GOING EUROPEAN PROGRAMME

In 2023, the French National Centre for Cinema and Animated Image (CNC) launched Going European, a training programme for pairs of European authors, focusing on issues related to the co-writing of international series. The programme has three partners: the Séries Mania festival (France), the co-production and networking market Conecta FICTION & ENTERTAINMENT (Spain) and the Sarajevo Film Festival – CineLink Industry Days (Bosnia and Herzegovina).   

Going European is funded by the MEDIA programme of the European Commission, the programme runs for a period of three years (2023-2025), and aims to train authors in the co-writing, co-development and co-production of international series. 30 authors (10 each year) will receive support for the duration of the programme, all of them involved in co-writing projects for international series.  

The 10 authors will meet each year for three intensive one-week training sessions at the three partner events, where they will participate in exchanges, workshops and masterclasses on the specific issues involved in the conception of an international series, the creative, financial, legal and environmental aspects, as well as production, distribution and promotion issues. They will meet with experienced professionals from various areas of the series industry.  

After the Séries Mania festival in March, the five pairs will attend three days of exclusive training from 13 to 15 June, before Conecta FICTION & ENTERTAINMENT which will be held from 16 to 19 June in Cuenca, Castilla-La Mancha (Spain). The training will take place in the Sala Acua of the Colmillo Building belonging to the University of Castilla-La Mancha.

These are the five winning pairs of authors for the year 2025:

Andrey Volkashin (North Macedonia) and Peter Vulchev (Bulgaria), who write the series ‘The Adventures of a Turbo-Folk Princess’, starring quirky Vaska, who dreams of being a ‘turbo-folk’ star. After accidentally poisoning her fiancé and a chance meeting with her musical idol, she flees along with the beguiling prostitute Eboni and sets out to win the ‘Balkavision’ song contest.

Andrey Volkashin (North Macedonia)

A Macedonian screenwriter, director, and author. His short film ‘Snake’ has won 14 awards, and his debut feature ‘The Sweet Bitterness of Ripe Pomegranates’ is in postproduction. Andrey is also developing his comedy series ‘The Adventures of a Turbo Folk Princess’, which won the Council of Europe Development Award at Conecta FICTION & ENTERTAINMENT 2024.

Peter Vulchev (Bulgaria)

A Bulgarian director, writer, producer, and photographer with over 12 years of experience in film and visual arts. A graduate of NATFA “Krastyo Sarafov” he has written and directed four acclaimed short films, including ‘Good Night, Lily’ (2021), Bulgaria’s 2022 Oscar submission. He is currently working on two new shorts, ‘Korban’ and ‘The White Swallow’, alongside his debut feature and the series – ‘The Adventures of a Turbo-Folk Princess’.

Jésus Castro-Ortega (France) and Lee Hae Ri (South Korea), who are working on their series project ‘Notre porte secrète’, a romantic comedy with a fantastic twist in which Henri, an indebted Parisian swindler, and Hyo-jin, a Korean businesswoman cheated by her husband, simultaneously discover a mysterious door linking Paris and Seoul.

Jésus Castro-Ortega (France)

A writer and director who has worked internationally on various documentary films. His most notable works include In ‘Balance’ (France 3) and several documentaries about director Bong Joon-ho’s films (‘Snowpiercer: From the White Page to the Black Screen’, ‘Mother: Behind the Curtain’, ‘Memories’, ‘The Host: Family Stories’), all produced under the banner of his company, Grab the Cat, founded in 2014. Alongside his longtime friend and associate Eddy Fluchon, he ventures now into the world of fiction with two series projects awarded by the CNC and supported by the Seoul Film Commission.

Lee Hae Ri (South Korea)

Grew up in New Zealand although she is originally from South Korea, where she returned when she turned 16. She was part of a KPOP girl group. Currently she works as a screenwriter and producer for both film and television including Netflix’s ‘Never Give Up’ and A&E Networks’ ‘Under the Gun’. Haeri is currently working on many different projects in South Korea including a few in development process with Studio Dragon, and the Korea-French global series Our Secret Door, which was awarded by CNC.

Laurent Mizrahi (France) and Jani Kauta (Finland), who collaborate on the series ‘Thank You For Playing’, a thriller that follows four professional gamers in the remote Finnish town of Sortamo, with a simple mission: to defeat an unbeatable AI.

Laurent Mizrahi (France)

A screenwriter who oscillates joyfully between prestige documentary and innovative fiction. He is steeped in urban culture and passionate about new technologies and science in general, and his projects have been broadcast in prime time on France Télévisions, Canal + and Arte. He also writes for new screens and, increasingly, for the cinema.

Jani Kauta (Finland)

A Finnish screenwriter, graduated in 2020 from Metropolia University with a major in film and television writing. He has been the head writer for Finnish broadcasting Company’s youth animation series ‘Pelurit’ and worked on various shows in different creative roles. He currently works as a journalist in a regional newspaper.

Storm Sigal-Battesti (France) and Gregory Simmons (England-Ireland), co-writing ‘Goldfish’, starring an English fisherwoman who discovers a clandestine treasure in French waters, but soon realises she is not the only one who wants it.

Storm Sigal-Battesti (France)

A French/Swiss/American screenwriter. He worked on the French-Swiss series ‘Hors Saison’ and on ‘Carême’ for Apple TV. In 2024, Écran total and Paper to Film named him one of the top emerging screenwriters.

Gregory Simmons (England/Ireland)

A UK/Ireland screenwriter who started out in advertising, directing hundreds of TV commercials, before pivoting into screenwriting. He wrote the UK’s first ‘vertical’ phone series (3.6m subscriptions) and has won awards for his writing at TIFF and Raindance. His next project, ‘Goldfish’, was recently awarded €50K CNC co-production funding.

Daria Stilin (Croatia) and Milica Zivanovic (Serbia), whose project is ‘Immersion’, in which a group of friends opens a start-up for VR pornography. When one of their VR models goes missing, it gets clear that the line between fantasy and reality is not as distinct as they thought.

Daria Stilin (Croatia)

A writer and screenwriter from Hvar, based in Zagreb. With MAs in Business Economics and Screenwriting, she has worked across journalism, film, and TV, winning multiple awards, including at NEM Zagreb and Pula Film Festival. She has written and directed short films, developed TV series, and collaborated with major European production companies. Daria is also the founder and director of the Vrboska Film Festival.

Milica Zivanovic (Serbia)

A Berlin-based writer from Serbia and an alumna of the SERIAL EYES program. In Germany, she has worked on TV projects with international streamers and production companies, including Gaumont, Iconoclast, Lailaps Films, Weydemann Bros, Mia Wallace. In the Balkans, she collaborates with Cobra Films, Sense Production and Firefly. Her work ranges from magical Christmas scripts for children, up to exploring war criminals for her gangster show.