Screenwriter and producer, Murielle Thierrin studied management and finance in Paris, then scriptwriting at the University of California (UCLA).Back in France, she created her own production company, ALDABRA Films. As the call for applications for the second edition of EWA’s scriptwriter’s residency in Berlin is about to be launched, Murielle Thierrin looks back on her residency experience with script consultant Suzanne Pradel.
What was your motivation to apply to EWA’s scriptwriter’s residency ?
Our script was blocked, we had come to a stage where we didn’t want to accept the commentaries from sales agent, distributors or financiers on the origin and ethnicity of our characters. For them our movie didn’t fit the commercial market because of ethnicity reasons. EWA was an opportunity to get a feed back from people with other perspectives.
How did you expect it to help the development of your project ?
In a certain way, I was expecting a new vision with more kindness and goodwill in order to help us to get out of this situation. EWA treated the subject with thoughtfulness, as they are more sensitive to discrimination and gender subjects.
Describe your first week in Berlin. Did things go as you had planned ?
For the script, YES ! Even better than I had expected… but not for me ! (laugh) It was in February and the weather was so cold ! But in a certain way it was so productive, because you don’t want to go outside. It has been a studious atmosphere for a re-writing process. Also, February was a perfect time in the industry schedule, allowing us to attend the Berlinale and to meet a lot of professionals and have the opportunity to make good connections.
What has Suzanne Pradel’s expertise brought to your project ?
The story, the script, was already built, so it’s not easy to get back inside the writing process. Like a surgeon, Suzanne came in our story, operating with skills to help us, by giving clear suggestions while respecting our own identity and sensibility. Amongst all her advice, she made two majors suggestions:The first one was the small details you don’t really pay attention to, but that make the whole difference. Your idea is good, but Suzanne just brings your script to a higher level with those details, making it more mature and successful.The second one was giving us the most valuable thing, the assurance and self reliance necessary to stand up and fight for our idea what ever the colour of skin, the ethnicity or gender of our characters.
The 2018 edition of the EWA Network Berlin Scriptwriter Residency has just been launched. Don’t miss the deadline.
The 2nd EWA scriptwriter residency programme is a great initiative dedicated to supporting the next generation of screenwriting talents among EWA members, and helping them enter the industry by working the strategic positioning of the project with the best script possible. Its purpose is offering to one selected woman scriptwriter or director the possibility to be mentored by a script consultant, to work with her before Berlinale and to have the opportunity to attend the EFM at the Berlinale 2018 to make connections.
Find more information here: http://www.ewawomen.com/en/news/apply-for-ewa-s-2nd-scriptwriter-residency-in-berlin-.html
