The Rise of the Writers’ Room in the Region – Round Table
16/11 | WEDNESDAY| 16:00 | ADU F22
Frankopanska street 22
open for the public
Croatian Screenwriters and Playwrights Guild (SPID), in association with Zagreb Film Festival, brings three events focusing on TV screenwriting. The golden age of TV series in the US and Europe shows no signs of waning, but we are yet to witness a renaissance of TV drama in this region. In the hope of sparking a burst of creative thinking in regards to our TV landscape, we have put together three different events that have one thing in common: promoting the idea that quality TV drama begins with the writer, regardless of the industry circumstances. SPID, Croatian Screenwriters and Playwrights Guild, is committed to actively supporting screenwriters and playwrights, their rights and their creative development. This year’s edition of the festival, given the timing of HBO Adria’s move into the region as content producers, is an especially opportune moment to highlight the current situation in TV screenwriting both locally and regionally, and to explore potential new horizons (Jasmina Kallay).
Television Is the New Cinema
The American writers’ room model has been increasingly emulated in Europe, albeit at a more modest scale, and now, this model of writing drama series is also being adopted in the region, but to what extent and with what kind of results? Srđan Koljević and Matevž Luzar, joint showrunners of a series in development, along with Stevan Filipović, showrunner of a crime series in development, will bring their insight in the process of writing that spans the region both in terms of writers and content as well as the targeted audience. Sanja Kovačević, author of the soon-to-be-published Quality TV Series: the Millennial Era of the Screen, will discuss the differences between the US and European approaches to the writers’ room and how sustainable they are in our region. Jasmina Kallay will moderate.
Matevž Luzar
Matevž Luzar, režiser
Writer/director from Slovenia, born in 1981 in Zagorje ob Savi. He studied theology at University of Ljubljana and film directing at AGRFT in Ljubljana. He graduated from film school with the acclaimed short film Wolfy (Vučko) which was nominated for Student Academy Award in the 35th Annual Student Academy Awards competition. In 2013 he finished his first feature film Good to Go (Srečen za umret) and since then he is known for writing and directing movies and TV series. As a screenwriter he collaborated with many Slovenian directors. From 2015, he is a president of a Slovenian Screenwriting Association at Slovenian Director’s Guild.
Sanja Kovačević
Earned an MA in dramaturgy from the Academy of Dramatic Arts and sociology from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. She has written a dozen film and TV scripts, as well as a number of essays and radio dramas. Sanja teaches screenwriting and TV production in Zagreb. Her book Quality TV Series: the Millennial Era of the Screen will be published by the end of the year.
Srđan Koljević
A screenwriter and director, was born 1966 in Sarajevo. He graduated with a degree in dramaturgy from the Belgrade Academy of Drama Arts, where he now teaches. He wrote or co-wrote screenplays for 11 feature films, and wrote and directed three fiction films. The films he worked on have screened and won awards at the most famous international festivals. Three of these films were national Oscar candidates and one of them (The Trap) was shortlisted. One of the most awarded screenwriters in the region, a multiple winner of all the local awards, as well as a series of European film honours. Circles, the film he wrote, won a host of awards, including Sundance Film festival and the Berlinale.
Stevan Filipović
A writer and director, was born 1981 in Belgrade and graduated with a degree in film and TV editing from the Academy of Drama Arts. His graduation narrative, Sheitan Warrior (2006), was the most viewed Serbian film of the season. Critics called it a turning point and the first ever Serbian film to use digital technology and cutting-edge special effects. His second film, Skinning (2010), a political drama about stadium violence, was another blockbuster. He co-wrote the script for children’s film A Good Wife, wrote and directed the children’s feature adventure Blue Treasure and also made the feature narrative Next to Me. It premiered at the 62nd Pula Film Festival and won a Golden Arena for best film in international competition.
Dr.sc. Jasmina Kallay
A screenwriter, novelist and transmedia creator. She holds an MA in Screenwriting (National Film School, Dublin), and a PhD in Interactive Screenwriting (University College Dublin). Jasmina’s YA novel Beat Girl was adapted into a feature and a TV series which was nominated for an International Emmy (2013). She also works as an expert for Creative Europe (MEDIA sub-programme) for film, TV and videogames, and is a script doctor. In 2015 Jasmina wrote Write a Screenplay (HFS/Palunko) – the very first screenwriting manual in Croatian. She is one of the founders as well as a committee board member of the Croatian Screenwriters and Playwrights Guild (SPID).
