ComedyLab 2026

ComedyLab is a truly unique concept that brings together talented writers with projects and comedy writers/performers without projects to create a fusion of expertise and comedic brilliance. It's an exclusive club that, after a two-day preliminary workshop, will select up to 4 projects with the potential for international success along with a group of comedy writers/performers without projects and provides them with a tailored approach to script and production development.

DURATION: From March until November 2026. The programme comprises one two-day long preliminary workshop and 3 week-long residential modules (April, June and November), plus a number of online sessions in between.

For an overview of the programme, please visit the ComedyLab page.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: Friday 12^th December 2025, 4.00 pm CET

If you want to know more, don’t miss the ComedyLab 2026 online Q&A session with the Head of Studies Alec von Bargen and pedagogical consultant Savina Neirotti on Wednesday 22^nd October at 3:00 pm CET at the following link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86864101635?pwd=Iy4YDhSi0aaaUxiTzAHILI7qFZSs2u.1
Meeting ID: 868 6410 1635
Passcode: 233981

ComedyLab is organised by TorinoFilmLab – Museo Nazionale del Cinema with the support of Creative Europe – MEDIA Sub-programme of the European Union.

ComedyLab 2026 is realised in partnership with VAF - Flanders Audiovisual Fund, hosting the 1st workshop in Belgium; and with Polish Film Institute, hosting the 2nd workshop in Poland.

‘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 comedy writers/performers/comedians coming from different industries, such as theatre, podcast, stand up, improvisation seeking to engage with the world of comedy in the realm of cinema. 

Both targets can apply with a project or not. Applicants submitting without a project acknowledge that they will be working towards the development of the selected projects only and should not expect to develop their own projects during the programme.

Eligibility criteria
- Candidates applying with an adaptation 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 materials, all versions and drafts of the project, must be translated into English.

- 500 Euro (+ VAT, if due) for participants without a project 

- 3,000 Euro (+ VAT, if due) participants with a project (Up to two people. The project representative must be either a writer or a comedian, while the second member can be another writer or comedian or a director).  

TFL provides training, accommodation (including breakfast), as well as lunches and some dinners during the residential workshops. Travel expenses and any remaining meals are to be borne by the participants.  

Participation in the preliminary workshop is free of charge. 

The pre-selected participants required to join the preliminary workshop will be notified at the beginning of February 2026 and are responsible for their own travel and accommodation expenses during the preliminary workshop. TorinoFilmLab will provide complimentary lunches and delicious espressos. 

SCHOLARSHIPS  

Our commitment is to guarantee accessibility to the TFL’s activities to as many talented participants as possible and to ensure diversity and inclusion through selection of projects/participants.

Across TFL programmes, a limited number of scholarships - covering half of the participation fee - will be available for participants from low capacity countries*, underrepresented groups and/or being from a country not providing 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 your national/regional funding bodies first, who may have bursaries and grants to cover the training costs.

*Low capacity countries (according to Creative Europe Programme 2021-2027) Group A: Czech Republic, Estonia, Romania, Greece, Croatia, Portugal, Poland. Group B: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, Luxembourg, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovenia, Slovakia and the following third countries, subject to the conditions being fulfilled for their participation in the call: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Republic of Serbia and Ukraine. 

Preliminary Workshop: 27^th February – 1^st March 2026 (residential – Torino, Italy) 

1^st Workshop: 7^th – 12^th April 2026 (Flanders, Belgium)
2^nd Workshop: 4^th – 9^th June 2026 (Poland)
3^rd Workshop: first half of September 2026 (online)
4^th Workshop: end of October/beginning of November 2026 (online)
TFL Meeting Event: second half of November 2026 (residential – Torino, Italy)

Dates may be subject to change.

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

APPLICATION WITH PROJECT
1) A video presentation (maximum 2 minutes) of the team of participants. Please include the link to the video in the application;
2) One-page synopsis (Courier New 12, double spaced), with the entire story including the end.
3) Short treatment - 5 pages maximum (Courier New 12, double spaced);
4) 5 selected funny scenes of the project script, of which at least 3 dialogued;
5) 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);
6) CV of all the team members (2 pages maximum);
7) Artistic concept & audio-visual reference, if any;
8) Web links to previous works, if any.

APPLICATION WITHOUT PROJECT
1) A video presentation (maximum 2 minutes) of the applicant. Please include the link to the video in the application;
2) 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);
3) 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 comedy writer/performer;
4) CV (2 pages maximum);
5) Web links to previous works, if any.

Please click on the "Apply Now!" button to access the form to submit your application. Before starting the process, you must create an account on the TFL Visitor Page (if you don’t have one yet).

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: Friday 12^th December 2025, 4.00 pm CET

For more information, please contact the project manager Sofia Falchetto: falchetto@museocinema.it