The Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film & Television School (JSFS) has established the Sam Spiegel Series Lab in order to promote Israeli Creators working on scripted TV series. Below, you can find details of the rules and regulations for operation of the Lab by the Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film School.

The rules and regulations might change from time to time as the JSFS decides.

Chapter 1 – General
Definitions:
In this Set of Rules and Regulations each term defined in this section shall have the meaning appearing alongside it below, provided that no other relevant meaning applies from the contents or the context:
“Creator” – whoever is entitled to apply for admission to the Lab according to the terms specified in Section 2 below.
“Producer” – whoever is entitled to apply for admission to the Lab according to the terms specified in Section 2 below.
“The Lab” – the JSFS Series Lab
“The School” – the Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film & Television School (JSFS).
“Project” – a proposal for a TV series as detailed below.
“Call for Proposal” – a document published by the School offering Creators the opportunity to apply to the Lab.
“The Lab Spirit” – the values and goals guiding the Lab, including: promotion of Israeli Creators, presenting the entire variety of the local culture through television, artistic excellence, cultural openness, respectful dialogue, etc.
“The Lab Participants” or “the Participants” – Creators and/or teams (as defined below) who have passed the selection and acceptance process.

Chapter 2 – Selection and Acceptance
2. Eligibility to apply
2.1.1 A Creator may apply to participate in the Lab if the following conditions apply to him/her:
Creators whose proposed Project is either their first or second series as a Creator/head Creator/director.
2.1.2 Proven experience in writing a script and/or scripts for narrative or documentary films that have been screened in the cinema/leading international film festival/broadcast by a sustainable television channel, for a total length of more than 30 minutes.
2.1.3 The Creator is an Israeli citizen or resident.
2.1.4 A team of Creators (referred to from now on as: “Team”) can also apply to the Lab who comply with the terms of Section 2.1.1.
2.1.5 The working languages at the Lab are Hebrew and English, and a good command of English is a basic requirement.
Each project must have a Producer who meets the following conditions:
2.1.6 - An active Producer with proven professional experience in the production of either narrative or documentary film / television content.
2.1.7 - The Producer must have a total length of at least 180 minutes, either screened at an A-list film festival or at the cinema, or broadcast on a sustainable television channel, and who owns/is employed by a production company registered in Israel.
2.1.8 Sections 2.1.2 and 2.1.7 are not interchangeable - both the creator and the writer must comply with the eligibility conditions.
2.1.9 A Producer/production company may submit no more than two Projects. A Creator may submit only one Project.
2.1.10 The Series Lab is not open to students.
2.1.11 Creators can participate only in one of Sam Spiegel Labs at a given time (Film/Series). This limitation is not relevant for producers/production companies.

3. Projects for submission
In order to take part in the Lab, the Project must meet the following conditions:
3.1 A proposal created for the production of a scripted series or mini-series in any genre intended for an adult audience.
3.2 The following will not be accepted: formats, game shows, series for children and YA (young adults).
3.3 There is a Producer committed to the Project and there is a written agreement between the Creator and the Producer.
3.4 No agreement has been signed between the Creator or the Producer on his/her behalf and a television channel in Israel or abroad regarding writing or production of the series.
3.5 Having said that, if a development agreement has been signed regarding the work, it will be possible to submit this.
3.6 A proposal based on another original work (such as a book, play, etc.) shall be eligible for submission, if the Creator submitting it is able to show that he/she has the adaptation rights of the original work, and that this has been approved by the author of the original work.
3.7 A project must have a substantial affiliation, in terms of content, with Israel. Therefore, the language of the proposed series must be at least 50% Hebrew or Arabic, Russian, Amharic, Yiddish, or any other language related to the local culture. In addition, 50% of the series must take place in Israel, or the protagonist of the series must be an Israeli character.
3.8 Proposal components:
Logline (a one-sentence summary of the series)
Summary (up to one page, a description of the world in which the series takes place and the main conflict at the heart of the series)
Description of the season narrative arc (3-5 pages)
Character sheet (no more than two pages in total, up to one paragraph on each character)
Personal and artistic declaration of intent (up to one page, relating to the Creator's connection with the work, tone and style, genre, etc.)
A peek at the second season (up to a half page, not relevant in the case of a limited series)
First episode synopsis (up to 1 page)
An inspirational picture for the project
Biographies and filmographies of creators and producers
Under no circumstances should a proposal be more than 10 pages long (excluding Creator and Producer's biographies), with font size of 12.
3.9 The materials submitted to the Lab must be in Hebrew.
3.10 In exceptional cases, and if the Creator’s working language is not Hebrew, it might be permitted to submit materials in English, after obtaining written approval for this.
3.11 Regarding Section 3.10, a Creator who faces difficulty in meeting the cost of translating his/her work into English for the purpose of submitting it, may request financial support from the Lab for this, and the Lab will provide support for a number of submissions, based on a predetermined amount.

The Selection and Acceptance Process:
3.12 Submission of a proposal is free of charge.
3.13 Selection and acceptance to the Lab takes place in two stages.
3.14 The first stage – submitting the Projects in accordance with the guidelines of the Open Call published by the School.
3.15 Selected Projects will be summoned to take part in the second stage – a personal interview (referred to from now on as “the Interview”).
3.16 The Project Selection Committee will be made up of key figures in the Israeli television industry, including Lab representatives.
3.17 The Selection Committee’s decision will be made based on criteria of quality, including: Project originality, the submitters’ profile, the Creator's’ unique voice, and commercial aspect.
3.18 Decisions regarding admission to the Lab shall be made entirely by the Selection Committee and the School. Decisions regarding acceptance of Projects require no explanation and no feedback will be given.

4. Notification of admission to the Lab:​​
4.1 Projects that have passed the selection process described in Section 4 above shall receive notification of admission to the Lab. They will have 3 days to confirm their participation, to commit to full participation in the program, and to sign the participant's agreement.
4.2 Selected projects will be required to provide the written materials in English within 7 days of notice of acceptance. Selected participants shall pay for the cost of translation.
4.3 During their participation in the Lab, the Projects will be required to update the translation in accordance with their progress, at least twice, and the Lab Participants will pay for the cost of the updated translations.
4.4 The final session of the Lab will be a professional international exposure event, which will take place in Europe or the USA. The creators will bear part of the session's expenses, up to 1000$ per screenwriter.

Chapter 3 – The Lab
5. The Lab Program:
5.1 The Lab Program's duration is approximately 6 months.
5.2 The Lab is made up of one physical 5-day working session, and one online 5 day working session, including professional meetings and events [each week shall be referred to from now on as a “Session” and together “Sessions”] and one closing event where the projects will be unveiled. Notice of the precise timing of the Sessions will be provided to those admitted to the program.
5.3 The first two Sessions will focus on development of the content of the written proposal, and progress from the proposal to pitch deck.
5.4 The first Session will be held physically in Jerusalem with a full weekly schedule, that will include one-on-one meetings with personal Israeli mentors, group development meetings, a meeting for all the Lab Participants with international guest/s, as well as personal writing time in a supportive environment.
5.5 At the end of the first Session, the Lab Participants will move on to continued development of the Project according to the clear objectives set by the personal mentors.
5.6 At the end of the first Session, the Lab Participants will start the work process on the graphic pitch, with the professional guidance of Ananey Studios
5.7 The second Session will take place mainly online with a full weekly schedule, that will include continued development, one-on-one meetings with personal Israeli mentors, a meeting with a professional guest, as well as personal writing time. During the session, 1-2 days will take place physically in Jerusalem.
5.8 Before the final Session, the Lab Participants will start the work on the verbal pitch.
5.9 Additional meetings with the personal mentors will take place between the three Sessions, as well as meetings on building and designing a pitch deck and preparatory meetings for the verbal pitch.
5.10 The third Session, the closing event, will be held with a view to exposing the Projects and the Creators to key figures in the Israeli and international television industry.
5.11 A detailed program and schedule of the first two Sessions will be published by the School and are subject to change, as it decides.
5.12 The program and schedule of the third Session will be published in due course and will be subject to change as the JSFL sees fit.

Chapter 4 – The Lab Participants’ Undertakings
6. The Lab Participants commit to being available throughout the period of activity at the Lab based on the dates to be published by the Lab, and are expected to be flexible and able to take part in Sessions in the event of schedule changes while they attend the Lab.
7. Should a Participant fail to meet the conditions and/or promises and/or schedule and/or the Lab Spirit – the Lab may then cancel his/her continued participation in the Lab.
8. Once a Project developed at the Lab has been produced, the Producers commit to give credit to the Lab in the opening titles of the series/mini-series to be produced, as well as in the credits at the end of each episode, based on wording to be defined by the Lab. The Creator and the Producer also assure that they will mention the part played by the Lab in development of the series in any other distribution channel in which it appears, including: remakes, spinoffs and any other existing media (the series itself, the series poster – the Lab logo, in press releases mention should be made that the series was developed at the Lab, ads – the Lab logo, invitations for premieres – the Lab logo, festival books – the Lab logo) and in any interviews with them.
9. The producers will be obliged to provide a link to the episodes of the series, and to authorize educational screenings at the Sam Spiegel School and Labs, free of rights fee.

Chapter 5 – The Professional Accompaniment Process at the Lab
10. The Lab will accompany the development of the selected Projects and will help them prepare a pitch deck and verbal pitch.
11. The Lab will provide each Project with a professional script editor, that will mentor the Creator throughout the process of the Lab.
12. The Lab will provide the selected Projects with an expert graphic designer who will help construct the pitch deck for the Project according to international standards.
13. During the first Session, the Lab will cover the Participant's (one per Project) accommodation and meals (on a half-board basis). If a Team includes more than one Creator, then the additional Team members will be responsible to pay for their expenses in accordance with the Lab instructions.
14. The Lab shall not provide travel and/or arrival expenses to Israel from countries abroad.
15. Once the Projects have been selected to the Lab, the Participants will be informed of the program for the third Session.

Chapter 6 – Copyright
The copyright of the Project and/or the works will remain that of the Creators and/or the Teams. This in no way affects the Participants’ commitment to give credit to the Lab as stated above in Section 4.

Series Lab Supporters: The Sam Spiegel Estate, New Mandate Films, Gideon Tadmor, and the Jerusalem Municipality.