ComedyLab 2024

'I DON'T WANT TO BELONG TO ANY CLUB THAT WILL ACCEPT ME AS A MEMBER’
Groucho Marx

Would you still like to join the ComedyLab club? We look for:

• - International screenwriters wanting to boost their skills in comedy writing.

• 
  - International comedians coming from different industries, such as theatre, podcast, stand-up, and improvisation seeking to engage with the world of comedy in the realm of cinema.

 
Both targets can apply with a project or not.

 
Eligibility criteria

• - Applicants participating with a project can join the programme with a producer, however, it is not necessary to have a producer attached to the project.
  
  

• - Filmmakers applying with an adaption project need to have secured the rights.
  
  

• - If the applicant submits a project, this must fall within the comedy genre as the lab exclusively centers around comedic works. Therefore, applicants are encouraged to clearly outline and elaborate on the comedic elements in their letter of intent.
  
  

• - Applicants must confirm their full availability for all the residential and online workshops, as well as for the TFL Meeting Event.
  
  

• - The working language of all workshops, meetings and events is English; thus, a good knowledge of English is essential in order to participate and all written material, all versions and drafts of the project, must be translated.

The participation in the preliminary workshop is free of charge; participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation expenses during the workshop. TorinoFilmLab will provide complimentary lunches and delicious espressos.

Participants chosen after the preliminary workshop will be required to cover the following course participation fees:

• - For participants without a project, the fee is € 500 (+ VAT, if due).
• 
  - The fee for participants with project is € 3,000 (+ VAT, if due). This allows the participation of up to two individuals. The project representative must be either a writer or a comedian, while the second member can be another writer or comedian, a director, or a producer. If a third person wishes to join the team, there is an additional fee of € 1,500 (plus applicable VAT).

These fees cover the cost of training activities during residential workshops and provides organisational support, including accommodations and a portion of subsistence during the residential workshops. Participants are responsible for covering their own travel expenses.

A limited number of scholarships will be available for participants coming from countries that don’t provide scholarships for this kind of training or participants in any other proven situation of need for financial support. We strongly encourage our applicants to research and apply for financial support within their own national/regional funding bodies first, who may have bursaries and grants to cover the training costs.

The pre-selected participants required to join the preliminary workshop will be notified at the beginning of February.

The requested materials to be submitted all together in 1 single PDF (10 MB max), and all in English are:

APPLICATION WITH PROJECT

• - A video presentation (maximum 2 minutes) of the team of participants. MAKE US LAUGH! Please include the link to the video in the application;
• - One-page synopsis (Courier New 12, double spaced), with the entire story including the end.
• - Short treatment - 5 pages maximum (Courier New 12, double spaced);
• - 5 selected funny scenes of the project script, of which at least 3 dialogued;
• - A letter of intent in which the applicants should articulate their personal motivation to explore comedy, elaborate on the comedic aspects within the project, and provide their own definition of comedy (2 pages maximum, Courier New 12, double spaced);
• - CV of all the team members (2 pages maximum);
• - Artistic concept & audio-visual reference, if any;
• - Web links to previous works, if any.

APPLICATION WITHOUT PROJECT

• - A video presentation (maximum 2 minutes) of the applicant. MAKE US LAUGH! Please include the link to the video in the application;
• - A letter of intent in which the applicants should articulate their personal motivation to explore comedy and provide their own definition of comedy (2 pages maximum, Courier New 12, double spaced);
• - 5 selected funny scenes of a script if you’re a writer OR a monologue, sketch or piece that you wrote if you’re a comedian;
• - CV (2 pages maximum);
• - Web links to previous works, if any.

Any application package that won’t include all the requested materials will be considered ineligible.