ARTEF, the Anti-Racism Think Tank for European Film, has launched a pan-European initiative called Main Character to discover unproduced feature fiction screenplays offering perspectives currently missing from European screens. The scheme, unveiled at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, has already attracted support from organisations including EAVE, Storyboard Collective, WIFT Sweden and the European Women's Audiovisual Network, and matters because it aims to open industry access to writers of any age, background or experience level via a fully anonymous selection process.

The initiative grew out of ARTEF's 2026 Think Tank Report on European cinema's value chain, and was presented by steering committee member Victoria Thomas, who said the project responds to writers keen to bring forward new stories and industry professionals seeking fresh narratives. Submissions, open to all genres and settings, close for the first round on 21 September 2026; entries are assessed anonymously through three stages, from an initial panel reviewing loglines and short synopses to a pan-European jury reviewing shortlisted screenplays, with reviewers unaware of writers' identities, credits or company affiliations throughout. Twelve selected projects will be announced at the 2027 Göteborg International Film Festival alongside a report analysing the submissions' themes and narratives.