Big Light Productions, the indie led by writer/producer Frank Spotnitz, has announced the latest recipient of its annual writers’ apprenticeship, which provides writers from the Serial Eyes programme hands-on practical experience in a writers’ room and collaborating on local and international projects.

Screenwriter/director Geo Doba, who hails from Romania, has won a placement to work alongside Spotnitz (The Man In The High Castle, Leonardo, Medici, The X-Files), Creative Director Emily Feller (Leonardo, Medici, Trust Me, Ordinary Lies) and the wider Big Light team.

The production company – which is behind dramas including Leonardo, The Man In the High Castle and Medici – invited Geo to participate in their successful writers’ programme after she completed the prestigious Serial Eyes postgraduate television training programme for television writers and producers in Berlin, where Spotnitz is a founding tutor.  During her apprenticeship she will observe and participate in writers’ rooms and new series development, including Big Light’s slate of podcasts, which are part of the company’s recent deal with Audible and the Vespucci Group.

Geo commented; “I am delighted to embark on this journey with Big Light. As a writer, I aspire to create impactful and engaging stories with mesmerizing characters that turn into high-quality series.  I believe this internship puts me on the right track to achieving my goal. I am grateful and honoured to be surrounded by and working with such an awe-inspiring and talented team of accomplished professionals.”

Prior to joining the Serial Eyes programme, Geo completed a BA in Economic International Relations at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Iassy and an MA in Management of International Projects from the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest, followed by an MA in Screenwriting and Film Producing from the Screen Arts Institute London. Since then, she has taken part in numerous film labs and residencies, including Interfilm Berlin Script & Pitch Lab (2013), Torino Film Lab Extended (2019), and Pustnik Screenwriters’ Residency (2021).

To date, her portfolio includes short films The Apartment and Nollibrot which she wrote and directed, alongside writing a crime series pilot adaptation Lost Beauty, with further projects in development. Other work includes a cooking web series, a podcast and several short stories published in comic book anthologies. She also wrote for a late-night show at Comedy Central Romania and moonlights as a stand-up comedian.

Big Light’s Spotnitz and Feller said: “We are incredibly proud of what we set out to achieve in our writing programme, to support and nurture new writers, and are committed to giving them practical experience and skills. We feel strongly that we have a duty to support new and emerging writers, and as a producer it’s incredibly exciting to hear the new stories and voices that are coming through. Geo is a very exciting new voice, and we’re pleased to have her join our team here at Big Light at the start of what I’m sure will be an amazing writing career.”

Neil Arksey, Head of Studies at Serial Eyes, said; “Geo Daba left a great impression on all of us here at Serial Eyes and we are delighted to learn that she’s been given this fantastic opportunity to take her TV drama career one step further with an internship at Big Light Productions. For the last nine years, Serial Eyes and Big Light have been working together to find, nurture and develop writing talent from a variety of backgrounds across the continent and this latest success only serves to strengthen further that bond and common purpose. We wish Geo the very best.”

 

Staff Reporter

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