ABOUT DISCOVERY CAMPUS
The Black Nights Discovery Campus is an international continuing education programme organized by the Black Nights Film Festival and Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event (ITBE), in collaboration with a variety of prestigious international partners that allows young film professionals to pursue, complement and integrate their studies in filmmaking.
At Discovery Campus, they can discover the new skills needed to improve, upgrade and update their knowledge in their field of work and meet new mentors, contacts and fellow talents to keep an eye on.
Our official motto is to learn from the mistakes of our mentors, so you don’t make them yourself! Discovery Campus unites established talent programmes Script Pool project competition, Black Nights Stars, Music Meets Film, Black Room and Frame within a Frame.

ABOUT SCRIPT POOL
The Script Pool competition, established in 2017, is part of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event film market activities and the Discovery Campus educational program.
Each year it highlights five international projects and the team behind them—director, scriptwriter, and producer. The aim is to gather first-time filmmakers and their projects with international potential, high distribution value, a final draft in place, and some financing secured.
Focusing on the script and the overall project presentation, the projects and their teams will be presented to the international industry decision-makers (sales agents, financiers, and co-producers) whose contribution will increase their sales and distribution potential.

GOALS

• To select, improve and filter the best of global independent film projects with high distribution value.
• To provide the participants with mentoring and coaching in order to maximize their projects’ artistic quality, commercial value and completion potential.
• To offer a networking platform and introduce participants to producers, financiers, sales agents, development partners and commissioning editors; and provide additional production and financing opportunities and international attention.
• To give experienced financiers, sales agents and co-producers first-hand access to quality source material, while providing them with one-to-one meetings with the projects.

FORMAT
Script Pool consists of a preparatory phase taking place both online and on-site, plus a public pitch competition and industry meetings during the participants’ stay in Tallinn. The participants will be working with both a script doctor and a pitching mentor who will assist the team in presenting the project in front of an audience, and get to participate in workshops that focus both on the business side of production and the creative side of the project. The programme is completed by the Discovery Campus workshops, panels and masterclasses in which participation is mandatory.

• The programme will take place 19-23 November in Tallinn during the Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event, some events will take place online prior to the main event.
• Once selected, participation is subject to payment of a Participation Fee – 200 euros for the 1st and 150 euros for the 2nd team member). The Participation Fee includes mentorship, accommodation for two team members for four nights, film screenings at the Black Nights Film Festival, evening events, and an opportunity to participate in the overall programme of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event. The cost of additional Accreditations after the initial two is 150 euros, but that does not include any accommodation.
• Please note that the round-trip airfare is to be paid by the Participants and is not included in the Participation Fee. Please contact your local film fund or institute which can help to cover the costs of transportation.
• The programme Participation Fee is non-refundable. Additionally, the Organiser reserves the right to require the Participant to cover the cost of hotel nights in case these can't be cancelled without incurring late cancellation fees payable by the Organiser.
• Once selected, it is mandatory to take part in all the events designed for the Discovery Campus participants.
• The official language of the programme, market and all events is English.

ELIGIBILITY AND SUBMISSIONS
The Applicants must fill out the Online Submission Form of Script Pool to submit their Project and provide all the requested information and documents from May 1st to August 15th, 2024. Late applications will not be taken into consideration.
Teams consisting of producer, screenwriter and director can apply with the full treatment of the Project, bearing in mind that after pre-selection, the last draft of the script has to be ready for the next selection round. The Project needs to be the director's first feature film. The screenwriter-director must have either completed Film studies or built some experience in the film sector. The film must have some financing secured, and the amount is taken into consideration when selecting the final projects.
The final selection of the projects will be announced by October 1st at the latest, both directly to the participants and communicated publically via the festival/industry press. Submission of the project will be considered as acceptance of the special conditions.
For more information, please contact triin.tramberg(at)poff.ee.

PROCEEDINGS AND PROJECT SELECTION
All properly filled and complete applications shall be reviewed by the Selection Committee composed of experts appointed by the management of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event.
The main selection criteria are the artistic quality and distribution potential. This is based on the originality and international appeal of the story, as well as the feasibility and the potential of production.

Around 20 projects will be selected for the second round. These will have to provide English language scripts in standard format accompanied by a cover letter on the film/project to enable the final selection.
A maximum of five projects will be selected to take part in the final script contest, which will include preparatory workshops, meetings with the international jury (consisting of a sales agent, producer and financier), and a public pitch.

RIGHTS AND THE CHAIN OF TITLE
The Applicant guarantees that it holds the rights relating to the Film Project for which the Application is being submitted. In case the Project has numerous producers, they have to elect one producer to represent them in relations with the Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event and serve as the Applicant regarding these Regulations.

In case the Applicant is the author of the Film Project, and it is a case of a project co-authorship, the Applicant is required to possess settled property relations over the Film Project, as well as an authorization of representation from the other authors. The competent law for regulating copyrights related to these Regulations is the Law on Copyright of the Republic of Estonia.

APPLICANT’S OBLIGATIONS DURING INDUSTRY@TALLINN & BALTIC EVENT
Each Applicant chosen to participate in Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event is required to cooperate with the employees and persons of responsibility of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event during its entire course. In case the Participant violates any of their obligations stated in Rules & Regulations, which they had accepted by submitting the Application Form, Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event management may disqualify the Applicant from further participation in the event.

APPLICANT’S OBLIGATIONS AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT
In the event the Applicant’s Project is approved for Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event, the Applicant guarantees the following:

• The Project that has participated in the Script Pool competition shall have an Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event logo accompanied by the following text in English in the closing credits: “Developed in cooperation with Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event”.
• The producer will provide Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event management with annual reports concerning the Film’s festival representation and distribution for two years after the premiere of the Film.
• The Project that has won one of the presented awards will have additional requirements according to the Contract regulating the use of the Award, which will be concluded after the event between the winner and provider of the Award.

GENDER EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION POLICY
Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event as the industry platform of the Tallinn Black Nights Festival is committed to promoting gender equality, diversity, and inclusion in all aspects of our work and programmes, including Discovery Campus and the Script Pool Project Competition. We believe that everyone should have equal opportunities to participate in our events and activities, regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, or other personal characteristics.
We are committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming environment that values diversity and promotes mutual respect and understanding. We promote gender equality, diversity, and inclusion in all aspects of our work, including the planning, organization, and delivery of events and activities, and believe that diversity is a strength and that everyone should have equal opportunities to participate in our events and activities.
We expect all participants in our events and activities to behave in a respectful and professional manner, and to refrain from any behaviour that is discriminatory, harassing, or offensive. This includes but is not limited to behaviour that is based on a person's gender, race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, or other personal characteristics. We will not tolerate any behaviour that violates our policy and reserve the right to take appropriate action, including expulsion from the event.

FINAL PROVISIONS
The Applicant guarantees that all the presented information in the submitted application is correct. Regarding all matters not expressly settled by these Regulations, the current regulations of Estonia and its entities and good business practices are to be applied. Any amendments and supplements to these Regulations shall be made by Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event management. By submitting an Application, the Applicant agrees to all provisions of these Regulations. These Regulations come into effect from the day of their publishing on the webpage https://industry.poff.ee/, and are effective beginning on the 1st of May 2024.

Approved by Marge Liiske,
Head of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event