Submissions are now being accepted for the European Women’s Audiovisual Network’s (EWA) second annual scriptwriter residency program. The EWA will select one female screenwriter and help her “enter the industry by working the strategic positioning of the project with the best script possible.” The residency program — which will be held from January 22 to February 22, 2018 — will also offer mentorship and networking opportunities at the Berlinale’s European Film Market.

Women screenwriters, screenwriter-directors, and/or screenwriter-producers are eligible to apply for the residency program. Applicants must be of a European nationality, have a European residency, and be an EWA member. Only applicants who have previously written or directed a feature film distributed in Europe will be considered.

Suzanne Pradel will again serve as the program’s script consultant. Pradel has worked as a script expert for Eurimages and MEDIA Programme and is the founder of the BuchScout Agency, a organization that develops novel-to-film projects.

Murielle Thierrin was selected for the EWA’s inaugural scriptwriter residency program. The writer-producer’s project, “Sugarcane Flower,” is a a Barbados-set period piece centering on a young mother and her fight for emancipation.

“Our script was blocked, we had come to a stage where we didn’t want to accept the commentaries from sales agent, distributors, or financiers on the origin and ethnicity of our characters. For them our movie didn’t fit the commercial market because of ethnicity reasons. EWA was an opportunity to get feedback from people with other perspectives,” Thierrin said of her decision to apply for the residency. “EWA treated the subject with thoughtfulness, as they are more sensitive to discrimination and gender subjects,” she added.

Submissions for the 2018 EWA scriptwriter residency will be accepted until September 15, 2017. Check out the EWA website to learn more about the application requirements and the program.