My First Script

From 15th until 19 October / Zagreb Dance Centre

One of the frequently heard claims in the world of film is that there is no good film without a good script and that, while it is possible to make a bad film from a good script, one can hardly make a good film from a bad script. With various other models offered by other festivals and organizations, we have chosen to organize training in improvement of script – which is a basis of every film. As a result, we have devised a script-development workshop called My First Script. It is intended for filmmakers who have already made some short films and are now working on their first feature-length fiction film. This first edition of the workshop will be attended by six directors whose short films were shown in Checkers Program or International Short Film Competition Program of Zagreb Film Festival. Moderators will be Ognjen Sviličić and Srđan Koljević, multiply awarded scriptwriters and directors. They have won numerous awards for the scripts of their own films as well as other directors' films. They also teach scriptwriting at film academies in Zagreb and Belgrade. Our intention is to help our young colleagues to improve their scripts ands we hope to see some of their works as finished film products in near future.

Boris T. Matić, Director of Zagreb Film Festival

Scriptwriter Srđan Koljević was born in Sarajevo in 1966. He graduated in Dramaturgy from the Academy in Belgrade where he teaches today. His first script that was turned into a film was Tell Me Why You Left Me, a 1993 generation movie directed by Oleg Novković. In the 1990s he worked mostly for Gorčin Stojanović (Premeditated Murder, 1996; Hornet, 1998), but also for Ljubiša Samardžić (Sky Hook, 1999 and Natasha, 2000; Bareground, 2005 – as Assistant Director). He also directed the awarded road movie The Red Colored Gray Truck (2003) – a film about a seemingly impossible relationship of a Bosnian color-blind man and a Belgrade snappy dresser. In 2007 he wrote a script for Srđan Golubović's crime story The Trap, which achieved great international acclaim and was awarded at international festival. An American remake of The Trap is currently in production. Srđan Koljević is one of the most prominent scriptwriters in Serbian cinema. 

Ognjen Sviličić was born in 1971 in Split, Croatia. He graduated from the Academy of Drama Arts in Zagreb and began his career directing TV movies. He directed his first feature-length film Wish I Was a Shark in 2000. The film was awarded Best Croatian motion picture at the national film festival in Pula by film critics and it was first on Croatian top box office in 2000. Sviličić continued with Sorry for Kung Fu (2004), that was screened in a world premiere at 55th Berlin Film Festival (Forum), and won several international awards. Sorry for Kung Fu was sold for theatrical and dvd release in Germany, USA and France. In  2007 Sviličić directed his fifth long-feature film, Armin. After having its world premiere at Berlin Film festival, Armin has been shown on more than 50 festivals and been awarded more than a dozen times. For this film, Sviličić got the Vladimir Nazor annual award for his contribution to Republic of Croatia’s cultural heritage. In 2011 he filmed 2 Sunny Days. After its world premiere at Pula Film Festival, 2 Sunny Days was selected at Cottbus IFF 2011, Sofia IFF 2011, Linz IFF and Belgrade IFF 2011. Ognjen Sviličić is also working as a scriptwriter, and teaches writing screenplays at the Academy of Drama Arts in Zagreb since 2008. Ognjen was also member of the jury at six international film festivals, among them Sarajevo and Warsaw.