While shooting is halted due to re-imposed Covid-19 restrictions, the development of projects is still in full swing. The Polish Canal+ Series Lab, already in its 6^th edition, is waiting for series proposals from screenwriting teams until 16 November 2020. The call is open to both local and international projects with “talents from France and Central Europe attached, that have potential for co-production with Poland,” as organisers stated in a press release. The first (online) session is set to begin in December. The entire workshop will be conducted in English. “We want to support the creators in the development of premium series and expect projects diversified in terms of genre, with a strong underlying concept” explains Anna Różalska, director of original and co-productions at Canal+. “Additionally, we wanted to invite international teams and projects, so that we can have co-production opportunities. This is why I invited Matthieu Darras, who has major experience in working with international groups and on international projects,” she adds. Darras, who initiated and ran several film or talent development programs such as the First Cut Lab, the Pop Up Film Residency, and the Full Circle Lab, explains: “Having participants from various countries gives added value, the projects can nurture from different visions and points of view. I insisted on trusting experts from Europe or Israel, who know the local market. I asked Naomi Levari and Laura Piani to join the Lab and I was happy to learn they accepted the proposal,” concludes Darras.

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Levari is producer and script consultant, while Piani is a screenwriter whose credits include writing episodes of series such as Philharmonia and Spiral. Polish producers Leszek Bodzak (behind the recently premiered series The King of Warsaw), Piotr Dzięcioł and Łukasz Dzięcioł (series Raven, Clangor) will also be supervising the development of the selected projects.

“The best projects will be approved for production and ultimately for release. As part of the first edition in 2016, we developed, among others, the series Clangor, which is currently being produced, and its screenwriter is Kacper Wysocki,” adds Różalska. Participation is free of charge and all interested applicants should send the logline, season synopsis (general and detailed), statement and short bios of the team members via an online form available here.

The 6^th edition of the CANAL+ Series Lab is planned to conclude in April 2021. The programme is run in a partnership with international production house and distributor StudioCanal, Polish theatrical distributor Kino Świat and pay-tv operator M7 Group.