Please email us at info@objectifs.com.sg to be informed of upcoming dates.

Unlock the stories waiting to be told in this hands-on creative writing and story development workshop. Based on the idea that stories are discovered—not invented—this workshop is designed for aspiring and emerging writers who want to generate authentic, powerful story ideas for film, television, and theatre.

Through a dynamic mix of lectures, film screenings, writing exercises, and story workshops, participants will be guided to explore their personal experiences, relationships, and surroundings as sources of inspiration. The course offers a structured yet playful approach to creative storytelling, helping participants find their voice and build a toolkit for ongoing story development and screenwriting.

Perfect for beginners and experienced writers alike, this workshop is ideal for anyone seeking a more intuitive, story-first approach to crafting compelling scripts and narratives. By the end, you’ll walk away with a set of practical tools and techniques to spark your next story and deepen your writing practice.

Please note:
This is a very hands-on workshop. Participants’ learning will be most effective if they are able to make all (or most) of the sessions, and will be able to shoot their short films during the period indicated in the schedule above.

As the workshop is repeated several times a year, participants may wish to register for a future round if they already know they may miss several lessons during this period. Make-up lessons and refunds are not offered for sessions missed.

Participants do not need to have prior knowledge on how to write a script.

To equip yourself with industry-standard rules and technical guidelines of scriptwriting, please see Scriptwriting I.

Ivan Tan

Ivan Tan is a writer-director from Singapore. His first short film, Tadpoles, was awarded the jury prize at the 66th Locarno International Film Festival – the first for a Singaporean director. Shortly after, he was one of eight directors accepted into the National Film & Television School in the UK under a national scholarship.

Ivan spent the first seven years of his life living with his grandparents. At eight, he found out that they were not his real grandparents. This rupture in his childhood allowed him to understand how powerful stories can be in shaping one’s reality. Ivan’s early films constantly probed at what ‘family’ meant. Today, Ivan’s work examines contemporary Singaporean society through bizarre and absurd situations.