eQuinoxe celebrates 25 years of supporting international screenwriting
PRESSEMITTEILUNG
eQuinoxe Europe e.V. Celebrates 25 years of Supporting International Screenwriting
World Premiere in Berlinale 2026 Panorama and Nine Supported Projects in Production.
LONDON - February 9, 2026. Prompt to its 25-year anniversary, German writer/director Sophie
Heldman, whose project participated in eQuinoxe's autumn 2015 workshop, will celebrate her world premiere of The Education of Jane Cumming, in the Berlinale Panorama on Sunday, February 15, 2026.
The film is a production between Germany's Heimatfilm, Switzerland's Dschoint Ventschr and
Scotland's Sylph Productions.
In addition to Hellman's upcoming Berlinale premiere, there are currently 9 projects supported by eQuinoxe Europe's Intl. Screenwriter Workshops in various stages of production, including from Germany Die Stille Liebt es und die Nacht - writer Sylke Renee Meyer, Paraphrase on the Finding of a Glove- writer/director Mareike Wegener, and Hotline - writer/director Dren Zherka; Bosnia and Herzegovina Quo Vadis, Aida?: The Missing Part - writer/director Jasmila Zbanic; Austria Mila/Marija - writer/director Andrina Mracnikar, from Kosovo Jerem - writer/director Ismet Sijarina; from Belgium Jonah Was Here - writer/director Nathalie Tierlinck and A Man of the World - writer/director Anne Paulicevich; and from Portugal Last Night - writer/director Tiago R. Santos.
eQuinoxe Europe's mission has been, and continues to be, to support European filmmakers in the crucial script development phase of their projects, to deliver stronger scripts and compelling stories to advance the projects more quickly to financing and production.
"The cornerstone of successful filmmaking is good storytelling and that begins with a strong script." says Ellen Winn Wendl, Chair. "The beauty of performing our work is the privilege of working with filmmakers from over 20 countries. Each screenwriter has an inherent cultural story to tell and wants their story to reach an international audience."
The program is known for its focus on rigorous script development. eQuinoxe strives to assist writers to realize their creative vision and enhance the creative and commercial potential of European film globally. Further, it works to raise the profile and affirm the vital role of script development in advancing screenplays to production and to establish strong links between Europe's creative talent and eQuinoxe Europe's international network
In 25 years, the non-profit association has held a total of 30 International Screenwriter Workshops in 8 European countries (Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Spain, Ireland and Portugal),
2 Screenwriter Workshops in Australia, 38 Master Classes in nine European countries plus India, China and Australia.
Additional programs for the creative industry include the 2022 and 2025, 6-part, digital Master Class Series Producing for Screen and Society for producers with award-winning producer David Puttnam. The series addressed the themes in the rapidly changing international media landscape. At a student level, eQuinoxe Europe has cooperated with the University of Pristina - Faculty of Arts' Summer School Program, holding lectures and workshops on screenwriting and producing since 2024.
On occasion of the 25year anniversary, we would like to thank the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) and the Austrian Film Institute for their long-standing support of our Workshops and Master Classes!
eQuinoxe Europe e.V. was founded in 2001 under the name eQuinoxe Germany e.V. by Ellen Winn Wendl, Susan Schulte and Susanne Schneider with the vision to support European screenwriters in script development and to create a network of international screenwriters. In 2013, after 12 years of successful international collaboration and workshops in various European countries and with advisors from all over
the world, the association was renamed eQuinoxe Europe e.V..
Since 2015, Lord Puttnam CBE has been Honorary Chairman of eQuinoxe Europe.
The renowned international workshop advisors have supported eQuinoxe Europe's international workshops since 2004 by working without remuneration.
To date, eQuinoxe Europe has successfully supported more than 270 projects from 23 countries. In the last 25 years, participating film productions have been represented at all major international film festivals, and numerous projects have been nominated for and awarded multiple national and international film prizes. 10 films were submitted for the Oscar, 2 were nominated, “The Counterfeiters” received the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
Further information about the eQuinoxe Europe: www.eQuinoxe-europe.org
Contact: Ellen Winn Wendl, Managing Director of eQuinoxe Europe e. V.
info@equinoxe-europe.org, www.equinoxe-europe.org, Tel.: + 49 (0) 170 280 4415
International press contact: Charles McDonald, charles@charlesmcdonald.co.uk, Tel. +44 (207) 736 3445
German press contact: Anke Zindler, az@anke-zindler.de, Tel. +49 (0) 172 8215945