After six intensive days, the second iteration of the Albascript+ script development programme wrapped up during the first Balkan Film Market (BFM), which ran from 2-7 October. The workshop, which was initially launched in 2016 and was reserved exclusively for Albanian participants, this year welcomed ten feature-film and six short-film projects from seven Balkan countries that were at the early development stage and were seeking further consultancy and help in order to be realised.

After a series of training sessions and master classes that were organised either in groups or individually, the participants had a chance to further develop their screenplays, collaborate with their peers and be introduced to acclaimed film professionals who were also attending the BFM’s first edition. The programme unspooled under the auspices of four mentors: Giovanni Robbiano, head of the International department at FAMU; Amedeo D’Adamo, professor of Film Directing and Marketing; Blerta Zeqiri, writer and director; and Dimitris Emmanouilides, script development mentor for the MFI Script 2 Film Workshops. The group sessions were held on a daily basis and were focused on setting goals while also making suggestions; furthermore, the participants were also able to have one-on-one meetings with their mentors in order to explore the needs of each project, and more networking sessions were also organised towards the end of the workshop.

In the master class sessions, which were also open to the public, the challenges of co-productions were presented by Julien Ezanno, bilateral affairs advisor at the CNC, while Brigitta Manthey, funding advisor, development at Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg, focused on Balkan co-production with the involvement of the leading film fund.

The ten feature-film projects that took part were:

Amercement – Fokion Borgis and Panos Tragos (Greece)
Bunker – Marko Crnogorski and Jana Paunoska (Macedonia)
Close the Door – Parta Kelmendi (Kosovo)
Hotline – Dren Zherka (Kosovo)
Hostage – Saimir Gongo (Albania)
Life in Concrete – Ermela Teli (Albania)
Men of Deeds – Radu Romaniuc (Romania)
The End of the World – Aleksandra Urošević (Serbia)
The First Wife – Elkjana Gjipali (Albania)
Thrax – Hristo Hristov (Bulgaria) 

The six short-film projects that took part were:

Concerto – Blerina Goce (Albania)
In the Stormy Years – Kejdi Demneri (Albania)
She – More Raça (Kosovo)
Smoke Rising – Konstantinos Kalogridis (Greece)
The Post – Kiril Maksimoski (Macedonia)
Transbus – Nart Zeqiraj (Kosovo)