It is great to welcome you to the sixth edition of Cinekid Script LAB. This booklet holds all

the information you need for the first residency of Cinekid Script LAB 2019-2020. You will

find the programme, biographies of the participants, coaches and organisation, a brief

description of all the selected projects and some information on what happens after the

LAB in Amsterdam.

I hope that all information is clear, but in case you have any questions, feel free to reach

out to Thijs: t.vanderlaak@cinekid.nl / +31 6 55750216.

mailto:t.vanderlaak@cinekid.nl

Welcome to Cinekid Script LAB 2019-2020 ............................................................................... 2

Contents ......................................................................................................................................... 3

Schedule Cinekid Script LAB Amsterdam .................................................................................. 4

Cinekid for Professionals ............................................................................................................. 5

Organisation .................................................................................................................................. 6

Coaches .......................................................................................................................................... 7

Participants and projects ............................................................................................................. 9

Be Careful What You Wish For ................................................................................................ 9

The Bristol Job ......................................................................................................................... 10

Don’t Drink Our Blood ............................................................................................................ 11

EIRA .......................................................................................................................................... 12

The Hullabaloos ...................................................................................................................... 13

iNanny ...................................................................................................................................... 14

Jump Out .................................................................................................................................. 15

Lila in Kognita ......................................................................................................................... 16

Rood ......................................................................................................................................... 17

Tamar ....................................................................................................................................... 18

Uncle Egg – Searching for a dad ............................................................................................ 19

Vera and the Third Stone ....................................................................................................... 20

After Cinekid Script LAB Amsterdam ....................................................................................... 21

You can find a brief overview of the programme below, and the full schedule here.

20 October: Arrival day & Cinekid participation

21 October: Introductions, Story sessions

22 October: Story sessions & Goals & Glory sessions

23 October: Test & Pitch with Kids, Goals & Glory sessions

24 October: Come back sessions, Closing session and Dinner

25 October: Cinekid participation, Departure day

In these sessions, you will talk in-depth with your coach and peer writer(s) about your

script. For each story session, we have calculated 3 hours, but it is totally up to you and

your coach how to divide this time, and if you will use all this time.

In the Goals and Glory Session, you will have a meeting with Esther van Driesum, our

Head of Studies. Here you will talk about the goals you have set for your project, what you

would like to gain from the LAB and discuss the different aspects of the LAB. You can also

give her any feedback on the LAB, positive or negative!

During the Come Back sessions at the end of the LAB, you will evaluate Script LAB

Amsterdam, and set your goals for the rest of the LAB and the dates for your online

session, together with your coach.

What do you want to accomplish before your online session with your coach

(December/January), or before the second residency in Berlin?

The opportunity to pitch your project for a group of international children; your future

audience! They will be very honest and tell you what they do and do not like, and what

they would like to see in the film you are making.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nVGaaFMUZNc3R7njHdTd18PTF2WKy8ui8VVfB_iXljo/edit?usp=sharing

In your programme for Cinekid Script LAB, you will find some moments that there is no

official programme. It is up to you how to divide this time. You could work on your script,

but you can also take the opportunity to attend Cinekid Festival or Cinekid for

Professionals.

19 – 25 October

In the programme leaflet, which you will receive in your festival bag upon arrival at the

festival, you can find all screenings during Cinekid Festival, which are English spoken or

have English subtitles.

On our website, you can find our Night of the Lion screenings; beautiful children’s films,

and also very suitable for adults (21 – 24 October, at 19:30 at the Machinegebouw at the

festival site)

21-24 October festival site / 19 October – 8 November online.

Cinekid for Professionals' digital video library offers more than 350 recent children’s

productions from all over the world, with particularly a focus on European productions.

The ScreeningClub offers buyers and programmers the opportunity to screen the

productions in private screening booths for acquisition and/or programming purposes.

Additionally, Cinekid for Professionals also has the Junior Co-production Market and the

Industry Forum, but as they mostly overlap with the programme of the LAB, it won’t be

possible to attend these events this year.

https://cinekid.nl/en/news/82https://www.cinekid.nl/en/professionals/professionals-programme/junior-coproduction-markethttps://www.cinekid.nl/en/professionals/professionals-programme/industry-forum

Nienke Poelsma is serving as Head of Cinekid for Professionals at

Cinekid, driving the industry department of the festival. Nienke

joined Cinekid in 2015 from International Film Festival Rotterdam

(IFFR) where she coordinated CineMart, the established co-

production market of IFFR, and the Rotterdam LAB, the workshop

for emerging producers. Prior to IFFR, she studied Film with

minors in Film Studies and Film and TV Production. Nienke is

secretary of the board of Roffa Mon Amour, a summer film festival in

Rotterdam. She has chaired many international juries and selection

committees over the years.

Esther van Driesum is Head of Studies at Cinekid Script LAB. She

runs her own consultancy INSIDE OUT with a focus on project

and talent development in both documentary and fiction

film. Next to this, she works as the Script

Consultant/Creative Producer of Dutch production house

BIND. Esther also supervises Cinekid’s Script LAB, works as a

consultant/development coach for the Flanders Audiovisual

Fund and is a guest tutor at the Netherlands Film Academy

and at the University of the Arts Utrecht.

Besides, Esther joined forces with Daan Gielis in their PrepTalk initiative, designing labs

and providing tailor-made workshops for writers, directors and producers on the

development, presentation and positioning of film projects.

Thijs van der Laak is Coordinator for Cinekid for Professionals

since March 2017. Producing talent development programmes as

Cinekid Script LAB and Kids & Docs and overseeing the Guest

Department are part of his responsibilities. Before joining

Cinekid in 2017, he was part of Cinekid's Guest Department in

2015. He also served in various functions for film festivals

throughout the Netherlands: CineMart & International Film

Festival Rotterdam, Netherlands Film Festival, Go Short International

Short Film Festival, amongst others.

Boudewijn Koole is creative producer at Witfilm. He is

advisor and coach to filmmakers during the development,

shooting and editing of their films. He made several,

mainly youth-, documentaries, such as Tommie and

Pierlala. More recently he added a focus on directing and

writing fiction films. The children’s film Kauwboy (Little

Bird) was sold to 14 countries and won more than 30

prizes worldwide.

Since graduating as a theatre producer from the National Theatre

School of Canada, Eva Svenstedt Ward has worked in theatre,

film and television. She studied screenwriting at the Binger

Film Institute in Amsterdam, has a BA in Theatre Studies from

Stockholm University, and an MSc in Organisational

Psychology from INSEAD Business School. Eva spent nearly 15

years as producer and development executive for SVT. Projects

Eva has been involved in include creative producer for children's

series The Roofters, script and story consultant for Emmy Award-

winning The Millennium Trilogy, including The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Eva has held

masterclasses on screenwriting, script consulting and the role of the creative producer for

organisations as Berghs School of Communication Stockholm, Short Film Forum Moscow,

Scuola Holden in Torino, and Off Camera Cracow. She currently is Head of Studies for

Torino Scriptlab.

Jacques Akchoti is a renowned screenwriter and script

consultant who has worked with directors such as Lars

von Trier and Jean-Jacques Beineix. He has received

many accolades for several cinema and television

productions. Jacques teaches writing and directing at the

Femis (National French Filmschool).

Janne Vierth has been writing for children since 1999.

Animation, puppets, live-action and lately radio. Janne has

written and sometimes co-created Three friends… and Jerry,

The Roofsters, The Little Ghost Godfrey, Rita and Crocodile,

and internationally acclaimed Bajsfilmen and Gordon and

Paddy, both directed by Linda Hambäck. Janne has been

working with the best of the field both internationally and in

Stockholm, Sweden where he lives with his family, a huge dog and

too many guitars.

Before finding her true passion as a scriptwriter, Jolein Laarman

worked as a production designer. Since then, she wrote and co-

wrote many scripts for film and television, winning

(inter)national awards (including Best Script at Cannes

L’Atelier). The films she worked on were selected by

international film festivals and won numerous awards. She

also works as a script coach at the Netherlands Film Academy,

at international script labs and workshops and as a script

consultant on (inter)national productions. Selection of productions

she worked on: Ik ben Willem, Tussenstand, Broos, Brozer, Katia’s Sister, Among Us,

Symbiose, Geloven, Yulia and Juliet, Fifty-Fifty, Kauwboy, Disappearance.

Mieke de Jong writes for film and television, for children and

grown-ups. Her filmography includes Bonkers (Best Children's

Film Audience Award at Cinekid), Spoon, Eep (Berlinale),

Winter in Wartime (Oscar nomination Best Foreign Film),

Tony 10, Rintje, Mr. Frog and television series Remi, Nobody's

Boy (Best Script TV-series, Dutch Writers Guild). Apart from

writing her own work, Mieke is a coach for scriptwriters all

over the world.

Writers: Malin Holm & Gustaf Åkerblom

Country of production: Sweden

Production company: StellaNova Film

Nominated by: Swedish Film Institute

When Alice parents, just before Christmas, decide that she can´t participate in the musical

she´s dreaming of, she makes a wish to Santa that she and her brother could swap bodies

with their parents, to be able to decide themselves. Alice’s wish becomes reality, but she

realizes that adulthood comes with demands and responsibilities and to undo the wish is

too late. Will the family be stuck in each other's bodies forever, and will Alice get her

dream role?

Malin started as a focus puller in 2000 shooting commercials,

music videos and TV-productions. Since 2010 she worked

mostly as assistant director on movies like Sune i Fjällen, ”Sune

i Grekland, Sune på Bilsemester, The Most Beautiful Hands in

Dehli and A Man Called Ove and script consulting on Halvdan

Viking and Ted- Show Me Love. Be Careful What You Wish For

is the first project as a screenwriter, which she writes together

with Gustaf Åkerblom.

In 2018 Gustaf debuted as a screenwriter for the feature film

Halvdan, Almost a Viking, a family film he also directed.

Gustaf’s previous feature was Sune i fjällen, which he

directed. The film was the most popular Swedish film to open

in 2014 and was nominated for the audience award at The

Swedish Film Awards. Gustaf started his career in film and TV

with directing and writing a number of short films and

directing music videos.

Writer: Carol Noble

Country of production: France

Production company: Quad Films

Three kids. One Bank job. Packed Lunches.

The Bristol Job is The Italian Job for the under three foot. Mission Impossible with pocket

money. Ocean’s 11 and three quarters.

The Bristol Job is an anti-austerity, anti-Brexit comedy-drama for kids who want a global

future.

Carol is an award-winning writer in kids TV and film: both live-

action and animation. She wrote and creatively produced

Ballerina for Quad films in Paris (Called LEAP in the US). Last

year, she wrote, produced and directed a series of short films

for Maker/Disney called The Pixelarity about a Minecraft

universe. Carol wants the chance to write a film that pushes

opportunity and political activism in the middle of big laughs,

fun and adventure.

Writers: Lucie Bokšteflová, Tomáš Pavlíček

Countries of production: Czech Republic, Slovakia

Production companies: MasterFilm, BFILM

Young Hanička is having a hard time. Her father, a popular schoolteacher, just died in an

accident. A new teacher named Karel Kraus takes his place and Hanička is convinced that

he is a vampire! She tries to prove it, but nobody believes her. What is more, Hanička’s

mother feels attracted to Kraus. Hanička has to find out what Kraus is after, and stop him!

Lucie is a Czech screenwriter. She graduated from Prague’s

Film Academy (FAMU). As a student, she collaborated with

director Aramisova on a short movie Cagey Tigers (2011,

Cannes Cinéfondation). Her screenplay Laputa (2015) was

filmed by Jakub Šmíd as his debut feature. Her collaboration

with Tomáš Pavlíček Bear with Us (2018) premiered at

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and then went on to

win the best screenplay award by the Czech Film Critics Association.

Czech director and screenwriter. He graduated from Prague’s

Film Academy (FAMU), where he currently teaches. He

focuses on comedy that is often dialogue-based. His debut

feature Totally Talking (2014) premiered at Karlovy Vary

International Film Festival. Four years later Bear with Us

also screened at KVIFF, in the East of the West Competition,

and then went on to win the best screenplay award by the

Czech Film Critics Association.

Writer: Nadine Nonn

Country of production: Switzerland

Production company: 2:1 Film

EIRA is a feature-length animation movie about a little albino reindeer girl named Mayvi,

who, although she is primed to be the next leader, doesn’t fit in with her herd and gets

mobbed. One day she finds a lost polar bear cub (Eira) and adopts her into the herd even

though the other reindeer oppose. The two form an unlikely friendship, through which

Mayvi learns to accept herself and become the strong leader she never thought she could

be.

Nadine was born and raised in Switzerland. She first studied acting and

worked in both Los Angeles and Paris before getting her MA in

Screenwriting at MET Film School in London in 2016. Since then

she has worked for the CBBC, placed in the finals of the C21

Drama Script competition, the ZFF Treatment Award, and the

Second Rounds of the Austin Film Festival. Her short film Trust

Me was nominated for Best British Independent Short Film in

2017.

Writer: Jenny Dalhström

Country of production: Finland

Production company: Tack Films

Nominated by: Finnish Film Foundation

The Hullabaloos is a fun and eventful family film about a lively family Hullabaloos on

their way to an amusement park in Helsinki, to celebrate the birthday of their twin boys

Mikael and Lennart.

However, their expedition is put in jeopardy when their beloved dog Bun goes missing,

causing chaos in the capital, extending all the way to the presidential palace.

The world and the characters of the film are based on the novel Kiljuset, written one

hundred years ago by the Finnish children's author Jalmari Finne. The novel depicts a

loud and messy family that keeps together no matter what happens - and a lot does

happen indeed!

Jenny Dahlström, 34, lives and works in Helsinki. She has

graduated with an MA in Screenwriting from the Aalto

University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture, and has

over 10 years of experience writing for film and television.

Amongst her latest works is the feature dramedy Winning

Ticket (Kaikki oikein, 2018) and crime series Hooked

(Koukussa, 2015), winning the Venla Award for the best TV

screenplay.

Writer: Līga Gaisa

Countries of production: Norway, Lithuania

Production companies: Dansu, Chezvillle

During a family psychologist visit, the Eriksen family is introduced to an innovative

product – a humanoid robot, iNanny, that is designed to glue families together. Hearing

the parents talk about divorce and splitting up the kids, Luna (9) and Andrew (6) decide to

run away from home and do it together with iNanny. Embarking on a series of

challenging adventures the children, as well as parents, find the way back to each other.

Līga Gaisa is a Latvian filmmaker. Jacob, Mimmi and the Talking

Dogs is her first feature-length script. The film directed by

Edmunds Jansons came out in 2019. Līga also runs a film

production company Air Productions that focuses on film

projects by upcoming filmmakers. She has participated in

international film project- and script development

workshops.

Education: MA, Baltic Film and Media School (Estonia); MA,

Latvian Academy of Culture (Latvia).

Writer: Nika Šaravanja

Countries of production: Belgium, Italy, Croatia

Production companies: Playtime Films, Tico Film, Storyhouse films

Marcus lives with his brother and grandmother in a Kenyan slum. Being 12, he is under

the influence of the “cooler kids” from school. His grades are getting worse and his

grandmother is losing control over him. One day Marcus notices a man teaching a group

of kids acrobatics. He is so amazed, that he starts spying on them, picturing this man as a

superhero. One day the group disappears and he asks himself where did they go? Sadly,

Marcus is forced to back to his everyday life, secretly hoping they return.

After summer, the acrobats appear and this time Marcus doesn’t lose his chance. He

learns that the teacher’s name is Steve, that he just came back from a summer tour

throughout Europe and will start training children who join the next tours. Marcus puts

all his effort into learning from his new mentor, challenging his fears, the limits of his

body and his grandmother’s authority. Will Marcus be brave and talented enough to be

chosen for the acrobat tour? Will he start a new life that will take him from the Nairobi

slums to the most important cities in Europe? Is this new world as he imagines it?

Nika Šaravanja, author, writer and director of the project Jump

Out, was born in Croatia in 1985. After studying at the Zagreb

School of Economics and Management, she spent years

travelling, engaging herself in social work and collaborating

with various artists and NGOs. In 2016, she graduated in

Directing for documentary and new media at the ZeLIG School.

Since then, her work consists mainly of social and environmental

documentaries. Dusk Chorus - Based on Fragments of Extinction,

her first feature documentary premiered at Vision du Réel in 2017. It screened at more

than 80 festivals and gained more than 15 awards. She is currently based in Vienna.

Writers: Saar Ponsioen, Emily Reekers

Country of production: The Netherlands

Production company: HALAL Film and Photography

Lila’s father is ill and dying. No one – not even her mom – seems to be able to answer her

questions about death. Then Lila is summoned to the secret world Kognita: where all the

answers are hidden. However, Kognita is threatened by the mysterious Uncertainty, a

faceless creature taking overall knowledge. Will Lila manage to safe Kognita in time and

get to the answer of death before her father passes away?

Saar Ponsioen is an Amsterdam-based screenwriter from The

Netherlands. In 2016, she graduated from film school with the

short When Grey is a Colour, which won a Student Academy

Award in Los Angeles. Furthermore, she co-wrote the television

drama Free Fight (2018, IJswater Films, VPRO) with director

Sven Bresser, which was nominated for a Golden Calf (Award of

Netherlands Film Festival). She is currently working on various

projects, which are aimed at both children and adults.

Amsterdam-based Emily Reekers graduated from film school as a

scriptwriter in 2016. Since then she has written the animation

short Waste (Urrebuk, UltraKort) and co-wrote the television

drama Leglampman in collaboration with director Kurt Platvoet

(Kepler Film, VPRO). In addition to film projects and series,

Emily recently picked up writing and is currently working on her

debut novel with Lebowski Publishers.

Writers: Camiel Schouwenaar, Job Tichelman

Country of production: The Netherlands

Production company: Rinkel Film

Nominated by: Netherlands Film Fund

Best friends Dylan and Soufian dream of becoming professional football players. When

Dylan ends up in a wheelchair after a terrible accident, he has to come to terms with his

new life. His dad – and former coach – wants him to accept his handicap and ban football

out of his life, but Dylan is determined to play football again. Rood is a film about true

friendship and winning a final in the dying seconds of the game.

Camiel Schouwenaar (1970) works as a writer and director for

youth drama productions and animation films. After he graduated

at the Netherlands Film Academy he first started directing puppet

show series that won international awards. He loves storytelling

for young audiences where drama is brought in a light-hearted and

imaginary way. His animation short Polska Warrior won the Prix

Jeunesse UNESCO award, two Cinekid Awards and the Golden Calf.

Job Tichelman (1984) studied audio-visual journalism and

afterwards started writing screenplays and making

documentaries. He is inspired by stories about loners who fight

back from an underdog position. Shame and insecurity are

important themes in his work. His documentary Mrs Faber is

longlisted for a Golden Calf in Best Dutch Documentary category.

Besides making films, Job teaches Dutch at a vocational school,

which is situated in a multicultural neighbourhood, just like the

story of Rood.

Writer: Dorothée Van Den Berghe

Country of production: Belgium

Production company: Menuetto Film

Nominated by: Flanders Audiovisual Fund

Tamar (9) a cool and adventurous girl shares everything with her best friend Max. Her

world falls apart when she learns that her father suffers from throat cancer. Tamar and

Max start to investigate how they would be able to capture his soul, but the more her

father’s death approaches, the more Tamar isolates herself with an imagined mermaid-

friend who takes her on an extraordinary journey to the afterlife. Tamar investigates her

emotions in this other world. She learns to come to terms with the concept of death and

helps her father to do the same by sharing her fantasy with him.

Dorothée van den Berghe is born in Ghent. After making

several shorts and a couple of TV movies, she completed her

first feature Meisje (2002, 90’) an intimate portrait of a young

girl, which won the Prix de la Jeunesse and the Prix de

CICAE/ARTE (IFF Locarno). My Queen Karo (2009, 90’) her

second feature is based on Dorothées memories of the ‘70s in

Amsterdam. She was selected for the Résidence du Festival (IFF

Cannes) and won the Prix de la Jeunesse (IFF Creteil des Femmes) and the Plateau Award

Best Young Actress (IFF Ostend). Her family feature film Rosie en Moussa (2018, 90’) won

the Grand Prix de Montreal (FIFEM), Ensor Best Children’s Film (IFF Ostend) and the

Cinekid Lion, Best Children’s Film, (IFF Cinekid). Currently, she is in preproduction for her

feature film Aller/Retour.

Writers: Torfinn Iversen, Julia Andersen

Country of production: Norway

Production company: Fjordic Film AS

Nominated by: Norwegian Film Institute

An estranged fourteen-year-old boy from Northern-Norway sets out on a venturesome

trip towards a scorching German summer together with his simple-minded uncle, who is

obsessed with cuckoos, in search of finding his real father. It’s not going to be easy when

he learns that there exist 25.000 men with the same name. A story about finding back the

truth of his roots, and the great mysteries of the cuckoos.

Torfinn Iversen (1985, Sortland, Norway) holds a Bachelor of Arts

degree in Visual Culture (film and television) from Lillehammer

University College and graduated from Nordland College of Art and

Film in 2009. Iversen participated at Berlinale Talents in 2009, and

his short film Levi’s Horse premiered at Berlinale Generation in

2012. His first feature film Oskar’s America won the Eurimages Co-

production Development Award at the Junior Co-production Market

of Cinekid in 2014 and premiered at Berlinale Generation in 2017.

Julia Andersen (1987, Tromsø, Norway) graduated from New

York Film Academy in 2012 and has worked as a production

coordinator and production manager on several feature films.

She is working as a creative producer and her last short film

Bog Hole was screened at numerous festivals, including Palm

Springs, Sao Paulo International Short Film Festival,

Oberhausen Short Film Festival, Giffoni Film Festival and was

nominated to the National Film Award Amanda for Best Short Film.

Writer: Bragi Thor Hinriksson

Country of production: Iceland

Production company: Hreyfimyndasmiðjan

Nominated by: Icelandic Film Center

Akel is a boy elf who is extremely curious about humans. One day he finds himself stuck

in the human world when the ancient elfish rock and the only entrance to his home in

The Hidden World is dug up and removed. Vera, a 10-year-old girl who unknowingly has

inherited the power of foresight makes friends with this otherworldly being and decides

to help him find a way to get home. Together they find out that the rock has been placed

at a waste disposal site far in the country. Vera’s parents have always known that she has

a vivid imagination and therefore think that she has an imaginary friend because they

can‘t see Akel as Vera can. Vera takes matters into her own hands when she feels that

Akel’s life force is fading and she and Akel embark on an incredible adventure to travel by

foot across the boundaries of Manheim and into The Hidden World. Vera’s parents

become worried and think her daughter has been kidnapped but soon find out that she

has been seen walking in the countryside.

It becomes a race against time when Vera and Akel have to face several obstacles

involving escaping dangerous Trolls, Svartelf (DarkElfs) and other dangers lurking in the

unpredictable world of Icelandic folklore which inhabit the fantastic hidden world where

man and nature come face to face with the responsibilities all beings who inhabit the

earth have to one another.

Bragi Thor Hinriksson is an award-winning Icelandic director and

producer. He has directed six feature-length films, four of which

have enjoyed enormous box office success in Iceland with

domestic box office numbers rivalling the likes of Harry Potter,

Toy Story 3 and Avatar. Throughout his career, Hinriksson has

developed a keen understanding of the strategic steps needed for

successful motion pictures. His previous film The Falcons marked

his biggest feature film yet, demonstrating his skills in visual

storytelling and working with large groups of child actors, convincing

action scenes, visual effects and stunning natural landscapes to tell a story of a grand

scale. The film has won several awards during its festival run is distributed worldwide by

LevelK.

Cinekid Script LAB will not end after Cinekid for Professionals, fortunately!

After the residency in Amsterdam, you will have online session(s) with your coach to

discuss the progress, please set the dates together with your coach! We will all see each

other again during the Berlinale from 21 - 26 February 2020. You can find a preliminary

programme below, please note that this is just an indication and subject to change

We will contact you at the beginning of November to request information for

accreditations, flights & hotel and the programme.

21 February: Arrival day & Berlinale participation

22 February: Welcome back & Catch up session, Story sessions, Goals & Glory sessions

23 February: Story sessions & Goals & Glory sessions

24 February: Scripts in Action workshop

25 February: Come back sessions, Industry Experts, Closing dinner

26 February: Berlinale participation, Departure day

If you have any questions, remarks or feedback in between, feel free to reach out. Should

there be any updates from your project, please let us know!