ifs Screenwriting

24/01/2025

Please spread the word: writing talents may still apply for the German-language tack (!) of our wonderful masters' programme MA Serial Storytelling. Application ends March 17. ifs Internationale Filmschule Köln

2nd Call! 📣
Medienschaffende mit Schreibtalent und Leidenschaft für serielle Formate können sich noch bis zum 17.03. für den deutschsprachigen Track des Masterstudiengangs Serial Storytelling bewerben. Das zweijährige Vollzeit-Masterstudium verbindet Drehbuchhandwerk und Techniken kooperativer Stoffentwicklung (»Writers’ Room«) mit angewandter künstlerischer Forschung – sowohl für den deutschsprachigen als auch für den internationalen Serienmarkt. Namhafte Partner wie RTL Media Group, ZDF, Paramount+, btf Bildundtonfabrik, Network Movie, Festival SERIES MANIA, Seriencamp und Film Festival Cologne unterstützen das Programm. Jetzt bewerben!

ifs Screenwriting

28/10/2024

Join ifs European Showrunner Programme alumna Katri Manninen (»Shadow Lines«, »Secret of the Borderwoods«, Finland) for her online session at Series Mania Institute - SMI's »AI Writers Bootcamp« in November and learn about recent developments in AI for serial storytelling.

30/07/2024

In the new SPOT interview below, ifs MA Serial Storytelling student Lea Albring asks KLEO showrunners Hanno Hackfort, Richard Kropf and Bob Konrad for their advice to aspiring writers who want to write high-end series. Here is Bob's answer that I think will be useful to emerging writers from all around Europe:
"It's always exciting and advisable to get a taste of all formats. [...] So just explore the formats. Practice them all, do them all, write them all, but always make sure you're not just following the beaten path, but thinking about where you can find something new, or whether a detour might be a much better way to get there. And don't lose courage or energy. Keep developing, telling, offering, and working out your own things. Don't write a 500-page bible, don't work endlessly on an idea only to find out that nobody wants it. Think about something only as long as it's fun. Develop your own material while earning money. Don't be afraid."
For the whole interview see https://spot-mediafilm.com/hintergrund/interviews/spot-lets-talk-wie-schreibt-man-eine-serie/

In engem Austausch mit den Filmhochschulen startet SPOT media & film eine neue Reihe. Dabei bringen wir Studierende mit renommierten Filmschaffenden zusammen, um sie über ihr Gewerk und ihre Arbeit im Besonderen reden zu lassen. Den Anfang macht Lea Albring, Studentin an der ifs Internationale Filmschule Köln aus dem Studiengang Serial Storytelling, die sich mit dem Autorentrio HaRiBo (Hanno Hackfort, Richard Kropf, Bob Konrad) zusammengesetzt hat, um anlässlich des heutigen Starts von „KLEO“, Staffel 2 bei Netflix(produziert von Zeitsprung Pictures) über das Drehbuchschreiben zu reden.
https://spot-mediafilm.com/news/kinonews/spot-lets-talk-wie-schreibt-man-eine-serie/

03/07/2024

Go for it!

💻 Keyboards at the ready – it's time to apply for Berlinale Talents 2025! 🌟

Film professionals across the globe, we invite you to apply and seize the chance to join us at the next edition of Berlinale Talents as one of the world's top 200 emerging filmmakers. Taking place February 15-20, 2025, it will be a bustling week of discipline-specific workshops, talks with world-renowned guests, think-tanks, networking and more. Incomparable, inspiring and eye-opening, the Summit week is only the beginning of your possible life-long relationship with Berlinale Talents and the Berlinale as a whole.

For all things application-related, including questions on eligibility, tips and much more:
- head to our How to Apply page: bit.ly/BT_HowToApply
- check out our FAQs: bit.ly/BerlinaleTalents_FAQ

Deadline: September 4, 2024, 12:00 noon (CEST)

16/04/2024

EMPOWER EACHOTHER!

Im Rahmen des veranstalten wir mit & ein Networking Event mit Speeddating!

Wann: 18.04.24, 19 Uhr

Wo:

Kostenloser Eintritt über https://empowereachother.ticketmachine.de/de

11/04/2024

Only a couple more days to go! Spread the word!
The EUROPEAN SHOWRUNNER PROGRAMME's CALL FOR APPLICATIONS is open until April 14, 2024. Jeppe Gjervig Gram

02/04/2024

“I would definitely recommend the European Showrunner Programme to any film professional looking to take their career to new levels in terms of vision and creative ownership. The programme gave me a very good insight into the responsibilities of a showrunner and provided valuable insights into potential models for a European approach to the topic.”

Malina Nwabuonwor was a participant in the European Showrunner Training 2023. She is an Austrian screenwriter. Most recently she has written for the hit series »Sam – Ein Sachse« and »Para – We are King«.

➡️ Apply now for the next round of the European Showrunner Training at ifs.

29/03/2024

Matthew Hastings (The Handmaid's Tale, USA) and Ricketts (Sam – A Saxon, Austria) will join us in Cologne on Monday, April 8, 7pm, for a combined session of the two open event series European Showrunner Think Tank and ifs Encounters. If you happen to be in town, make sure to drop by!

Heads up! The next ifs-Encounters event is right around the corner. On April 8 at 7 p.m. (CET) we are delighted to have series experts Matthew Hastings (»The Handmaid’s Tale«, »Fallen«, USA) and Tyron Ricketts (»Sam – A Saxon«, »Dogs of Berlin«, Austria) with us for a combined session of our two event series ifs Encounters (ifs-Begegnung) and European Showrunner Think Tank. The discussion focusing on Social Impact Storytelling will take place on site at the Filmforum NRW in the Museum Ludwig, moderated by ifs Serial Storytelling alumna and board member of the German Screenwriters’ Association DDV Fitore Muzaqi, and followed by a retrospective screening of the pilot episode of »The Handmaid’s Tale« (USA 2017). We are looking forward to the event – come along!

29/03/2024

27/03/2024

Congrats to ifs BA Film/Screenwriting alumnus Sergej Waldrat for winning the Story Bundle Award at Sofia Meetings 🎉

Our new project HEARTBEAT is among the winners of the 21st Sofia Meetings! Writer and director Sergej Waldrat and producer Samaya Hillenbrand won the Story Bundle Award in Sofia!

27/03/2024

ifs MA Serial Storytelling's Prof. Dr. Joachim Friedmann joins us in Cologne again today, after sharing key insights into writing for series with the participants of The Film Festival Vilnius' conference "Meeting Point - Vilnius" in Lithuania the past couple of days.

09/03/2024

We're ready for you now... Come and meet us at today's OPEN HOUSE. From 11am to 6 pm the ifs Internationale Filmschule Köln presents all its exciting national and international programs at ifs campus, Schanzenstraße 28-32, Cologne. Among them of course also the MA SERIAL STORYTELLING and the EUROPEAN SHOWRUNNER PROGRAMME.

04/03/2024

Join us for an online info event on the »European Showrunner Training«
On March 14, 2024, at 6 pm CET, Danish writer, showrunner, and Head of Programme Jeppe Gjervig Gram (»Borgen«, »Follow the Money«), ESP alumna Rachel Paterson (»Fallen«, UK) and ESP alumnus Lopes (»Gloria«, Portugal) will join ifs ESP staff for an online presentation of the European Showrunner Training, which is the training initiative of the European Showrunner Programme.
The Creative-Europe-Media funded European Showrunner Training is an intensive 6-month advanced training and mentoring programme designed to provide experienced European series writers with the opportunity to acquire and refine the skills needed for taking on the demanding role of a showrunner.
Through online and residential seminars as well as one-on-one mentoring, the programme supports each participant in cultivating the mind-set and insights necessary for becoming a successful showrunner in Europe. The application deadline ends April 14, 2024. For more information and application documents see www.showrunners.eu.

29/02/2024

Check out this great offer by our friends at LSF!

22/02/2024

This year's Berlinale edition of the "European Showrunner Network" meeting focussed on current changes in the series market and their impact on the situation of showrunners working in Europe. Experts and alumni of the European Showrunner Training discussed recent and upcoming projects and exchanged views on different approaches and requirements in various regions of Europe.

21/02/2024

Yesterday, alumni, students and participants of five great European series programs mingled at the edition of our regular . New friends were found and old series connections were renewed. Thank you, Timo Gößler, Michael Rösel, Katrin Merkel and Barbora STRUSS for continuing this cool small endeavour with us! And to all those great new and not-so-new series professionals from the ifs's MA SERIAL STORYTELLING, from the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (DFFB) 's Serial Eyes (DFFB) , from the Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF and EPI's Winterclass Serie and from the Filmakademie Ludwigsburg's study program Series Producing: thanks for coming, sharing and networking with us. We were thrilled to have you!

09/02/2024

Congratulations to ifs MA Serial Storytelling alumnus Marvin Meiendresch and ifs BA Film/Screenwriting alumnus Marian Grönwoldt on each receiving 20.000€ development funding for their upcoming projects "Der Klient" and "Rap Label"!

Die Film- und Medienstiftung NRW fördert 21 Projekte mit 4 Mio. Euro. Laura Dern, Benedict Cumberbatch, Noami Ackie und Tom Payne stehen in NRW vor der Kamera. Zum neuen Vorsitzenden des Filmförderausschusses wurde Filmstiftungs-Geschäftsführer Walid Nakschbandi gewählt.