Writers Lab Program 2023
By entering a Submission, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agree to these terms and conditions (these “Terms and Conditions”) and the privacy policies of Image Nation Abu Dhabi FZ LLC (“Image Nation”) and any updates to the Terms and Conditions as mentioned or made available on the Arab Film Studio (“AFS”) website.
MISSION
The aim of the Writers Lab Program is to train and support emerging TV writers by providing them with the opportunity to develop their screenwriting craft, polish their skills and be part of a growing community of diverse creatives, and to promote new and innovative television series which appeal specially to the international market.
DEFINITIONS
“ENTRANT”:
Means any emerging writer, aged over 21, who legitimately enters a Submission to be considered by the Partners to participate in the Writers Lab Program.
“ENTRY PERIOD”:
Means the period in which Submissions will be accepted, commencing on 1st of May 2023 and ending 2nd July 2023 (inclusive), or such other dates as the Partners may select in their sole discretion.
“SUBMISSION(S)”:
Means, the synopsis or treatment for a television series which is intended for development, totaling a maximum of six (6) A4 sized pages, written in English, and submitted by the Entrants when applying to participate in the Writers Lab Program. The Entrants will be required to provide a sample of any previous scripts they have written. Such sample scripts will not form part of the final selected Submission.
“WRITERS LAB PROGRAM”:
Means an instructional scriptwriter’s incubator program which comprises mentoring workshops, training sessions, and other activities designated and organized by Image Nation and its selected partner, Faraway Road Ltd (collectively the “Partners”) that aims to assist emerging writers to write and/or develop a television series bible and, where applicable, pilot draft script.
Unless otherwise stated, these Terms and Conditions apply to all Entrants to the Writers Lab Program.
RULES:
- Any Entrant who fails to comply with all of these Terms and Conditions will be withdrawn from participating in the Writers Lab Program.
- Entrants must be UAE and/or Israeli nationals or UAE or Israeli residents and provide appropriate documentation to verify thereof upon request.
- Entrants must be aged twenty-one (21) years or over at the time of entry.
- The Submission must be the wholly original work of the Entrant and must not infringe any copyright, or intellectual property rights whatsoever of any person, firm or corporation. Each Entrant must ensure that their Submission and participation in the Writers Lab Program is lawful in accordance with the laws of the country of which they are a citizen and/or reside and/or is at the time their entry is made. The Partners make no representations, express or implied, as to the lawfulness of any Entrant’s participation.
- The only permitted method to enter a Submission to participate in the Writers Lab Program is by submitting an application online through the AFS website.
- All Submissions must:
- be in English;
- be a wholly original work of the Entrant (the Partners reserve the right, in its sole and absolute discretion to forego consideration of any Submission which infringes any third-party intellectual property rights);
- be a maximum of six (6) pages (A4 sized) with font size 12 and single spacing;
- be intended to be developed into a bible for a potential television series;
- be of the “fiction” genre, meaning the story is created in a constructive format and describes a sequence of fictional events;
- contain all the documents requested below.
- Submissions must be made during the Entry Period set out above and contain:
- the treatment or synopsis intended for development describing the overview, tone and style of the project, character breakdown, character description and series arc (no episode breakdown is required);
- a motivation letter (e.g. reason why the Entrant would like to take part in the Writers Lab Program);
- a statement of artistic/creative intent;
- a visual element representing the television series (i.e still photography, audio-visual footage, storyboard and/or artwork);
- a sample from another project previously written by the Entrant and intended for the screen (script format encouraged) not necessarily produced (theater plays and/ or novels will not be considered) which, for the avoidance of doubt, will not form part of the Submitted Material and final Submission.
- At the end of the Entry Period, the Partners may select certain Entrants to be interviewed and all selected Entrants must participate in such interviews to be eligible to participate in the Writers Lab Program. From those interviewed, the Partners will select Entrants to participate in the Writers Lab Program which shall include a maximum of six (6)Entrants from the UAE Entrants and a maximum of six (6) Entrants from the Israel Entrants (each such selected Entrant being a participant in the Writers Lab Program (“Participant(s)”).
- Each Participant must be available to participate in all of the following stages:
- two (2) x Writers Lab Program workshops, comprising of no less than five (5) and no greater than seven (7) days each, conducted in Abu Dhabi. For participation in these workshops, the Partners will directly cover the cost of economy flights for each Participant of whom resides outside of the UAE, and half board accommodation at a location selected by the Partners in their sole discretion, for each Participant of whom resides outside of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi;
- each of the online components, including mandatory (online or face to face) sessions with mentors, tasks and any other activities as determined by the Partners in their sole discretion.
- The selection of Participants will be decided by the Partners in their sole discretion, and any such decision is final and binding on the Entrants and cannot be appealed. The Partners reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to rule on any circumstances which are unforeseen or beyond their control in whatever way they deem most appropriate (including the cancellation or postponement of the Writers Lab Program or changes to these Terms and Conditions). Any decision to be made by the Partners pursuant to these Terms and Conditions will be announced as soon as reasonably practicable after such a decision has been reached. No correspondence will be entered into by the Partners in respect of such a decision, which will be final and binding in all respects on all Entrants.
- The Partners reserve the right, in their sole discretion: (i) to delay notification and/or announcement of the Participants; and/or (ii) to disqualify any Entrant from any participation.
By making a Submission, each Entrant, agrees and consents: (i) if requested by the Partners, to appear in recorded footage of the Writers Lab Program workshops or other activities as approved by the Partners in their sole discretion, and to record their voice, performance, poses, acts, plays and appearances and use their picture, photograph, silhouette and other reproductions of their physical likeness and sound, without compensation, as part of the Writers Lab Program and thereafter for the unlimited distribution, advertising, promotion, exhibition and exploitation of the Program, without compensation, by any medium now known or hereafter invented in the future throughout the universe and in perpetuity and whether for commercial gain or otherwise; (ii) that their engagement with the Writers Lab Program does not confer upon the Entrant any rights of use, ownership or copyright in the Writers Lab Program and that all intellectual property rights arising out of, or in connection with the Entrant’s appearance in the Writers Lab Program shall immediately, on creation, vest in and become the property of the Partners; and (iii) that the Partners may use the Entrant’s personal information for its own purposes including, but not limited to, fulfilling requests for products and services, contacting the Entrant, conducting research, and sending the Entrant marketing email and SMS messages and/or providing the Entrant’s personal information to promotional trusted third parties.
- Each Participant represents and warrants to the Partners that:
- all stories, treatments and materials created and/or submitted by the Participant (the “Submitted Materials”) are within such Participant’s full authority to submit, are owned by such Participant, are wholly original to the Participant, do not infringe the copyright, trade mark or any other intellectual, proprietary or other right whatsoever, including, but not limited to, rights of privacy or publicity of any person, firm or corporation;
- the Submitted Materials do not contain any matter that is:
- defamatory, libellous, obscene, pornographic, indecent, lewd, suggestive, harassing, threatening, abusive, inflammatory, fraudulent, racist or otherwise objectionable;
- contrary to the social and cultural norms of the United Arab Emirates or the laws of the United Arab Emirates, including (but not limited to): (i) abusing an Islamic holy shrine or ritual, including (without limitation) where such shrine or ritual is protected under the Islamic Sharia (religious) law; (ii) defaming any of the divine religions; or (iii) an act or theme which is blasphemous and/or defamatory to Arabs or any Muslims as an individual or a group or to any Arab or Muslim head of state, royal family and/or national symbol (for example the flag);
- they have all necessary rights to grant the Partners the rights granted under these Terms and Conditions;
- the Submitted Materials shall not include content that involves unsolicited promotions, political campaigning, advertising or solicitations, including content that involves the transmission of junk mail, chain letters or unsolicited mass mailing, instant messaging, spinning or spamming or provides links to other websites or webpages;
- the Submitted Materials shall not include the private information of any third party, including, without limitation, addresses, ID, phone numbers, email addresses, social security numbers and credit card numbers; and
- the Submitted Materials shall not contain content that includes viruses, corrupted data or other harmful, disruptive or destructive files.
- The Participant shall sign a Participant agreement, entered into by the Partners prior to the commencement of the Writers Lab Program (the “Participant Agreement”). Under the Participant Agreement, the Participant shall assign all rights in and to the Submitted Materials to the Partners for the duration of the Writers Lab Program. The rights in and to any Submitted Materials not selected by the Partners shall revert back to the Participant at the end of the Writers Lab Program’s term. If a specific Participant’s Submitted Materials are selected by the Partners to be optioned, such terms of option (i.e. remuneration and accorded screen credit, as determined by the Partners in their sole discretion) shall be set forth in the Participant Agreement and any further terms in relation to the further development and/or production of the Submitted Materials shall be set forth in a separate agreement entered into by the parties.
- If required, the Participant shall execute, do and deliver all such acts, deeds and instruments as the Partners may from time to time require for the purpose of confirming or further assuring the Partners title to the Submitted Materials and to give effect to this paragraph; and further acknowledges and agrees that Image Nation and or Faraway Road Ltd or their successor(s), licensee(s), or assign(s) shall be deemed to have a power of attorney to execute any document or do any such act in the Participant’s place for the purpose of confirming or further assuring the Partners title to the Submitted Materials and to give effect to this paragraph, and such appointment shall be deemed a power coupled with an interest with full rights of delegation and substitution, and shall be irrevocable under any and all circumstances.
- The Participant agrees to indemnify the Partners against any loss or damage resulting from any breach of the warranties above and acknowledge that the Partners may, in its absolute discretion, withdraw the Participant from participating in the Writers Lab Program for breach of the warranties above.
- The Participant acknowledges that the Partners are under no obligation to use the Submitted Materials, and any reproduction and/or communication of the Submitted Materials to the public by the Partners (in accordance with these Terms and Conditions) is at the complete discretion of the Partners.
- The Partners are not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, or for any failure of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Writers Lab Program, or for any technical error that may occur in the course of the administration of the Writers Lab Program. The Partners assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorised access to or alteration of any Submitted Materials.
- To the full extent permitted by the law, the Partners are not liable for any delay, death, injury, damages, expenses, or loss whatsoever (whether direct or consequential) to persons or property as a result of any person’s participation in the Writers Lab Program.
- The Partners have made all reasonable endeavours to ensure that the Writers Lab Program will be conducted using reasonable skill and care. However, no warranties are made whatsoever in relation to the accuracy, suitability, reliability, completeness or otherwise of the Submission process or the final Writers Lab Program.
- The Partners reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to rule on any circumstances which are unforeseen or beyond their control in whatever way they deem most appropriate (including the cancellation or postponement of the Writers Lab Program or changes to these Terms and Conditions). Any decision to be made by the Partners pursuant to these Terms and Conditions will be announced as soon as reasonably practicable after such a decision has been reached. No correspondence will be entered into by the Partners in respect of such a decision, which will be final and binding in all respects on all Entrants.
- The Partners shall not be liable for the failure to fully perform any obligations under the Writers Lab Program, if and to the extent that such failure is due to reasons of force majeure or changes in law or regulations or any other occurrence beyond the Partners reasonable control.
- The Partners reserve the right to cancel, suspend or amend the Writers Lab Program, the Submission process or these Terms and Conditions without notice. Any changes will be posted on the AFS website. It is the Entrant’s responsibility to ensure that he/she reviews these Terms and Conditions regularly to familiarize himself/herself with any changes. The Entrant’s Submissions to participate in the Writers Lab Program following the posting of changes to these Terms and Conditions means the Entrant accepts such changes. The Entrant should print and store or save a copy of these Terms and Conditions for future reference.
- Management of all aspects of the Writers Lab Program shall be at the Partners sole discretion, including without limitation: the selection or non-selection procedures, content, mentors, guest speakers, participants, and future development processes of selected projects in relation to the Writers Lab Program shall be managed by the Partners.
- If any provision of these Terms and Conditions is held to be unlawful, void or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in place.
- These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. The parties irrevocably agree that the courts of the Abu Dhabi Global Market shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms and Conditions (including disputes relating to the existence or validity of these Terms and Conditions or any obligation arising out of or in connection with these Terms and Conditions.
