Organizer Information
The Association Tournefou is a multidisciplinary arts organization based in the village of Pâlis, in the Aube department of France's Grand Est region, near Troyes. Since 2009, the association has run "Le Tournefou," a restored 18th-century Champenois farmhouse set within a wooded park, which functions as a home, exhibition and concert venue, artistic practice center, and artist residency site. The site is permanently inhabited by a team of artists and facilitators, alongside visiting resident artists and trainees, and is intended as a space for encounter between artists and the public, amateurs and professionals, rural and urban communities, and different generations and social backgrounds.
Tournefou runs a program of artist residencies renewed annually, with part of the program reserved for specific project calls, including partnerships such as the one with the Musée Camille Claudel in Nogent-sur-Seine. The Résidence Tarkovski, dedicated to screenwriting, is particularly supported by the Fondation Scène et Cité (under the aegis of the Fondation de France) and the Front de Libération des Lucioles.
Title & Description
Résidence Tarkovski 2027 (Tarkovski Writing Residency) — Résidence d'écriture pour scénariste et auteur de film
The Résidence Tarkovski is a research and creative writing residency for a screenwriter, author, director, writer, or researcher working in cinema and the audiovisual field. It offers the resident a favorable, beautiful setting, supported by a hosting team, in which to take the first steps of a writing project. The residency is named in honor of filmmaker Andreï Tarkovski, in recognition of his cinematic poetry, and the call invites applicants to draw on the spirit of his work — avoiding imitation — to find their own singular path in visual, poetic writing, in line with the Tournefou association's Artistic Manifesto.
Theme
The residency is dedicated to screenwriting and film/audiovisual research and creation, framed around the cinematic poetics of Andreï Tarkovski — candidates are invited to take his notes and quotations as a guiding line for their creative approach, restoring "the poetic content" of life rather than merely dressing it up poetically.
Categories
- Screenwriting
- Video/Film
- Residency
- Research
- Writing
Eligibility
- Open to a screenwriter, author, director, writer, or researcher working in the field of cinema and the audiovisual
- Candidates must have command of the French language
- Selection is based on the project proposal presented by the candidate
Program Benefits & Awards
- Full-board accommodation (studio/workshop, lodging, and meals) at one of the Tournefou association's artist residences for the one-month residency period
- Access to the library of the Monastère Notre-Dame de la Sainte Espérance (located 4 km away), which holds 50,000 works, including a significant collection of 6,000 books in Russian and French dedicated to Russia
- Opportunities for encounters and exchange with film professionals and artists from other disciplines
Application Fee
An association membership fee of €10 is required. The residency itself is unpaid ("non rémunérée"), and travel costs are the artist's own responsibility.
How to Apply?
Applications may be sent by email to residencetournefou@gmail.com (subject line: "Tarkovski"), or by post to: Association Tournefou, 4 rue du Tournefou - Pâlis, 10190 Aix-Villemaur-Pâlis.
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 15 September 2026
- Response to candidates: end of October 2026
- Residency period: 1–30 June 2027
Location
Pâlis, Aix-Villemaur-Pâlis, Aube, Grand Est, France
Additional Details
- Required application materials: a reasoned presentation of the project the artist wishes to develop; a curriculum vitae; a portfolio presenting work already undertaken, with emphasis on recent work; and proof of civil liability insurance
- The 2027 selection committee is composed of: Judith Auffray (director, screenwriter); Sophie Bouts (President of Tournefou); Philippe Brame (photographer and poet); Isabelle Ha Eav (residency coordinator); and one member of the Fondation Scène et Cité
- The residency will be formalized through a contract between the Association Tournefou and the artist
- A security deposit ("caution") of €200 is requested for accommodation
- 2027 pricing for extended stays/other visitors at Tournefou (context for the site generally): €23 per person per night, €0.50 tourist tax per night, €7 for linens/towels, €4.50 for breakfast, €14.50 per meal — these appear to be the site's general accommodation rates rather than residency-specific fees, since the residency itself is described as full-board
- Nearest train stations: Nogent-sur-Seine (30 min), Troyes (35 min), Saint Florentin–Vergigny (45 min); the association can arrange pick-up from the station if notified in advance
- Contact: +33 3 25 40 58 37, residencetournefou@gmail.com, association-tournefou.com