Nearly 200 projects are participating in the Alicante Film Festival Fiction Laboratory
Alicante’s Fiction Laboratory continues its sixth edition as part of the Alicante Film Festival, a program supported by the competition and the Local Development Agency of the Alicante City Council, in collaboration with the SGAE foundation. The event is shaping up to exceed last year’s count of bids, signaling growing interest from the industry. [Citation: Alicante Film Festival organizers]
The new edition runs from May 20 to May 24 and takes place in person at Ferrisa Gate facilities, with an option to register online. Registrants must submit their project and registration form by April 30 to the email address provided for producers, directors, and screenwriters who have a fiction project, whether it is a TV series or a feature film, and who want to analyze the process. Listeners can register until May 21. A total of 18 projects will be selected from the applicants, with the list of chosen projects announced on May 7. [Citation: Alicante Film Festival]
The program helps participants understand how to develop a fiction project from idea to the final sales dossier. It covers solid structure, the look and feel of a complete package, and practical steps to approach production companies and platforms. The event also encourages exchange and international collaboration among authors, production houses, and television networks to foster creation, production, and distribution of fiction content. [Citation: Festival program overview]
Awards
Award categories recognize various strengths within projects presented. The Innovation prize celebrates the most forward-thinking concept; the national fiction project prize honors outstanding local work; the most original and creative project receives the SGAE Award; the Music Library Award provides a production access package for production music catalogs, with a fixed fee of €1,500; and the Movibeta Award offers a one-year free distribution plan to film festivals via Movibeta. [Citation: Festival awards]
Alicante Film Festival broke the attendance record in its 20th year
Requirements
The presenter of a fiction project, whether a series, film, documentary, or web series, should bring supporting materials such as pages, PDFs, PowerPoint, or video clips. Each project gets a 15-minute exposure window, followed by a Q&A session addressing questions and clarifications raised during the presentation. [Citation: Festival guidelines]
Program
The event unfolds over five days within the Alicante International Film Festival framework. One day is devoted to a round table, another to theoretical sessions, a practical field simulation day, and two days focused on project presentations in dedicated sections, including listing and evaluation of registrants. [Citation: Festival schedule]
Image from last year’s laboratory
From 9:30 to 13:30, the theoretical session explains how a fiction project is presented. It covers the development of an editing project from idea discovery to the final sales dossier, detailing steps such as pitching, solid structuring, character creation, feasibility checks, contacting production companies and platforms, and managing the creative workflow.” [Citation: Program outline]
Also running from 9:30 to 13:30 is a live pitching demonstration by the speaker, featuring a mock sales pitch supported by audiovisual material, followed by a Q&A phase where attendees’ questions are answered. [Citation: Pitching session]
From 10:00 to 13:30 and again from 16:00 to 18:00, participants present and evaluate projects on digital platforms. The selected projects are showcased to participating producers and television networks, with each presentation lasting 15 minutes. After each pitch, the presenter responds to questions and clarifications raised by the audience. [Citation: Presentation protocol]
Between 14:00 and 14:30, the schedule includes a short break before continuing with the day’s program. [Citation: Daily agenda]