What is the European Genre Forum?

Now in its 10th year, the European Genre Forum (EGF) is a training programme that sets to boost the careers of future European players in the genre film industry through three talent labs, packed with trainings, panels, mentoring and pitching sessions. The programme is jointly organised by Fantastic Zagreb Film Festival, Imagine Fantastic Film Festival (Amsterdam), Black Nights Film Festival and its Industry platform Industry@Tallinn&Baltic Event (Tallinn).

In 2024, EGF celebrates its 10-year anniversary with 72 genre film projects under its belt. The forum has established itself as a recognized learning platform for professionals working in European genre and fantastic film industry.

In its 10th edition, EGF will run three talent Labs from July to November 2024. The objective of the European Genre Forum is to provide comprehensive cross-sector and film life cycle training for professionals working in European genre and fantastic film – a rapidly growing pan-European industry that is still distinctively different from the general film industry.

Its unique requirements for creative and financial development, production characteristics and distribution and monetizing networks have created a dedicated infrastructure of markets, festivals and training. The EGF has a fruitful collaboration with the BIF Market (part of the Brussels Fantastic Film Festival), and projects from previous editions enjoy successful festival runs both in Europe and the US. 

The cycle consists of three talent labs in the second half of 2024. Together, the labs will increase the level of the participating projects in every aspect: creatively, financially, legally and in terms of access to the market.

• The Screenwriting & Directing Lab takes place during the Fantastic Zagreb Film Festival in July in Zagreb, focusing on script development and other artistic aspects of the projects.
• The Producing Lab in October takes place during the Imagine Film Festival in Amsterdam and is aimed at business development, with coproduction and legal aspects among its topics.
• The Marketing & Packaging Lab in November is part of industry events of the Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn and is focusing on pitching, packaging, marketing and sales. The projects will be pitching to the international audience of film professionals, and have one-to-one meetings with attending guests, including the sales agents.

Who can apply for European Genre Forum?
The EGF training cycle is aimed at European first or second feature film directors and their teams developing a genre film project. Genre films and related genres include horror, science fiction, fantasy, anime, dark thrillers, dark comedies, mystery, adventure and martial arts as well as genre TV series. Documentaries with a focus on genre film or topic can also be considered.

What does the European Genre Forum offer?
The opportunity to take your project to a new level, with the help of seasoned professionals and a training programme tailored to first time filmmakers in the areas of producing, directing and sales & packaging with the focus to develop the project ready for further professional markets.

Invitation includes access to all the Festival and EGF activities including:

• Live pitch sessions from the selected projects
• Meeting & networking opportunities with project participants and a large variety of seasoned professionals from the international film industry
• Panels and workshops on the latest developments and trends in genre film production, financing, and distribution
• A profile in the EGF Programme booklets
• Access to Festival screenings and Industry events where applicable

The EGF covers accommodation (two participants, twin room capacity) for the duration of the EGF, meals and free access to festivals screenings and programmes in each participating city and for every lab.

NB: The EGF has commissioned seasoned professionals to assess the entered projects. Invitation to the EGF training cycle is at the sole discretion of the EGF organizers and the organizers retain the right not to elaborate on the selection of attending project. At no point, the submitting party of a project can claim the right to be selected. Once selected, presence of the participants is mandatory. If not respected, the EGF reserves itself the right to charge for the lodging fees.

Eligibility requirements:

• Completed first draft of script
• Script has not been submitted to any other market or workshop prior to EGF. EGF collaborates with other (genre) co-production platforms to ensure eligibility for further markets.
• Producer and director have a European citizenship. The EGF will also accept one project from a non European country.
• All talent labs are in English, a conversational level of English is therefore required.

Application requirements:

• Fully completed and valid submission form
• Screenplay (a treatment may be submitted upon approval, with a commitment to have a script ready a month before the event if selected)
• Long (2 pages) and short (200 words) synopsis
• Director’s statement
• Producer’s intent
• Basic production budget estimate with indication of confirmed financing if possible
• Director, writer and producer bio (as applicable). Other key talent biographies and showreels (cast, creative key creative personnel adding value to the project etc) if available.
• All submissions must be in English (including script)
• The participation fee for the EGF 2024 is 1.500 EUR per project

Timeline

• Submission Deadline:  Wednesday, 10 April 2024, Midnight CET
• Announcement Selection: Wednesday 1 May 2024

For any question, please contact us at egf@poff.ee