The Athens Film Office officially opened applications for the 2027 Owl Screenwriting Workshop on Friday, teaming up with The Black List to find the next wave of international television and film projects. The initiative is a direct play to market the Greek capital as a premier, film-friendly destination and inject foreign production capital into the local economy.
If you want a seat at the table, you have to meet the baseline requirements first. The program will only accept up to 10 professional screenwriters. To qualify, you need either one credited feature film that secured a global or theatrical release, or a minimum of two broadcast television episodes on your resume.
The timeline moves fast.
The selected cohort will attend an intensive four-day, in-person workshop in Greece from January 12 to 15. After that, they will regroup for a collaborative online session in June 2027 led by Professor Scott Myers, according to the official timeline format.
Writers must opt in via The Black List platform before midnight PST on September 25. The Black List will handle the initial candidate filtration using a data-driven approach based entirely on script evaluation scores.
Want to know the best part? You don’t have to write a brand new script just for this application. Submitted projects simply need the structural potential to be adapted and shot in Greece, satisfying the official eligibility criteria and rules.
How Data-Driven Script Selection Filters Global Talent
The decision to rely on The Black List’s evaluation scores changes how regional film commissions traditionally source talent. Instead of relying on subjective panel reviews or networking connections, Athens is using established Hollywood metrics to filter applicants.
This builds directly on the city’s previous initiatives, including the 2023 program that successfully hosted writers from eight different countries. By demanding scripts that can be adapted for local production, the Athens Film Office treats script development as an early-stage economic investment in their own shooting locations.