ONLINE WORKSHOP
Scriptwriting
By Florentina González y Sacha Podhorcer
ONLINE WORKSHOP
Scriptwriting
By Florentina González y Sacha Podhorcer
WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
This workshop offers an introduction to screenwriting focused on short-form animated films. Over four theoretical and practical sessions, participants will explore styles, narratives, and creative processes through the development of personal projects, the analysis of examples, and the sharing of theoretical tools.
The goal is for each participant to progress toward a solid first version of their own animated project.
Although the focus will be on writing short films, the workshop also welcomes those working in other formats. The idea is to provide resources applicable to any type of audiovisual work, enhancing each participant’s unique voice and supporting their creative pursuits.
The Symbolism of the Short Film:
Often, the desire to tell complex and profound stories leads writers to saturate their short films with action and subplots, transforming them into a sort of compressed feature film. But a short film is not a compressed feature film: it has its own rules, rhythm, and narrative logic. Understanding its specificities is key to ensuring that the script can move, convey meaning, and leave a lasting impression.
Among the various tools a screenwriter has to face the challenge of the short format, mastering the symbol is especially valuable. The symbol functions as a meaningful image, condensing meaning and allowing narrative layers to be layered in a limited amount of time. Thus, it makes it possible to tell more with less, and to construct simple yet powerful stories.
MODALITY
Online
LANGUAGE
Spanish
WHO IS IT FOR?
People interested in developing a short film. While the workshop will focus on short films, you can participate with a feature-length film or series, or if you’d like to work on a proposal from scratch.
Participants can come from anywhere in the world.
WHEN?
Mondays, September 8, 15, 22, and 29
Duration: 2 hours – 7 to 9 pm (ARG GMT -3)
REQUIREMENTS
It is recommended that you have an idea in mind or a desire to work on a proposal from scratch. No previous experience is necessary.
Florentina González
Florentina is an animation director and visual artist.
She has directed several short films that have participated in festivals such as Sitges, Zagreb, Clermont Ferrand, BAFICI, Mar del Plata, and Bitbang.
Her most recent, El After del mundo (The Aftermath of the World), can be seen online as Staff Pick on Vimeo. It was co-written by Luz Márquez and featured Juana Molina in the musical composition. The project received several awards, including a pre-purchase from the Arte France channel at the Annecy Film Festival.
In 2023, she held her first solo exhibition, Huesos de Azúcar (Sugar Bones), at the invitation of the Andreani Foundation. In it, she combined an animated video installation with various techniques.
Sacha Podhorcer
Sacha is a writer and screenwriter with a degree in Literature (UBA) and a graduate of the Screenwriting for Film and Series program at the Scriptwriting Laboratory (Buenos Aires).
He also participates as an adjunct professor in the Argentine Literature I (LAERA) class at the UBA, where he is conducting a research project on the history of Argentine theater; he researches for Indómito, an interdisciplinary group that studies horror, science fiction, and the bizarre (Luis Ordaz Institute of Argentine and Latin American Art History); and he is a writer and editor for the University of Buenos Aires’ literary magazine, Por el camino de Puan.
The two are currently developing a new short film called El Enjambre (The Swarm).
The script has already received several awards: in 2025, it was part of the Short Form Sation at the Berlinale Talent and won first prize at Syncro Lab, a laboratory focused on short film writing.
It was recently part of the short film section at MIFA Annecy and will continue its development in October at the French NEF residency, which focuses on authorial animation.
INSCRIPCIÓN REGULAR AGOTADA
INSCRIPCIÓN COMO OYENTES:
WORKSHOP PRICE
$80,000 ARS (Argentina) / $85 USD (abroad)
PAYMENT METHODS:
– Argentina:
Banco Francés
Número de cuenta:
Caja de ahorro en Pesos 30555/9
Sucursal: 111
Número de CBU:
0170111740000003055593
Alias: BARBARACERRO
Titular de la cuenta:
Bárbara Cerro
Documento:
DNI – 31925520
– Abroad:
Paypal: barbara@bitbangfest.com
HOW DO I REGISTER?
Fill out the FORM nd send proof of payment to: produccion@bitbangfest.com with the subject line “Payment – Screenplay Workshop – First Name_Last Name”
To secure your spot in the workshop, we ask that you pay the full amount and send us proof of payment. Space is limited.
CONTENTS
Lesson 1
– Introduction to screenwriting. Differences between a short film script and a feature film script.
– General review: logline, synopsis, treatment, and script. We will see examples of how to present our projects in these different settings.
– Symbolism of the short film: the metaphorical symbol as a form of synthesis in animation. Differences between symbols and other rhetorical figures. Types of symbols, intra- and extra-diegetic.
– We will analyze material in class, considering the power of animation in its metaphorical quality.
– Genres and symbols.
Practice: We will analyze audiovisual material. Creative exercises. We will advance in writing a synopsis. As homework, we will provide a bibliography and animated shorts to view, plus synopsis writing.
Lesson 2
– McKee’s dramatic structures: archiplot, miniplot, and antiplot: which category does my project belong to?
– Notion of turning points, scene-sequence-act.
– Notion of value and event
– Worldbuilding as a symbol: Loop and Gravity
– The symbolic value of structure (Lucrecia Martel’s critique of the warlike notion of narrative conflict).
– The world and its rules
– Crossing the threshold and moving into the extraordinary world.
– Treatment
Practice: We will analyze audiovisual material. Creative exercises. As homework, we will provide a bibliography, animated shorts, and a series to watch, plus writing a treatment.
Lesson 3
– Characters: Internal and External Journeys
– Need vs. Desire
– Internal Components of the Character
– Symbolic Value of the Character and Archetypes
– Characters, Dialogues: How Does Our Character Speak?
– Dialogue Content: The Weight of Each Word in a Short Format
Practice: We will analyze audiovisual material. Creative exercises. For homework, we will provide animated shorts to view, complete script writing, or a second draft of the treatment.
Lesson 4
– THEME: Why do I want to tell this story?
– Theme vs. Message
– Theme in relation to the character’s internal need.
– Symbol as a Vehicle for the Theme
Practice: In-Class Corrections and Final Wrap-Up
Participants will receive written feedback on their projects each week.
REGISTRATION
Data marked with * (asterisk) are mandatory.
INSCRIPCIÓN CERRADA
CONTACT
For inquiries, please write to produccion@bitbangfest.com
No refunds will be given to those who have registered and are unable to participate.