Weekend Online Foundation Course in Screenplay Writing from 01 August – 11 October 2026
Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, under Centre For Open Learning (CFOL) and Vijay Tendulkar Writers’ Academy (VTWA), announces Weekend Online Foundation Course in Screenplay Writing.
Following are the details in this regard;
(1) Name
of the Weekend Course: Foundation Course in
Screenplay Writing (Online).
(2) Dates:
01 August – 11 October 2026 (Only on Saturdays & Sundays, Any 10 weekends)
(3) Timings: 11 am to 1 pm and 3 to 5 pm (Indian Standard Time – IST)
(4) Total No. of seats available: 23 (One seat are reserved for participant from previous batch. Course will be conducted only if minimum strength of in-total 20 participants is reached)
(5) Age:15 years & above as on 01st August 2026
(6) Educational Qualification: SSC (10th
pass).
(7) Online Platform: Google
Classroom & Google Meet platform
(8) Medium
of Instructions:
English & Hindi
(9) Per Participant Course fee:
(a) For Indian Nationals: Rs 20,000/-
(b) For Foreigners including NRI, OCI etc.
and also those who are presently staying outside India: Rs 60,000/-
Course fee of
selected participants will be non-refundable, non-transferrable,
non-adjustable, etc. under any circumstances. Course fee of all the non –
selected participants will be returned within 21 working days of the course
commencement.
(10)
Mode
of payment: Online through SBI Collect (along with application form).
(11)
Due
date & time to submit application: 09 July 2026, 6 pm IST. Application submitted after
due date & time will not be considered.
(12)
Selection
Criteria: On First –
Come – First – Served Basis. List of selected participants will be published on
our website and selection emails will also be sent to all the selected
participants.
(13)
Online platform: FTII will be using “Google Classroom”
and participants are requested to get familiarized with the same. Steps to join
online class including login id & password will be shared with each
selected participant in the selection email.
(14)
Computer
literacy: It is the
participant’s responsibility to be technologically capable to take an online
course. Participants must be computer literate.
(15) MANDATORY REQUIREMENT:
Since the course is online, participants must have following facilities;
(i) A Desktop / Laptop having minimum 4 GB RAM,
1.6 GHz or better processor (Intel i3 or i5 or better). (Windows / MAC)
(ii) Operating system: a) Windows 7 or 8 or 10.
b) MAC OS Sierra or later
(iii) Audio – Video software: Latest versions
of VLC player, Windows Media Player or Quick Time Player.
(iv) Compatible good quality headphones/
earphones with mic
(v) Compatible HD webcam
(vi) Internet pack of minimum 5 GB per day
exclusively for this course. It is recommended to have fixed wired Internet
connection with minimum speed of 10 Mbps or more.
(vii) Web browser: Latest version of Google
Chrome (Preferred), Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari.
Use of Mobile Phone (in
place of Laptop or Desktop Computer) to attend the classes is strictly prohibited.
Such participants will not be allowed to join the classes.
(16) Course Director: Samvartha Sahil
Samvartha ‘Sahil’
is a student of life based out of Manipal, who occasionally writes, teaches and
translates for a living. An alumni of FTII and JNU, Samvartha has
worked in the direction and screenplay departments with filmmakers Shri
Prakash, Ananya Kasaravalli, PN Ramachandra, Anadi Athaley. Prior to his tryst
with cinema he worked with The Hindu as a journalist, and with Manipal University
as a teaching faculty. Recipient of Prabhash Joshi Media Fellowship and
Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Travel Fellowship, he has three books published in
Kannada and two more are in the pipeline, and has been a jury member for the
Wular Lake International Film Festival and Karnataka Sahitya Akademi Book
Awards.
17) How to apply:
1.
Click open the link - https://onlinesbi.sbi.bank.in/sbicollect/icollecthome.htm?corpID=807844&categoryName=A113%20Foundation%20Course%20in%20Screenplay%20Writing
2.
Make necessary payment of Rs 20,000/- OR Rs 60,000/- as the case may be.
3.
Once payment is done, please note "SBcollect Reference Number"
(mentioned in payment confirmation receipt). This may be required for future
reference.
4.
If possible, digitally store the receipt of payment. This can be carried out in
one of the following ways;
(i)
by taking printout of receipt of payment, scan & save it
(ii)
by taking screenshot of payment (if using mobile) or printscreen (if using
computer)
(iii)
by simply taking a photograph from mobile
(iv)
check your bank account to confirm whether money (course fee) has been deducted
or not
(v)
After a day or two, once again check to see whether money (course fee) has been
refunded.
(vi) In case of refund, it is a transaction failure and if so, once again apply for the course afresh.
5. No document/ certificate related to educational qualification, age etc. is to be attached.Participants’ self – declaration in the application form is sufficient.
6.
Terms & conditions: By agreeing
to the terms & conditions in the application form, participants are
confirming that they have read & understood the website advt. They are
eligible to apply and fulfil all the requirements as stated in the advt.
Further, participants agree that decision of FTII Director regarding admission
to the course and its conduction will be final.
Further to add in this,
it is expected of the participants that during the class they must mute their
mics but keep their cameras on unless otherwise instructed. Keeping camera off
throughout the class or not heeding to instructions to switch on the camera
will be seen as an act of indiscipline and will lead to expulsion from the
Course and forfeiture of the Course fee. Decision of FTII Director regarding
conducting the course in all respects will be final.
(18) Communication with participants: All communications with the participants will be carried out through email only. List of shortlisted participants may be published on FTII website and selection email will be sent to the selected participants on their registered email id.
19) Certificates: All participants would be given
participation e-certificates on successful completion of the course. Minimum
90% attendance is mandatory.
20) Queries: Mr. Milindkumar Joshi, Assistant Outreach Officer on info(dot)cfol(at)ftii(dot)ac(dot)in OR ftiicfol(at)gmail.com OR on 020 – 25580085
Any dispute concerning CFOL short courses would be subject to jurisdiction of the competent courts within the territorial jurisdiction of Pune city only.
Course Details
This foundation course, spread across
two months period, intends to introduce the participants to the art of
storytelling and the craft of film screenplay writing.
To begin with, this course will guide
the participants to internalize the concepts of pattern, rhythm,
and visual and auditory thinking. Elaborating on the history and
basic principles of storytelling, the participants will be enabled to
understand the bone structure of a narrative i.e. the promise and premise of
a story. With rigorous writing exercises and film analysis, the
participants will learn how to build characters, script spaces
and weave them into a well – constructed plot in a three - act
structure. Fleshing out scenes, writing dialogues for the
scenes, and an insight into how to use songs as a part of the narrative will
also be discussed and practiced in this course.
The course also desires to help the participants find their swabhaav and write stories and screenplays that are in tune with it. Believing that writing is more than just the physical act of writing, this course also focuses on the necessary riyaaz for writing, and to achieve this it takes an interdisciplinary approach.