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Previous winners

Previous Winners

2008: ESCAPE
The winning scripts of Script Contest 2008:

"Scamps"
written by Ülkü Oktay, TURKEY
"The Wedding Tape"
written by Ariel Shaban, KOSOVO
"Furniture"
written by Melissa Suárez del Real, SPAIN

2007: CIRCLE
Three Nights to Beginning by Jarkko Virtanen (Finland)
Little Girl by Léo Medard (Belgium)
At Midnight Everything Stops Here by Just Philippot (France)

2006: TOURISTS
Harragas by Grégory Lecocq (Belgium)
Nighttime Visitors by Sonja Csukor (Hungary)
Tourist by Mateusz Subieta (Poland)

2005: SILENCE
Lily by Marianne Griolet (Sweden)
Sea Bass Dream by Claudio Lauri (Italy)
If I Fall by Hannaleena Hauru (Finland)

2004: THE OTHER
Tomi by Lassi Virtanen (Finland)
A Movie with Wax by Eda Acara (Turkey)
A boat by Michal Szczesniak (Poland)

2003: BORDERS
Rehearsals by Galina Dimitrova (Bulgaria)
The Crossing by Nathaniel Tapley (U.K.)
Mundo Pequeno by Jorge Vaz Nande (Portugal)

2002: IDEA(s) OF EUROPE(s)
Lahtelaïska by Emmi Itäranta (Finland)
Bed and Breakfast by Cyril Gelblat (France)
On a Train by Barnabas Toth (Hungary).

Interviews with winners:

Barnabas Toth
Grégory LeCocq
Hannaleena Hauru

Interview with Barnabas Toth

Barnabas Toth was a winner of the very first script contest in 2002: ‘Idea(s) of Europe(s)’ with his script On a Train, which was then made into a very successful short film.

Tell us a little about the success of On a Train…
It was an international hit, which surprised everybody. It was a very low budget and simple script, but the universality and humanity of the story - not to mention the twist-ending – touched the juries of festivals (it got awards from Aubagne to Lithuania through Cottbus, and a screening in Cannes). It was also on TV (Channel 4 in Britain, several cable channels in francophone territories), and even screened in the metro stations of Paris and on German trains! Even financially it was a success, which is almost impossible for short films.

How has your career progressed since then?
After On a Train came another successful short film, Getting Even. Since then I have written, directed and produced 5 more shorts, one starring Jeanne Moreau. Meanwhile, alongside my theatre and TV activity here in Budapest I started to write a long feature film script. It is a romantic comedy, but an unusual one, because in the centre there is a very heavy father-son relationship… We are still in search of co-producers and money, and I recently changed producer. It’s a long and frustrating process, but for the first time I can see the end of the tunnel. I still love shorts though and want to make many more. With the internet and digital TV, I think that shorts and longs will be mixed
again, just like in the ‘20s.

Do you think that script contests are important for aspiring writers?
Very much so. On a Train really put me on the map, as they say. Although only 1 out of my 10 short films had this kind of success, winning the contest gave me courage to continue. Cinema is an expensive and difficult form of art. Possibilities like the one NISI MASA proposes are rare: you only have to write a few pages, and you can win.

Hannaleena Hauru: Script Contest winner 2005

How did you originally find out about the competition and what made you apply?
I think the first time I read about NISI MASA’s script contest was from some random poster on my high school wall. It took me a couple of years before I had the guts to participate, and the final spark was that I got a clear idea from the theme, which in 2005 was “Silence”.

What chances - expected or unexpected - did the competition and production of your film bring?
Naturally the award made it financially much easier to get the film shot on S16 mm film, but more importantly we were able to get into discussions with our co-producers. The script in its lyrical spheres was not the easiest to read, but as it was given a notable award, people did not turn us down so quickly.

How much did the script change or develop further after it won?
After winning I participated in NISI MASA’s script workshop in Angers, France. We discussed and developed the scripts of that years competition (“Silence”). This was very important for me also as a director, as the themes became clearer in my head as a result of workshop.
The script of If I Fall changed after the award mainly with regards to some technical details, and the final version had a much clearer structure.

Could you tell us something about the production of the film and its participation in festivals?
We had a pre-production period that lasted over a year. The main reason was that we had to wait for snow, but it was actually one of the best waiting periods possible. We had enough time to do our pre-production carefully: to get to know the challenging environment of the sawmill where we were shooting, etc. The sawmill was working on full power the whole time, so there was a lot of careful planning to be done.
The film had its premiere at the Cannes Film festival Critic’s Week in May 2007, during NISI MASA’s carte blanche screening. The film has now visited several other festivals around the world, some of which I’ve had the possibility to attend. As a filmmaker, participating in festivals has taught me a lot: talking about films - and getting responses from audiences - keeps your senses awake.

Any new scripts or films in production at the moment?

I’m getting ready for shooting my next short film. It’ll be shot in Estonia in May 2008. It’s a semi-surreal comedy with foam and a wedding picture. In addition to that I’m now writing my first feature script as part of my studies, as after I got awarded in NISI MASA’s contest I was accepted into the Finnish School of Motion Pictures (UIAH) in Helsinki.

On the production of Harragas by Grégory LeCocq

Grégory LeCocq, Belgian winner of the 2006 contest: “Tourists” with the script Harragas, recently finished his short film with the help of funding from the French community of Belgium and the region of Hainaut. Harragas is the story of Amadou, an illegal immigrant who hides in the baggage compartment of a coach leaving for Brussels from the port of Tangier. Whilst the coach is making a stop in Spain, another clandestine traveller climbs inside. Amadou thus has to undertake the rest of the journey with another passenger…

For the shoot, a baggage compartment was recreated in a studio, avoiding the hazards of filming outside on location; constantly moving the lighting and all other material. Grégory says of the shoot, “The major worry was that it wouldn’t seem “real” enough. In the end, I think that we achieved what we wanted. Actually we chose to shoot the last scene (when the police officers arrive) outside in order to make it more credible.” For Grégory, who was trained as a scriptwriter, this was his first time directing, not something he found easy at first. Difficulties were also intensified by the fact that a crew of 20 people was working in a very small studio: “It was impossible to speak with the actors in private and we were always on top of each other… it wasn’t always obvious how to take a step back, have a clear idea of the whole” he admits.

During the editing, a lot of attention was paid to getting the sound just right. Grégory explains; “The sound was an integral part of the story… the dramatic tension of Amadou’s situation is in part guided by the fear of noises, those which threaten capture, and those which announce an unwanted arrival.” Harragas will be sent to various festivals in Belgium, before trying it’s luck on the international circuit. Grégory is currently planning a feature film project, and is also working on the pre-production of his second short film, for which he has yet to obtain funding.