlinale Series Market, involving major players involved in series production. TorinoFilmLab will award a development grant of €10,000 to one of the projects.
For the second year, TFL opens the doors of a writers’ room to five international screenwriters wishing to broaden their experience in writing TV series. The goal of SeriesLab Talents is to find new voices capable of boosting the European television industry, bringing diversity and variety to the production chain, and creating a hub of international writers trained at a high level to launch on the market.
During the training course, the participants will work on the development of a series project under the guidance of their tutor, who will play the role of head writer.
This year the two programs will be connected, giving a chance to the participants to network and exchange ideas with each other.
The new head of studies is Eszter Angyalosy, a Hungarian screenwriter with a background at HBO Hungary.
Angyalosy said: “Female-focused stories dominated the applications for TFL Series Lab, and there will also be a majority of women among the selected participants: 15 out of the 19 writers and producers included.”
Angyalosy added: “Besides helping the participants develop their series concepts, it is also important for us to prepare them for the realities of the market. We were searching for unique stories from talented writers with competent producers by their side – but besides the artistic value, we also considered the marketability potential of their ideas.”
The edition includes 19 participants selected for SeriesLab (15 female and four male): six producers, two writers and producers, 11 writer and/or directors presenting nine projects, and five writers who will work in SeriesLab Talents (two female, two male and one non-binary).
The participants come from 15 countries: Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Greece, Iran, Italy, Lebanon, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, U.K. and U.S.
They will be trained by Filip Kasperaszek, screenwriter, script consultant and lecturer from Poland, France’s Anne Feinsilber, a maker of documentary and fiction films, as well as a screenwriting teacher at La Femis, Luke Franklin from the U.K., a television producer and executive based in London and L.A, while Kirsten Ittershagen, a German TV writer-producer, will guide the Talents group.
SeriesLab and SeriesLab Talents are organized by TorinoFilmLab – National Museum of Cinema, co-funded by Creative Europe – MEDIA Sub-programme of the European Union, and with the support of Millimeter Film and VAF – Flanders Audiovisual Fund. SeriesLab Talents is also organized in partnership with FOCAL.
NINE PROJECTS
“The Best Time of My Life” (Germany)
Genre: Drama/coming-of-age
Logline: To escape bullying, a young outsider befriends a teen criminal, slips into a world full of questionable morals, and gets caught in a growing dilemma between friendship, crime and his own safety.
Thomas Moritz Helm: Writer/director (Berlin, Germany). Started as a grip and DOP. Assistant director at Thalia Theater Hamburg and Burgtheater Vienna. Student at the William Esper Studio in New York and the Filmuniversity “Konrad Wolf” in Potsdam-Babelsberg. His graduation film “A Brief Moment of Joy” was shown at numerous festivals and nominated for the German Short Film Award. His micro-budget feature “Before We Grow Old” premiered at the 69th Berlinale and was released theatrically in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
“Estrella Del Green” (Spain/U.K.)
Genre: Comedy thriller
Logline: Growing a harvest of debts and a baby in her belly, can a would-be hustler with the help of her grandmother, grow the biggest weed empire in Spain’s Costa Blanca?
Writer/director: Denise Moreno (Madrid, Spain, based in U.K.). Denise Moreno is a Spanish-American writer and director based between London and Madrid. She’s written and directed comedy short films, a pilot for sitcom “Vultures,” and TV commercials. In 2020 she was selected by HBO Access as a semi-finalist in their top 25 emerging directors for their Directing Fellowship.
Producer: Tony Roberts (London, U.K.). Tony Roberts built teams and managed global brands to successful launches within the entertainment space. He built a successful agency career before moving into film production. He’s a creative and strategic thinker driving Common People Films into the long-form space.
Production company: Common People Films (London, U.K.)
“Evil Eye” (Romania)
Genre: Crime thriller
Logline: When a girl disappears in remote Dobrogea, Zuhal, a policewoman of Turkish origins, uncovers a serial killer is on the loose, but to catch him, she’ll have to risk losing her family.
Creator, producer: Geo Doba (Bucharest, Romania). Writer-director and graduate of the Serial Eyes program at DFFB Berlin, where she won the Big Light Writers’ Apprenticeship Award. Doba writes crime, drama and comedy in English and recently worked in writers’ rooms in London. Her directing portfolio includes several web series, short films and music videos. Doba also wrote for a late-night show at Comedy Central Romania and published short stories in comic book anthologies. Note: She also took part in the TFL Extended 2019 – Feature Film workshop
Producer: Gabi Suciu (Romania). Gabi Suciu is a Romanian producer with over 12 years of experience. She has a BA in directing, an MA in production, and a PhD in film and media focused on co-productions. She is a lecturer at UNATC and the vice dean of the Film Faculty. Her latest endeavors focus on supporting the debuts of female directors in any genre and format. In 2021, Suciu and director Alina Grigore won the Golden Shell award at the San Sebastian Film Festival for the debut feature “Blue Moon.”
Production company: Atelier de Film (Bucharest, Romania)
“Kolmanskop” (Germany)
Genre: Mystery thriller
Logline: When Maryam, an Afro-German lawyer, is chosen by the spirits of the abandoned mining town Kolmanskop in Namibia, she must prevail against her white Namibian husband’s family and the vengeful spirits of the past to bring justice to a land tormented by colonialism.
Screenwriter/creator: Sven Angene (Berlin, Germany). Before his screenwriting days, Angene studied cultural history and theory in Berlin. After his master’s degree, he studied screenwriting in Babelsberg. When Judith Rose Gyabaah approached him with her idea for “Kolmanskop,” he didn’t hesitate to join the project. In his work, Angene deals with the effects of social and economic inequality. He strives to tell stories of people who remain invisible.
Screenwriter/creator: Judith Rose Gyabaah (Berlin, Germany). Judith Rose Gyabaah was born into a German-Ghanaian family in Germany. She soon discovered storytelling as a means to address boundaries and build bridges between her cultures. Her curiosity made her follow the traces of German colonialism to Namibia, after which she began her studies at Film University Babelsberg. In her work, she wants to explore complex socio-political topics through the lens of genre. She wants to address the burning issues of our times in a thought-provoking, yet entertaining way.
Producer: Natalie Hölzel (Munich, Germany). She realized over 50 TV infotainment format productions and worked on several feature films. Since 2013, she has produced numerous successful short films, commercials and feature films in which she was significantly involved in story development. In 2016 her sister Sandra and she founded the company Elfenholz Film, specialized in creative producing of feature films and series focusing on character-driven genre films with female protagonists and creators.
Production company: Elfenholz Film (Munich, Germany)
“Project Alpha” (Germany/Brazil)
Genre: True story/mystery/drama
Logline: During the 1980s, an eminent quantum physicist curious about his field’s mysterious link to consciousness, investigates two teenagers for psychic powers and soon finds compelling evidence. Faced with growing hostility by the faculty and rumors of a hoax, he must decide whether to abandon his research or risk his career by following his own conscience.
Writer/director: Stephan Littger (Berlin, Germany – based in U.S.). Littger grew up in Cologne. He obtained his BA from Sciences Po/France in economics, politics and philosophy, and his MA at Oxford University in philosophy and psychology. He directed short film “Toxic Oranges*: A Wall Street Fairy Tale” (Tribeca) and debut feature “Her Composition” (Thessaloniki, Austin, Raindance). Apart from “Project Alpha,” he is developing “The Embroidered Woman.” Littger is also in pre-production on an adaptation of Kehlmann’s novella “Der fernste Ort,” starring Jonas Nay.
Creative producer: Lidia Damatto (São Paulo, Brazil). Damatto studied cinema at FAAP (Brazil), and screenwriting, audience engagement and film distribution at UCLA (U.S.) and DFFB (Germany). She worked in international distribution at FiGa Films, overseeing sales, acquisitions and festivals, and attending international film markets and acting as consultant on pitch, development and post-production labs. She then joined O2 Filmes, Brazil’s largest production company, managing international affairs. Later she co-founded MoreThan, an international film consultancy/sales agency managed by her and two partners. She mentors producers with projects in development for the EFM/Berlinale diversity and inclusion program Toolbox and Brazilian institute Nicho 54. Note: She also took part in the TFL Extended 2023 – Audience Design workshop.
Production company: MoreThan Films (São Paulo, Brazil/Barcelona, Spain)
“The Promoter” (Italy/Germany)
Genre: Crime drama
Logline: “The Promoter” follows the controversial rise and fall of young female boxing promoter Clio while she navigates the socially intricate and financially decaying world of German boxing with fellow promoters and rivals, an illegal gambling boss, and an up-and-coming Afd candidate.
Writer and director: Elisa Mishto (Italy – based in Germany). Film director and screenwriter, originally from Italy, who lives in Berlin. Her films have premiered at Rome, Munich, Tallin Black Nights, Goteborg, IDFA and Palm Springs, among others. When Mishto is not working on a film project, she runs Festsaal Kreuzberg Boxing, an alternative boxing promotion company, or writes song lyrics.
Producer: Hana Geißendörfer (Germany/U.K.). Hana Geißendörfer is an English-German filmmaker, raised in Greece and London, currently living in Berlin. She studied economics at Bristol University, film directing at the International Film School of Paris (EICAR) and now runs her own production company with which she produces fictional formats of all genres for TV and cinema. Note: She also took part in TFL Script&Pitch 2011
Production company: Geißendörfer Pictures (Munich, Germany)
“Rent-a-Mama” (Lebanon, Canada, Greece)
Genre: Dramedy
Logline: Nuhad, a traditional Lebanese woman, lives in the bubble of her suburban immigrant neighborhood. When her husband dies and her daughter rejects her, she decides to move to the city’s hipster enclave and offer her mothering services via an app to ultra-liberal Gen Zers.
Creator, writer: Dania Bdeir (Lebanon/Canada). Dania is a Lebanese filmmaker born in Montreal who got her MFA in film from NYU. Her latest short film “Warsha” has won over 100 awards including the jury prize at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, and has been selected at over 250 festivals including SXSW, Rotterdam and Palm Springs Shortsfest, among many others. Shortlisted for the 2023 Academy Awards, “Warsha” can be streamed on the Criterion Channel and Netflix in MENA. Selected as one of ScreenDaily’s Arab Stars of Tomorrow, Bdeir is managed by Anonymous Content.
Writer: Despina Ladi (Greece, based in U.K.). Ladi is a Greek screenwriter, script editor and journalist based in London. She has worked in a range of roles for organizations such as The Walt Disney Company, The Guardian and the Greek Film Centre. She has also collaborated with British screenwriter Tony Grisoni on various projects, including Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Young Pope.” She’s a graduate of the London Film School (MA in screenwriting) and a Berlinale Talents, TorinoFilmLab, Series Mania, MFI Script 2 Film and Sundance Collab alumna. Note: She also took part in TFL AdaptLab 2013
Producer: Sahar Yousefi (Canada). After working at the National Film Board of Canada, Sahar Yousefi founded Nava Projects and has produced projects supported by the Sundance Institute, the Doha Film Institute, the British Film Institute, and many other selective funds. Yousefi is in pre-production on “Alien Boy” by Fawaz Al Matrouk (Sundance alum, SFFILM grantee) and in development on “Darwin in Taif” by Maha Al Saati (TIFF Talent Lab, HFPA Fellowship) and “Asea” by Gabriela Ossio Vanden (“Nuisance Bear,” Oscars Shortlist).
Production company: Nava Project (Toronto, Canada)
“Sabena” (Belgium)
Genre: Historical fictional drama
Logline: 1969: The Japanese Yayoi applies for a job as a stewardess for the new Sabena Tokyo line. It’s the starting point of her search for the dark side of Sabena, and for her own past.
Creator, co-writer and showrunner (co-director): Katrien De Groef (Antwerp, Belgium). After 10 years of working in journalism, De Groef wanted to tell stories that are not limited by current events and facts. Her curiosity as a former journalist drives her to create new, extraordinary arenas, with intriguing characters and relevant insights, often inspired by the remarkable people she met. Her biggest personal project – besides “Sabena” – is the film “Paula,” which she wrote and will co-direct.
Co-writer: Lynn Ryssen (Ghent, Belgium). Ryssen is a screenwriting graduate of the Belgian film school RITCS. She has written several short films and her first short film as a director is in pre-production. She worked as a researcher and writer for TV series like “Dertigers.” She focuses on developing stories with an edge that make you question your world view, while still being relatable.
Production company: A Team Productions (Belgium)
“Sheherezade” (Switzerland)
Genre: Drama/dramedy/historical
Logline: A feminist re-imagining of a “1001 Nights”: When the rebellious Sheherezade decides to seduce the murderous king Shariar, she must rely on her wits and creativity to survive him and the treacherous court politics while striving to become the first queen with true agency and power.
Writer and director: Talkhon Hamzavi (Switzerland/Iran). Born in Teheran, Iran and relocated to Switzerland with her family in 1986, Hamzavi studied directing and screenwriting at the Zurich University of the Arts. Her film “Parvaneh” received multiple awards including an Oscar nomination in 2015. Hamzavi has produced various films and music videos and is developing scripts. She also coaches at filmkids.ch, introducing young minds to filmmaking.
Writer and producer: Liliane Ott (Zurich, Switzerland). Born in Zurich, Switzerland, Liliane Ott moved to Auckland, New Zealand as a teenager to study film. After returning to Switzerland, she worked in film and theater – switching between producing, writing and directing. She produced Kit Hung’s films “Soundless Wind Chime” and “Stoma,” and co-created the collective documentary “Les Nouvelles Èves.” Her company, Kalliopeia Productions, is dedicated to developing and producing thought-provoking, high-quality productions in various formats.
Production company: Kalliopeia Productions (Zurich, Switzerland)
FIVE TALENTS
Nuno Baltazar (Portugal)
Baltazar is a Portuguese filmmaker, born and raised in Lisbon. He’s an alumnus of La Résidence du Festival de Cannes, the Locarno Filmmakers Academy and the Series Mania Institute Eureka Series program. Baltazar has written and directed three short films and co-written two TV series, one of which won the SPA Award for best TV series. He’s currently preparing a short film, his first feature film and developing several projects for TV as a creator, writer and director. Note: He also took part in TFL Extended TV Series in 2020 and in TFL NEXT (Film) in 2021.
Jade Edwards (U.K.)
Jade Edwards is an Irish/English writer-director from London. She is drawn to narratives surrounding women who find themselves in impossible situations, and her scripts have been selected for Cine Qua Non’s Revision Lab, CineStory TV Lab, Stowe Story Labs and Dynamic Television Fellowship. Her pilot won Showtime’s Tony Cox 30-minute Episodic Competition. She is a fellow of the BAFTA Newcomer Talent initiative and was nominated for a U.K. National Youth Award.
Giulio Fabroni (Italy)
You can find Giulio Fabroni’s name on Italian TV shows like “Nudes” and “Un Posto al Sole.” He’s been a regular in the writers’ room of Marco Belardi’s Bamboo Production and his film debut “A Lupo” (finalist at Biennale College) will soon see the light. Fabroni works with Francesca Tozzi and Veronica Penserini. They are developing original projects for Fabula, Lucky Red and The Apartment.
Fanny Nussbaumer (Switzerland)
After her diploma course in screenwriting at SAL Zurich in 2017, Nussbaumer began writing for film and television. She was a writer-assistant on the weekly TV show “Deville” on SRF for two years, graduated from the Drehbuchwerkstatt München and won the Script Talent Award in 2020. As part of a writers’ room she wrote on the comedy series “Mindfuck Yourself,” which is now in shooting preparation. She is also part of a writers-room for a series for the German broadcaster ZDF.
Note: Nussbaumer attended TFL Next Comedy in 2022, with the romantic comedy project “The Little Difference.”
Zero Pilnik (resident in Germany, with Brazilian, German, Polish citizenship)
Zero Pilnik is an actor, writer and drag king from São Paulo, based in Berlin. A graduate of the acting program at CalArts with a minor in creative writing, Pilnik received fellowships from Akademie der Künste, LABA Berlin, and the 2017 Tim Disney Prize for excellence in storytelling arts. Latest projects: “Gasoline Queen” (musical, 2022), “Matter” (short film, 2022), and “Brutes” (pilot, 2021) – written in residency at Goyki3 Art Inkubator. In 2023 Pilnik will travel to Brazil to write a series about their Jewish family.
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