The European Short Pitch is a screenwriting project devoted to the promotion of short format European productions, organized by Nisi Masa, a non-profit organization promoting young professionals in the European film industry. The European Short Pitch programme combines scriptwriting workshops, online meetings and the co-production forum for European scriptwriting and film professionals. The aim of the workshop is to promote young European talents and offer them a chance to develop and present their projects in a professional environment, as well as to foter the economic viability and visibility of European short film. 

This year, 12 projects have been chosen to participate in the workshops, one of which is Paula Skelin’s Loose, which last year received funding from the Croatian Audiovisual Centre through its open call for production. The European Short Pitch organizers proudly announce a strong female presence in the programme, which will include seven female directors, that is 60% of the participants, surpassing the 50/50 by 2020 aim. 

The film problematizes the topic of forceful eviction and tells the story of a six-year-old girl and her grandmother who are unaware that they are about to get evicted. The girl will take advantage of her tooth that has become loose to disturb the eviction crew and resolve their living situation.

The first ESP session (scriptwriting workshop) will be held online, 21st–25th Sept, focusing on improving the quality of the script and preparing the participants for promotion of their work to the industry. The next ESP phase will consist of providing further consultation on the script, as well as with sales and distribution experts, while the final session will be devoted to a pitch and one-on-one meetings with international experts. The co-production forum is expected to take place in hybrid format, 12th–15th November 2020.  

So far, in the period between 2007 and 2019, the European Short Pitch workshops have presented 287 projects, many of which have had considerable international success and successful festival runs. 

The full list of selected projects is available here, while more details about the European Short Pitch can be found here.