Ustories: application deadline for the short film residency in Umbria is 15 February

There’s time until 15 February to apply to Ustories, a cinema residency aimed at the production of a short film in Umbria. The call is aimed at young professionals working in the cinema and audiovisual sector aged between 18 and 35, there are no limits on residence and nationality. In particular, the contest aims to support partners of young professionals (Writer + Producer or Screenwriter + Director) along the entire creative path of development, production and distribution.

The five successful partner applicants selected for participation in the residency will be announced in early March 2022. These creative partners have the chance to win €15,000, funds destined entirely for the production of a short film set in a location in Umbria of historical and artistic significance.

In April, the five creative partners will spend a week in Umbria, where the first stage of the residency will unfold. During this time, they will visit the location chosen as the focus of the short film and its urban and natural surroundings. They will be assisted by professional tutors in writing and developing their preliminary project and by illustrators/graphic artists in producing a moodboard for the final pitch. At the end of this week, the finalists will deliver: an original screenplay (any genre) whose main location is determined by the organization, a pitch that reassumes the key elements of the story in an involving and convincing way, and a moodboard that communicates the characteristics of the imaginary world and ideas for presenting the story.

The screenplays will be presented on the final evening of the residency.

The winning creative partners will be identified in the weeks that follow and awarded a production prize of €15,000, an audience choice award and potentially others. The winning screenplay will be produced and finalized within the following 5 months.

Ustories is organized by Dromo Studio, in collaboration with Umbria Film Commission, Centro Nazionale del Cortometraggio, Officine Matto?li, Premio Rodolfo Sonego, Lago Film Festival, PerSo Perugia Social Film Festival, Cinema Postmodernissimo, Atmo, Associazione Culturale Argo and supported by Regione Umbria through the legislation POR FESR 2014-2020.

The main aims of the project are:

• to connect artists and territory in order to create audiovisual products that use original styles and forms to communicate the historical/artistic and natural aspects of the place;
• to contribute to setting up a new production chain for the cinema sector in the region, bringing together creative enterprises, service providers, qualified suppliers, public institutions and managers of cultural sites to work on specific projects with wide visibility on a national and international scale, thereby creating a permanent, successful supply.

Find out more about the inscription fee and terms of participation at the Ustories website.