Eight international projects will be selected by Pustnik co-founders, writer-directors Andreea Borțun (Romania) and Bryn Chainey (UK/Australia), for this year’s edition. All applicants will expectedly be informed about the outcome of their submissions by the end of June 2025.
Since 2014, the Pustnik Screenwriters Residency has been dedicated to helping emerging filmmakers from around the world develop their first feature films. Besides dedicated writing time, participants will have the opportunity to meet script consultants and other established professionals who can provide feedback on their projects. Residents and guests also take part in common working sessions and screenings of their own work. We encourage them to offer each other feedback and nurture a generous spirit of support.
Pustnik is a residency hosted by screenwriters for screenwriters. Therefore, there are no application or participation fees: the residents solely need to cover their international transport. Applicants must be writers/directors who haven’t had a feature-length screenplay already produced, or screenwriters with a previous experience of maximum one feature film co-written with somebody else. Applicants are also required to have a previous screenwriting credit on a short fiction film that has screened at an internationally renowned festival – a list of the eligible festivals can be found on the Pustnik website, here. An advanced level of English is required as well, as all working sessions and activities will be held in English.
Recently, two feature films developed during the Pustnik Screenwriters Residency premiered: Tim Ellrich’s ‘Im Haus meiner Eltern’ (Special Jury Award at the 2025 International Film Festival Rotterdam), and Jack King’s ‘The Ceremony’ (Raindance Maverick Award nomination at the 2024 British Independent Film Awards). A third project – Seemab Gul’s ‘Ghost School’ – wrapped filming this past December and will be released soon, bringing the haul of produced Pustnik projects to eleven. Being a residency hosted by screenwriters, this year also saw co-founder Bryn Chainey’s debut ‘Rabbit Trap’, starring Dev Patel and Rosy McEwan, premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
You can find more details about the residency and the application process on our website: www.pustnik.com.
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About Pustnik
Pustnik is a programme created in 2014. Its aim has always been to focus on the writer’s needs. Good cinema needs time and intimacy to develop, and this has always taken centre stage in whatever happens at Pustnik. Our aim is to create an environment that encourages and emboldens upcoming writers whose work we admire, away from the pressure of the industry.
Pustnik is organized by T.E.T.A Association
TETA is an NGO founded in June 2006 with the purpose of developing cultural activities and alternative education to stimulate cultural revival within overlooked communities. TETA also produces films and theatre performances.
Cultural program co-funded by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund (AFCN).
Partners: European Short Pitch, National University of Theatre and Film "I.L. Caragiale" – UNATC Bucharest
Media partners: Film New Europe, Films in Frame
The program does not necessarily represent the position of the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the program, nor for the manner in which the results of the program might be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the beneficiary of the grant.
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For more details:
Laurentiu Paraschiv – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
