Concordia’s Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema partners with Zone3 for paid scriptwriting internships

Recent graduates of Concordia’s Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema will soon have access to practical training through a new paid internship opportunity. That’s thanks to a partnership with Zone3, a prominent Quebec television, film and digital content production company.

"We are committed to fostering innovative ideas and approaches in our evolving television industry, so we are thrilled to collaborate with Concordia to launch this new internship program in television writing,” says Julie Boisvert, director of non-fiction content development at Zone3.

“We’re proud to support the emergence of local talent and to promote creativity that enriches Quebec’s cultural landscape."

The program will open at the end of fall 2024 to recent graduates from Concordia’s undergraduate Film Production program and the Screenwriting and Film Producing microprogram. 

To apply, eligible participants who have completed screenwriting courses will have to submit a short synopsis, in French, for either a documentary or a short series fiction project.

‘The new generation of emerging talents have something to say’

A jury comprising representatives from Zone3, a professor from the Mel Hoppenheim School and a guest screenwriter from Quebec will select three winning projects. The graduates will then embark on a 100-hour paid internship at Zone3, working with industry professionals to develop their project ideas further. This opportunity will involve refining their scripts, expanding character descriptions and creating complex narrative arcs, particularly for fiction, or conducting in-depth research for documentary projects.

"The new generation of film students and emerging talents have something to say; they carry a personal vision of the world,” notes Guylaine Dionne, BFA 90, associate professor and director of the MFA in Cinematic Arts program at Concordia.

“This competition and internship are a wonderful opportunity to develop content that reflects their perspective.”

Martin Lefebvre, director of the Mel Hoppenheim School, emphasizes the partnership’s significance in building bridges to the professional world for graduating students.

"This partnership with Zone3 is very promising. It will allow our student screenwriters to gain professional, hands-on experience with a leading figure in Quebec's film and television industry that shares our values of openness to the world, equity, diversity and inclusion,” Lefebvre says.

The partnership with Zone3 will extend over three years, ensuring that multiple cohorts of graduates benefit from this initiative.

Find out more about experiential learning opportunities at Concordia and the Microprogram in Screenwriting and Film Producing.