Schedule of the day

10:00 - 10:30 Welcome Coffee & Pastries - An Introduction to the day, get to know your fellow writers and share more about yourself

10:30 - 11:30 Workshop 1: Story Structure & Creative Shot Identity - Is your script set up for the best pacing? Is it effectively engaging a potential audience? How is your vision for the film embedded so you can communicate it with collaborators?

11:30 - 11:45 Break

11:45 - 12:45 Workshop 2: Character Development and Realistic Dialogue - Do your characters stand out from each other? Is there chemistry on the page? Are they propelling the story forward?

12:45 - 13:45 Break for lunch (Lunch not provided - time to explore Keswick!)

13:45 - 14:00 Group walk - We’ll take a lovely route to recharge ahead of our first writing sprint

14:00 - 15:30 Intention Setting and Writing Sprint - Time to knuckle down and put some of that learning to the test.

15:30 - 15:45 Break

15:45 - 16:45 Workshop 3: Film Festival Success and Short Film Marketing - With 12,000+ film festivals out there and 1000+ new shorts made each year, how will yours go the distance ?

16:45 - 17:45 Writing Sprint or Private Script Consultations [Limited Availability] - Meet your writing goal with confidence, or sit with our team and talk through your project based on their detailed feedback.

17:45 - 18:00 Closing Discussion - Share with the group your progress and goals moving forward as we wrap up the day together.

18:00-20:00 Networking Drinks with MINT Film Festival - Now it’s time to put the laptops away and relax with other writers and industry guests from the MINT Chinese Film Festival, this is optional to attend as we know many people may be travelling home after the retreat!

However, if you would prefer to work on your script throughout the whole day while listening in the sessions that is completely fine, we understand that all writers especially those who are neurodiverse have their own ways of writing, and we’re here to accommodate that!

What to bring?

We feel it would be best to bring a draft of something you have been currently working on (or have neglected recently!) along with another idea that you’d like to explore and develop, you’ll need something to write with for notes from the workshops and also for the writing sprints, whether this is a laptop or old school pen and paper. Along with any writing aids that support you best like your headphones, or visual boards or fidget toys. Lunch is not provided due to the catering per head costs at our venue and we want to keep ticket prices as low as we can, so you’ll need to grab a lunch in town and can join us for a group walk, but snacks and refreshments will be provided throughout the day.

How to get there?

The closest train station is Penrith, it’s then just a short bus/taxi journey into Keswick where we’ll be hosting at the Skiddaw Hotel, this is in the town centre so lots of local cafes, bars and shops to enjoy. If you’re planning on staying overnight or making a weekend of the occasion, there are lots of holiday homes available on booking.com with parking available along with chain hotels such as Premiere Inns nearby. There is also the Alhambra Cinema in town, which plays host to the MINT Chinese Film Festival the same week as our workshop.

Price and booking

Standard Booking: £90.00 for the day.

Script Consultancy Booking [SOLD OUT]: £150.00 for the day + bespoke feedback on your script and a face to face session with our development team.

Unfortunately we are unable to offer bursaries for this event or sponsored spaces, we suggest getting in touch with your local film hub to get information on bursary support they may be able to offer.

Bookings are non refundable, should you be unable to attend you are welcome to gift your booking to a friend, we are unable to help with advertising or facilitating any gifting so that will have to be arranged by yourselves, just let us know ahead of time the name changes so we can amend our guest list. Scripts submitted for feedback are not changeable, we can not receive a different draft or alternative script once one has been submitted, this includes a booking being changed to a different writer. Plus ones are not admitted, co-writers must book per person and as well as writings groups. We do not offer group discounts. We do not have any discount agreements with the hotel for accommodation bookings due to a minimum amount of 20 rooms needed for the hotel to honour a discount. Workshops will not be shared following the event digitally, no filming or recording of the event is permitted. Photographs will be taken during the day for promotional purposes, please contact our team if you would like to not be featured.

Is it for me?

RP: Evolve has always been for writers who are either wanting to break into the industry through short film writing, or those who have already made a few shorts and looking to enhance their skillset and build their confidence to continue expanding their careers. Essentially it is for any writers who are interested in spending some time to evolve their script writing and gain some fresh perspective, whether it’s a refresher or a complete introduction to script writing. Plus, it’s an ideal way to meet other like minded creatives.

There is no minimum amount of experience required, everyone is welcome regardless of their background or current role in or out of the industry. If you don’t have a script to work on, it could be the best place to make a start on something fresh, or if you’ve been stuck on an idea or draft for a while maybe this is where you’ll finally push ahead.

Our most recent cohort of RP: Evolve saw two scripts we developed land on the Slick Films Fund Long List, with 2 additional Alumni writers from our 2023 cohort also being shortlisted for their latest pieces of work for the fund.