Archive for the ‘Screenwriting’ Category

5-Day Screenwriting Workshop – All the details

Posted: March 30, 2015 by moifightclub in cinema, News, Screenwriting, Workshop, writing
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WWI-FWA Workshop 2015

WHAT : 5-Day Screenwriting Workshop

by Anjum Rajabali

and

Vishal Bhardwaj (Haider) , Sriram Raghavan (Badlapur), Jaideep Sahni (Chak De India), Juhi Chaturvedi (Vicky Donor), Ritesh Batra (Lunch Box), Vikramaditya Motwane (Udaan, Producer: Queen), Shridhar Raghavan (Dum Maro Dum), Akshat Verma (Delhi Belly), Sharat Kataria (Dum Laga Ke Haisha), Anand Gandhi (Ship of Theseus), Navdeep Singh (Director: NH-10), Sudip Sharma (NH-10)

WHEN : April 29 – May 3, 2015

WHERE  : At Whistling Woods, Film city, Goregaon (East), Mumbai – 65

Presented by Whistling Woods
(in association with FWA & Living Bridge Pune)

WORKSHOP : The last few years have marked the beginning of an exciting era for Indian screenwriters! More films are breaking the conventional mold, based on bold scripts. Badlapur, Udaan, Haider, Dum Lagaa Ke Haisha, Queen, The Lunch Box, Vicky Donor, Ship of Theseus, Delhi Belly, Chak de India, NH-10.. the list goes on. What’s more, the audience is welcoming these with pleasure.

Gradually but steadily, the scriptwriter seems to be moving centre-stage!

This workshop will not only cover all the basics of the screenwriting craft, encouraging you to develop competence as a screenwriter, but also expose you to how these stalwarts let their imagination fly with conviction. So, here’s your best chance to learn, via rich interactive sessions with writers who are redefining Indian screenwriting today!

WORKSHOP INSTRUCTOR: Anjum Rajabali (Drohkaal, Ghulam, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Raajneeti): Heads the screenwriting departments at Whistling Woods Mumbai and FTII Pune, and is an activist with FWA. Conducts screenwriting workshops, and script labs and fellowships for screenwriters.

FEE: For FWA members: Rs. 7500/- (Inclusive of taxes, tea/coffee, lunch)
For non-FWA members: Rs. 10000/- (Inclusive of taxes, tea/coffee, lunch)
*If you wish to become an FWA member, please visit www.fwa.co.in

REGISTER : To register for the workshop, please call 30916003 or email: kanchi.parikh@whistlingwoods.net

Call For Entries : Drishyam – Sundance Institute Screenwriters’ Lab 2015

Posted: February 28, 2015 by moifightclub in Call For Entries, cinema, News, Screenwriting, writing
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screenwriting-215x300WHAT : Manish Mundra’s film production company, Drishyam, in partnership with Sundance Institute, is organising Drishyam – Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab 2015 to be held in Goa April 12-16.

The Drishyam Sundance Screenwriters Lab will provide an opportunity for writers to develop their work under the guidance of accomplished international advisors in an environment that encourages storytelling at the highest level. Srinivasan Narayanan, the former Festival Director of Mumbai Film Festival (MAMI) will be heading this initiative in India.

The Lab is inviting applications as part of its Open Submission Process.

LAST DATE :

The deadline for submission of scripts is March 5, 2015.

ELIGIBILITY :

– The Lab is for filmmakers making their first or second narrative feature;

– Co-writers, writer/directors, or writer/director teams will be considered, and the scripts should be independent in terms of story and spirit, and also in terms of budget.

LANGUAGE :

The film can be in any Indian language. However, for the lab, the screenplay should be submitted in English only.

APPLICATION:

– In order to apply, filmmakers must submit a complete draft of a screenplay as well as supporting materials (cover letter, artistic statement, bio, synopsis, and directing sample if applicable).

– There is no word limit or format requirements.

– Directing sample, if any, should be submitted as an online link

– Send complete application docket to drishyamsundancelab@sundance.org

CONTACT :

– For any queries/doubts, do write to – drishyamsundancelab@sundance.org. Or you can check their FB page here.

So happy writing!

 

Masterclass With Screenwriter Jaideep Sahni. Saturday, 31st January, 2015.

Posted: January 31, 2015 by moifightclub in Event, News, Screenwriting
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Jaideep SahniFWA (Film Writers Association) members are cordially invited to a masterclass with the popular screenwriter-lyricist Jaideep Sahni, in which he will talk about the why (the socio-political concerns which motivated him) and the how (the art and craft of writing, the practicalities of getting people on board, creative collaboration) of the films he has written. Jaideep will be in conversation with Rajashree.

We would suggest that the people who want to attend the masterclass revisit the films written by Jaideep Sahni – their understanding of the points which Jaideep makes about his films would be much sharper if they have watched these films recently.

Jaideep Sahni is an eminent screenwriter, songwriter and creative producer. He has written thought-provoking popular entertainers like Chak De! India, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Company, Bunty Aur Babli, Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year and Shuddh Desi Romance. He won the Filmfare Awards for Best Dialogue and Best Story for Company, followed by the Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay for Khosla Ka Ghosla. He also won the IIFA award for Best Story for Chak De! India.

Rajashree, who will be moderating the event, studied at FTII before assisting Mansoor Khan and Sanjay Bhansali. She has written and directed a film called The Rebel which won a National Award. Her debut novel, Trust Me, is the biggest-selling Indian chick lit book. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Film Writers’ Association and the convenor of the Events Committee.

Entry Fees : Free. 

The admission is restricted to FWA Members. First-Come-First-Seated.

Time: 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Day/Date: Saturday, 31st January, 2015

Venue: Film Writers’ Association Office
2nd Floor, Richa Building,
Plot no B – 29,
(In the lane opposite Citi Mall),
Off New Link Road,
Andheri (West),
Mumbai – 400 053.
Phone: 022-2673-3027/ 022-2673-3108

Best Of 2014 : Script Of Ashim Ahluwalia’s ‘Miss Lovely’

Posted: January 2, 2015 by moifightclub in cinema, Indie, Screenwriting, Scripts, Year end special
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As we have done in the past, this year too we are trying to source the scripts of some of the best films of the year. As most of you know, the scripts of Hollywood films are easily available online, even the unreleased ones. But we don’t have any such database of Hindi or Indian films. So that has been the primary reason for this initiative. And it has been possible only because some of the screenwriters and filmmakers have been very supportive about it. It’s only for educational purpose and much like the spirit of the blog, is a complete non-profitable exercise.

Ashim Ahluwalia’s Miss Lovely was easily one of the best films of the year. A film so strong in its atmosphere, it makes you feel you are in the middle of that era where the story is set. And that’s what sets this film distinctly apart from the rest. Smoke-filled rooms, garish costumes, sleaze in every corner – you could almost smell the walls and feel the claustrophobia of the B-movie world created by the filmmaker.

So thanks to Ashim Ahluwalia, we are the sharing the script of Miss Lovely. This is the original English version, without the Hindi dialogues.

In our “Best Of 2014” series, here are the other film scripts that we have shared so far – Ankhon Dekhi is here, Queen is here, and for Dedh Ishqiya, click here.

Film : Miss Lovely

Director : Ashim Ahluwali

Story : Ashim Ahluwalia

Screenplay : Uttam Sirur and Ashim Ahluwalia

Do click on the “Scripts” tab on the top right corner of the blog page to access all the other scripts that we have posted in the past.

Best Of 2014 : Script of Abhishek Chaubey’s Dedh Ishqiya

Posted: December 31, 2014 by moifightclub in bollywood, cinema, Screenwriting, Scripts, Year end special
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As we have done in the past, this year too we are trying to source the scripts of some of the best films of the year. As most of you know, the scripts of Hollywood films are easily available online, even the unreleased ones. But we don’t have any such database of Hindi or Indian films. So that has been the primary reason for this initiative. And it has been possible only because some of the screenwriters and filmmakers have been very supportive about it. It’s only for educational purpose and much like the spirit of the blog, is a complete non-profitable exercise.

To make an impressive debut is a difficult task. To follow it up with a sequel, and to deliver better than the first, that’s almost impossible. And Abhishek Chaubey managed to score on both counts. While Ishqiya was all rustic cool, Dedh Ishqiya was rich in tone, mood, texture and poetry, that also had Begum Akhtar, Ghalib, Bashir Badr and a delicious homage to Ismat Chugtai. All these in a bollywood film loaded with dialogues in pristine Urdu? what a beauty, what a rarity!

So thanks to Vishal Bhardwaj and Abhishek Chaubey, we are sharing the first draft and the shooting draft of Dedh Ishqiya.

Do click on the “Scripts” tab on the top right corner of the blog page to access all the other scripts (Queen, Ankhon Dekhi, The Lunchbox, Shahid, Kai Po Che, D Day, Lootera, Kahaani, Ek Main Aur Ek Tu, Agent Vinod, Dev D etc) that we have posted here so far.

Film : Dedh Ishqiya

Director : Abhishek Chaubey

Story : Darab Farooqui

Screenplay : Vishal Bhardwaj & Abhishek Chaubey

Dialogue : Vishal Bhardwaj

(PS – As a writing exercise, do check out the notes about the climax in the first draft before they managed to resolve it)

(For more from our “Rewind 2014” series : Musical Gems We Discovered This Year is here, Kaali Zubaan’s bollywood wrap is here, 18 Film Fanatics on 18 Films That Stayed With Them is here, Songs We Played In Loop is here. In Best of 2014 – Script of Queen is here, Script of Ankhon Dekhi is here)

Best Of 2014 : Script of Rajat Kapoor’s Ankhon Dekhi

Posted: December 30, 2014 by moifightclub in bollywood, cinema, Indie, Screenwriting, Scripts, Year end special
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As we have done in the past, this year too we are trying to source the scripts of some of the best films of the year. As most of you know, the scripts of Hollywood films are easily available online, even the unreleased ones. But we don’t have any such database of Hindi or Indian films. So that has been the primary reason for this initiative. And it has been possible because some of the filmmakers have been very supportive about it. It’s only for educational purpose and much like the spirit of the blog, is a complete non-profitable exercise.

Rajat Kapoor’s Ankhon Dekhi is easily one of the best films this year. It has made it to the top of the year end list of many critics, filmmakers and our post too. Rajat has always been known for writing and directing unusual and interesting stories. But this time, the film really went beyond just the interesting premise. So here’s the script of Ankhon Dekhi in our “Best of 2014” list.

Thanks to Rajat Kapoor for sharing it. We have Ankhon Dekhi’s script in its pre-shooting original draft.

Do click on the “Scripts” tab on the top right corner of the blog page to access all the other scripts (Queen, The Lunchbox, Shahid, Kai Po Che, D Day, Lootera, Kahaani, Ek Main Aur Ek Tu, Agent Vinod, Dev D etc) that we have posted here so far.

Film – Ankhon Dekhi

Director : Rajat Kapoor

Story, Screenplay, Dialogue – Rajat Kapoor

Best Of 2014 : Script of Vikas Bahl’s Queen

Posted: December 28, 2014 by moifightclub in bollywood, cinema, Screenwriting, Scripts, Year end special
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As we have done in the past, this year too we are trying to source the scripts of some of the best films of the year. As most of you know, the scripts of Hollywood films are easily available online, even the unreleased ones. But we don’t have any such database for Hindi or Indian films. So that has been the primary reason for this initiative. And it has been possible because some of the filmmakers have been very supportive about it. It’s only for educational purpose and much like the spirit of the blog, is a complete non-profitable exercise. (ps – we copy-paste this para in every script post 😉

Vikas Bahl’s Queen was one of those rare films which was both critical as well as commercial success. So thanks to good folks at Phantom Films (especially Ranjan Singh) and Vikas Bahl, we are sharing the script of Queen. There are two drafts of it – an older version and a shooting draft. Please do remember that lot of things were improvised on the sets, so it’s a good exercise to see the difference from early draft to shooting draft to the final film.

Do click on the “Scripts” tab on the top right corner of the blog page to access all the other scripts (The Lunchbox, Shahid, Kai Po Che, D Day, Lootera, Kahaani, Ek Main Aur Ek Tu, Agent Vinod, Dev D etc) that we have posted here so far.

Film : Queen

Director : Vikas Bahl

Story & Screenplay : Parveez Shaikh, Chaitally Parmar & Vikas Bahl

Dialogue : Anvita Dutt & Kangana Ranaut

Nine scripts selected for 2nd edition of NFDC’s National Script Lab, 2014

Posted: October 4, 2014 by moifightclub in film, News, Screenwriting
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The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) has announced the nine scripts selected for the second edition of the National Script Lab to be running from October 2014 – March 2015.

The first screenwriting workshop will be held from October 12 – 17, 2014 at the Courtyard Marriott, Chakan, Pune, followed by two more workshops and 1 to 1 consultation sessions over the next six months.

Marten Rabarts- Senior Consultant, Training and Development, NFDC; Olivia Stewart- Producer of The House of Mirth, Brassed Off, and script consultant on The Lunchbox and  Rajat Kapoor, writer-director of the much acclaimed Ankhon Dekhi will mentor these scriptwriters one-to-one during intensive residential workshops over the coming six months

Also as part of the National Script Lab program, the screenwriters will be able to attend NFDC’s Film Bazaar 2014 (Nov 20–24) to network and introduce their upcoming projects to both the Indian and international film fraternity attending the market.

This year the Script Lab has a special focus on Youth and Children’s stories which feature strongly in the following line up.

 The Selected Writers and Scripts are:

1. Konkona Sensharma – Death In the Gunj

The acclaimed actress and the winner of two National Awards has acted in more than 40 films in Hindi, Bengali and English language.  She co-wrote and directed a short called ‘Naamkaran’ (The Christening) and anticipates this script will be her first feature as writer director, following in a family tradition established by her mother the renowned Film-maker and Actress Aparna Sen.

 2. Ranjeet Bahadur – Oddball

The editor of Rajkumar Hirani’s 3 Idiots, Sudhir Mishra’s Chameli and Ruchi Narain’s  Kal  Ranjeet has done his Post Graduation in film at Satyajit Ray Film & TV Institute, Kolkata, and now turns his attention to writing his first feature.

3. Vicky Barmecha – Naadaan

Vicky has spent the past 2.5 years working as assistant director and postproduction supervisor on Anurag Kashyap’s upcoming Bombay Velvet. He is the older brother of the Udaan actor Rajat Barmecha.

 4. Neha Sharma – Under the Skin

Neha, followed up her filmmaking studies in Capetown, South Africa with the screenwriting programme at FTII Pune. Neha has written dialogues for the TV show Ladies Special and is in active development of several feature films and documentaries. She has honed her craft as an assistant director on films such as The Dirty Picture , Agent Vinod and many others.

 5. Piyush C Panjvani – Idgah

A  Film & Television studies  grad from St. Xaviers IOC Mumbai, Piyush is a multi award winning director/producer of Ad films , shooting around the world for such mega brands as Pepsi and Samsung among others. He is currently developing a documentary on Himalayan shepherds, and will base his debut feature film on a story by Shri Mumchi Prechan.

 6. Abhaya Simha – Bhamini

Based in Bangalore, FTII graduate Abhaya has written and directed three feature films in Kannada and one in Malyalam. His      first feature film, Gubbachigalu won the National Award In 2008 for the Best Children’s Film.

 7. Rigzin Kalon – Neki Kar Kala Kala

The writer-director-producer has worked on shorts, TV , documentaries and feature films, including Ngonsum  a feature set in Ladakh based on short stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Rigzin lives between Mumbai and his native Ladakh, where he is an active figure in the development of this regions emerging cinema scene.

 8. Ruchika Lalwani – A story of Two

Is the writer of Walkaway, an independent American film with Bollywood flair made and released in the USA where she studied Film in New York. Ruchika’s student short film, I’m Afraid I am Hitler was screened and awarded at many international film festivals.

 9. Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti – Paperweight

An FTII Pune graduate in Cinematography, Sudhakar wrote, directed and shot the short film Ek Aakas, winnning the Special Jury, National Award and in 2010 his documentary short film Duel of Angels  was awarded at the prestigious IDFA in Amsterdam. He also shot Umesh Kulkarnis Deool which won Three National Awards, among a long list of other features as  a cinematographer.

(via press release)

Six scripts selected for NFDC-Harlequin Romance Screenwriters Lab

Posted: July 19, 2014 by moifightclub in News, Screenwriting, Scripts
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NFDC Labs, the Training and Development arm of NFDC (The National Film Development Corporation Ltd), has announced six finalists for the NFDC – Harlequin Romance Screenwriters’ Lab. The first of its kind three-part Lab with romance and women-centric plots as the themes, has Habib Faisal and Bhavani Iyer as mentors. Ashok Banker and Shoma Narayanan will guide the parallely held Harlequin Lab.

Post the Lab, Harlequin will offer book deals to the most promising writers.

The final six scripts / writers are:

1. Anjuna Beats – Thomas Jacob

2. Love in the Time of Moral Policing – Niharika Negi

3. Magic for Maria – Annie Zaidi

4. Vanmala – Abhimanyu Kulkarni

5. A Second Life – Pravina Srivastava

6. The Falcon Hunter – Vineet Gupta

1. Anjuna Beats (English) by Thomas Jacob – A writer / director and having worked on one feature film, one short film, 3D shorts, corporate films and documentaries, Thomas was one of the young filmmakers invited for the prestigious Berlinale Talent Campus 2010 conducted by the Berlin International Film Festival (2010).

2. Love in the Time of Moral Policing (English – Hindi – Marathi) by Niharika Negi – Niharika has an interesting mix of experience in Film and Theatre- India and London, with stints at Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Limited, FutureWorks, Channel [V], Big Boy Productions (London), The Hat Factory Arts Center (London), Poor Box Productions, QTP’s Thespo amongst others.

3. Magic for Maria (Hindi – English) by Annie Zaidi – Annie has been writing across various genres and has directed short films and plays. She has contributed to various newspapers and magazines including Mid-Day, Frontline, Tehelka, Caravan, Mint, Elle, Femina, and DNA (Daily News and Analysis).

4. Vanmala (English) by Abhimanyu Kulkarni – Abhimanyu is a design professional at an MNC and is passionate about writing. His interest in screenplay writing has led him to do a professional course from UCLA followed by two commissioned projects.

5. A Second Life (English) by Pravina Srivastava – A media professional in the past, now based in Pondicherry, Pravina is an aspiring writer with A Second Life as her first attempt in screenplay writing.

6. The Falcon Hunter (English) by Vineet Gupta – Vineet is a Consulting Analyst with a strong academic background. A graduate from Harvard University, Vineet has done his PHD in Mathematics from California Institute of Technology and other programs from leading international universities like Cambridge and Stanford. The Falcon Hunter will be Vineet’s first project as a scriptwriter.

The three part Lab will include 2 residential programs, the schedule being:

First part at a hotel in Pune – 27 – 31 July 2014;

Second part – offline program conducted as per schedule mutually decided between the mentors and the writers;

Third and the final part – 16 – 20 November 2014 at Film Bazaar in Goa.

Mumbai Mantra Launches Cinerise – Mentorship Programme For Screenwriters

Posted: July 9, 2014 by moifightclub in cinema, News, Screenwriting
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Mumbai Mantra, the film and entertainment wing of Mahindras, has launched a new mentorship programme for screenwriters. But this is not the first time that they are trying something like this. They started with Sankalan – a script lab where the idea was to select, develop 6 final scripts after three rounds of filtering and produce the films. They did select the scripts but never bothered to produce a single film out of those selected scripts. Instead they produced some really crappy expensive bollywood films which made no money and they were forced to shut down the production wing. what was the point of the lab?

Later on, they tied up with Sundance Institute to launch the Mahindra-Sundance Scriptlab. They again ran it for three years and the honeymoon seems to be over now. Again scripts selected and mentored. Mumbai Mantra has now launched a new mentorship programme. But it all seems useless unless the scripts developed at the lab gets translated into film. And Mahindra can do it. Not sure what’s lacking.

We do need better scripts and screenwriting programmes. But we need to translate them into films too.

Here’s more details on Cinerise

– Applications to the Mumbai Mantra CineRise Screenwriting Programme will only be accepted in hard copies, not electronically, and must reach by August 20th, 2014 with the following details:


APPLICATION DOCUMENTS:

  • STORY: The complete story on which your script will be based. Should have 6-8 pages with a beginning, middle and an end.
  • WRITER’S STATEMENT:  A 2-page note outlining what your project is about. Do explain what motivated you to tell this story, and why you believe you are best placed to write it. If you have a view on how the project should be treated (sensibilities, style, etc.), do share in this note.
  • WRITER’S BIO WITH CONTACT DETAILS: Attach your bio-data. You can send the bio-data of other key team members (producer, director, DoP, etc.) if they are already attached to the project.
  • PLEASE REMEMBER: All the above documents MUST be in the English language, even if the film is going to be in any other Indian language. All documents must be print-outs (and not hand-written) and your story must be registered in your name for copyright purposes with a recognized authority, like a writers’ association or the Copyright Office or WGA, etc.
  • DO NOT SEND DVDs of short films or excerpts from other work at this stage. No recommendation letters or references required either and shall be the immediate cause for disqualification.

– Please just put a single staple through all pages. No fancy binders, no paperclips, and no folders please. The whole packet should be around a total of 10-12 pages;one staple should do the trick.


MAILING ADDRESS FOR APPLICATIONS: 
Mumbai Mantra CineRise Screenwriting Programme
Mumbai Mantra Media Ltd.,
Mahindra Towers, 5th Floor, Worli,
Mumbai – 400018

– To ensure that your application has been received before the deadline, please use a courier service, which will give you a delivery receipt. You can also submit your application in person at our office reception but you shall NOT be able to meet any staff or have queries answered.

 WORKSHOPS:

– Selection team will shortlist a total of 100 stories from among the applications.

– The shortlisted writers will be called for a 2-day screenwriting workshop, which will be held in several different cities across the country.

– Shortlisted applicants can select a Center closest to their homes. They will go through intensive interactions with experienced writers and directors.

– Even if you are not in the final 100, you can still attend the first day of the workshop. This will be open to all aspiring screenwriters for a fee of Rs.2000)

QUERIES

– For more details on rules and regulations, click here.

 

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