Tony Koros, is among the four Africans selected to be part of the 2024/25 AuthenticA Series Lab cohort.
The lab is presented by the South African-based Realness Institute in partnership with The StoryBoard Collective, (Switzerland) and with support from the Series Mania Forum (France) and the Canada Media Fund.
Among his many accolades, Mr Koros also released a short film, “Tithes & Offerings” which premiered in competition at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2019 and was distributed by CANAL+.
Submissions this year came from 27 countries, covering 23 genres of television series, with the other three screenwriters being Talemwa Pius (Uganda), Aden Abebe (Canada/Ethiopia), and Mlilo Mpondo (South Africa).
In a hotly contested space for the development of screenplays, the AuthenticA Series Lab, will support these four writers to advance their series ideas into pilot scripts and create “pitch Bibles” to take these confidently to highly competitive international content markets.
The AuthenticA Series Lab is designed by Programme Director Elias Ribeiro, in collaboration with Story Expert Selina Ukwuoma.
The Lab takes place over 6 months, beginning with an in-person residency at the exquisite Coot Club in Stanford (Western Cape) from 8 to 17 September 2024.
Following this, the writers will participate in online sessions and then an additional in-person residency in Switzerland (Geneva) from 20 January next year, culminating in a pitch session at Series Mania Forum in Lille (France) on 25 March 2025.
“Series Mania is proud to once again partner with Realness Institute and The StoryBoard Collective for the third consecutive year on the AuthenticA Series Lab,” said Laurence Herszberg, Series Mania General Director.
“As the leading event in Europe for TV series professionals, Series Mania Forum serves as an ideal platform to amplify African talents and their unique voices, offering them visibility on an international stage while fostering diversity in the global television landscape.”
Story Expert Selina Ukwuoma and Creative Producer Mehret Mandefro will spearhead the creative mentorship of the programme.
Experienced film professionals from the industry will engage with the cohort as guest speakers, providing diverse perspectives and sharing their professional experiences.
“Providing a safe space for African screenwriters to find their voice and write the stories that only they can tell, is a critical infrastructure investment in the global media ecosystem,” says Creative Producer Mehret Mandefro.
