TEST - Tools for European Screenwriters' Training

WHAT IS TEST · TEST SEMINAR · NEWSLETTER · FORUM · ADDRESS BOOK

		A great deal of effort has been made, over a decade, by script development programmes in Europe to improve the technical and creative skills of screenwriters and to improve the quality of their scripts. But the gap between the stories proposed by European filmmakers and the taste of European film audiences is still pretty deep. The major paradox that training and development programs have to cope with is how to emphasize the personal and artistic dimensions of the screenwriters and their stories, and at the same time to channel their creativity to produce marketable scripts in order to meet the demands of the industry and expectations of funding bodies. Continuous training programmes for developing talented screenwriters need to keep pace with the evolving demands of European and international markets. Training-the-trainer programmes for scriptwriting trainers are essential but trainers are still lacking in relevant industry experience and didactic expertise. There are few opportunities offered to training/development programmes to enable them to share case studies of best practice. Criteria for evaluating best practice in the training and development of European screenwriters needs more research with proven industry professionals. This situation brings up the challenge of paying new attention to the quality of continuous professional development training programmes in Europe, and most particularly to examine the methods and tools used by these screenwriters’ training and development programmes. TEST is a programme that aims to improve trainers competences by launching a platform that will allow European professional trainers to reflect on best practice in screenwriters’ training throughout these years, to exchange methodologies and policies and to create a Network of European Screenwriting Trainers. TEST will be developed in two levels: a SEMINAR, taking place from 25 to 27 June in Valencia (Spain) and all year round debate, consultation, seminar preparation and follow-up ONLINE. TEST ONLINE will consist of:
		A newsletter, published 3 times a year. A library of reference material, articles, and research. A forum in which participants will exchange experience, tools and strategies. A database, collecting relevant information about methods, topics and tools. An address-book that will establish a net of trainers and consultants.