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Unique new stories will once again be created in the beautiful seaside town of Cannes, France, when the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television/Université Côte D’Azur (UCLA TFT/UCA) Storytelling Institute in Cannes commences in Spring 2019.

This immersive, in-residence graduate-level feature film screenwriting program, now in its second year, is designed to advance the artistry and skills of the next generation of outstanding, diverse humanistic cinematic storytellers. Throughout the six weeks in Cannes, the Institute's program is framed by UCLA TFT’s unparalleled screenwriting curriculum, along with professional screenwriting instruction from UCLA TFT and UCA faculty. Select UCLA TFT and French graduate screenwriting students will complete a fully realized first draft feature film screenplay. In the final two weeks, they will have the opportunity to experience master classes with distinguished filmmakers and screenwriters, discussions, special screenings and other professionally oriented activities at the Cannes Film Festival.

Created by UCLA TFT in partnership with UCA, the Mayor and the City of Cannes, France, the president and director of the international Cannes Film Festival and Vivendi/Canal+, key sponsorship for the program and a “first look” opportunity for the students who participate in the program will be provided by Vivendi/Canal+.

“I want to express my great appreciation to all of the partners for their exceptional commitment to the success of the inaugural Storytelling Institute last year,” says UCLA TFT Dean Teri Schwartz. “To have this groundbreaking, ‘first look’ graduate screenwriting program with Vivendi/Canal+ in the beautiful and inspiring city of Cannes, and overlapping with the experiences of our inaugural class at the world-renown Cannes Film Festival, was nothing short of remarkable.”

UCLA TFT alumni have long had association with the Cannes Film Festival. Alumnus Francis Ford Coppola’s film Apocalypse Now won the Palme d’Or in 1979, and Taxi Driver, written by alumnus Paul Schrader, earned the prize in 1976 for director Martin Scorsese.

Created in 2015, Université Côte d’Azur is a community of universities and establishments dedicated to research and training. UCA is an internationally renowned university recognized for its innovative educational program, its high quality of research, and its anchoring in the local ecosystem.

Applications to apply for the Institute will open on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018 and close on Sunday, Oct. 14, 2018.

UCLA TFT/UCA STI 2018: (First row, seated, from left) Frank Cadoret, Deputy General Manager of Canal+ France; Pierre Lescure, President of the Cannes Film Festival; David Lisnard, Mayor of Cannes; Jean-Marc Gambaudo, President of the Université Côte d’Azur; Samira Karrach, Executive Director IDEX of the Université Côte d’Azur; and Amandine Maudet, Head of Content Development at Vivendi pose with UCLA TFT Dean Teri Schwartz (second row, left), UCLA TFT and UCA faculty, and members of the Cannes mayor’s office at the inaugural Storytelling Institute in Cannes.

Posted: August 3, 2018