Lab

Photo credit: Patryk Straszak

Young Horizons Lab – call for projects is closed. Thank you for your applications

Develop your project at the Young Horizons Lab, script development workshop under the guidance of Philip LaZebnik.
The submission form was open until 4 April, 17:00.
Programme is open for submissions from Poland. All submitted materials need to be in English.

Link to the submission form is HERE. Detailed information below.

Information for candidates for script consultant and Philip’s assistant is here (information in Polish).

The Young Horizons Lab programme (Polish name: Młode Horyzonty Lab) – since 2014 – aims to help filmmakers develop ideas for films for young audiences. “Double Trouble” (“Tarapaty”) and “Triple Trouble” (“Tarapaty 2”) as well as “Detective Bruno” (“Detektyw Bruno”), “Oskar, Patsy, and Baltic Gold” (“Oskar, Patka i Złoto Bałtyku”), and “Grandpa, Let’s Go!” (“Dziadku, wiejemy!”), are only a few films whose scripts were developed during the workshops.

The Young Horizons Lab programme is focused on script development of live-action and animation films for kids, teens and family audiences.

Whether you are an emerging storyteller who is taking first steps in the field of professional writing or you are an experienced writer, Young Horizons Lab is a programme for you.

Within the programme we aim to help you develop your treatment into the first or second draft of the script depending on the stage you enter the workshops.

The upcoming edition is open only for projects from Poland. Participants need to be Polish citizens or Polish residents.

Young Horizons Lab focuses on group work, as well as individual online consultations with tutor and individual work of the participants between the sessions.

During the on-site sessions you will be working on the best structure of your project. You will also take part in discussions about the other projects selected for the workshops and masterclasses with experts about audience development, distribution strategy, production and promotion.

Before each session, we will ask you to read all the materials provided by the organisers and participants.

The programme will end with a pitching training and project presentation in front of Polish and international producers.

The Young Horizons Lab 2025 is organised by Young Horizons, a part of the New Horizons Association. The programme is co-financed by the Polish Film Institute.

Questions? Please contact: magda.wylezalek@nowehoryzonty.pl.

Meet our tutor

Philip LaZebnik - tutor

Philip is a screenwriter, playwright and a screenwriting consultant. Originally associated with Disney Studios and DreamWorks. His screenwriting credits include “Mulan” and “Pocahontas” for Disney, and “The Prince of Egypt” and “The Road to El Dorado” for DreamWorks, among many others.

He has written the book for the theatrical musical “The Prince of Egypt” with songs by Stephen Schwartz, which opened at the Dominion Theatre in London’s West End in February, 2020.

Philip has considerable experience in film teaching: Bridging the Dragon (Mentor, China), North by Northwest (Tutor, Bornholm), Animationhus (Workshop, Viborg) and worked as a Film/Story Consultant for: “Antz” and “Shrek” (Story consultant, DreamWorks Feature Animation and PDI), “Lion King 1 ½” and “Mulan II” (Disney Television Animation), and numerous other films.

Philip’s goal is to foster a positive, supportive environment in the room, where we can discuss the screenwriting tools which are useful not only for developing the project in the workshop but also future scripts. These tools include analyzing story structure, understanding character motivations, and knowing what questions to ask when writing a script.

Rules and submissions (edition 2025)

Who are the workshops for?

Scriptwriters from Poland who are working on the script of live-action or animated film for young audiences.

You can apply individually or in a team of two people. Example: scriptwriter + scriptwriter, scriptwriter + producer, scriptwriter + director.

Producer attached to the project is not obligatory.

Eligible projects

Live-action feature films (minimum 60 minutes) at early stage of development (with treatment)
Animated feature films (minimum 60 minutes) at early stage of development (with treatment)

If you are not sure if your project is eligible, please contact: magda.wylezalek@nowehoryzonty.pl.

Working language

The working language of all workshop sessions is English. Participants are also obliged to deliver all materials, such as treatments, drafts in English.

Important dates and location

Submission start: 4 March 2025
Submission end: 4 April 2025, 17.00

Preselection: early April 2025
Online meeting with preselected creators: early April
Selection announcement: mid-April 2025

Sessions dates:
1st session: 14–16 May 2025
2nd session: 6–8 August 2025
3rd session: October 2025

Location:
Warsaw

Fee

Submission fee: 200 PLN excl. VAT (246 PLN incl. VAT).

Participation fee: 1700 PLN excl. VAT (2091 PLN incl. VAT). For team max. 2 people. Paid after the project has been selected.

Required documents

Project description / synopsis (max. 4 pages)
Short bio (max. half page)
Motivation letter (max. 1 page)

All submitted documents need to be in English.

Recruitment process (EDITION 2025)

1. PRESELECTION – Submit your application

Prepare all the required documents and fill in the online application before 4 April, 17:00.
Complete the payment for the submission. After submitting the form, you will receive a payment link within 2 working days. If you do not get a payment link, please contact -> Piotr Ogorzelski piotr.ogorzelski@nowehoryzonty.pl

Required documents for submission:

Project description / synopsis (max. 4 pages)
Short bio (max. half page)
Motivation letter (max. 1 page)

IMPORTANT: We will inform the creators about the preselection results via email. Only creators of the preselected projects will take part in online meetings.

2. SELECTION – ONLINE MEETING – only for the preselected projects

Meeting with Philip LaZebnik and workshop organisers: early April (online).

This is a chance for us to ask you some questions about your project and get to know each other better. During the meeting, you can also ask us questions about the workshop.

3. Acceptance of the project

We will inform you about the final selection results in mid-April via email.

Once your project is accepted for the Young Horizons Lab programme, you will have 10 days to sign an agreement and pay the participation fee 1700 PLN excl. VAT (2091 PLN incl. VAT).