Danis Tanovic, Bernd Lichtenberg and Olivia Hetreed are among the high-profile writers who will mentor eight students at a script development workshop, Screenwriters Bloc, to be held next week in Goa, India (Nov 18-23).

Organised by India's National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), and held in the run-up to the International Film Festival of India (Nov 23-Dec 3), the workshop pairs six mentors with the writers of eight pre-selected screenplays.

Tanovic wrote as well as directed No Man's Land, while Lichtenberg's credits as writer include Goodbye Lenin! and Hetreed scripted Girl With A Pearl Earring.

The three European writers will join India's Shaji Karun (Nishad), Anjum Rajabali (Legend Of Bhagat Singh) and Ashwini Malik (Clever And Lonely) as mentors at the six-day workshop. In addition, writer-director Mani Ratnam (Guru) will participate as a guest mentor and hold a master class.

Participating projects include English-language scripts such as Pubali Chaudhuri's Happy Ever After, along with scripts in Hindi and other Indian languages (see full list below).

Meanwhile, 14 additional projects have been selected to take part in the Film Bazaar co-production and financing market (Nov 24-26), also organised by the NFDC, which will take place during the Goa fest.

Sales agents and financiers including Fortissimo Films and Paris-based Memento Films, Global Film Initiative and Germany's Pandora are set to attend the three-day event.

The selected projects orginate from all over India, along with some from overseas Indian filmmakers, such as Yugesh and Sunandan Walia, who are directing an adaptation of Farrukh Dhondy's novel Poona Company (see full list below).

Several projects come with finance or international co-producers already attached, such as Charudutt Acharya's Constance, to be produced by Richard Holmes' London-based Gruber Enterprises.

Film Bazaar will also feature a seminar programme covering issues such as international distribution of Indian films, co-producing with India and new revenue streams in the Indian market.

Projects selected for Film Bazaar - Screenwriters Bloc

(title / writer / language)

1. Naye Joote (New Shoes) - writer: Charudutta Acharaya (Hindi)

2. Paltadacho Munis - The Man Beyond The Bridge - writer: Laxmikant Shetgaonkar (Konkani)

3. Pooja - writer: Viyay Bhaskar Reddy (Hindi)

4. Cycle - writer: Mangesh Joshi (Hindi)

5. Walk Away, Walking Away - writer: Parakh Chouhan (English)

6. Happy Ever After - writer: Pubali Chaudhuri (English)

7. A Film On India - writer: Balaka Ghosh (Bengali-English)

8. P For Principal - writer: Kranti Kanade (Hindi-English)

Projects selected for Film Bazaar - Co-production market

1. Aryaman - dir: Gaurav Jain (Hindi)

2. As The River Flows - dir: Bidyut Kotoky (Hindi)

3. Benoy Badal Dennis - dir: Anjan Dutt (Hindi)

4. Constance - dir: Charudutt Archarya / prod: Richard Holmes (English/Hindi/Malayalam)

5. Happy Go Lucky - dir: Ruchika Oberoi (English/Punjabi/Hindi)

6. Last Days Of Ropang - dir: Shyamal Kumar Karmakar (English/Hindi)

7. Ocean Of An Old Man - dir: Rajesh Shera (Hindi)

8. Poona Company - dirs: Sunandan Walis & Yugesh Walia (English/Hindi)

9. Protham Maa - dir: Ashim Ghosh (Bengali & Hindi)

10. Shadkala Govinda Marar - dir: Sri Sivan (Malayalam)

11. Shor (Noise) - dirs: Raja Nidimoru & Krishna DK (Hindi)

12. Sunshine Stars - dir: Priya Belliappa (Coorgi/English)

13. The Blue Baby - dir: Kshitij Negi / prod: Neerav Ghosh (Hindi)

14. Veerappan Attanhasa - dir: AM Ramesh / associate dir: MS Rajeshree (Kanada/Tamil)

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