A Week to Stop Chasing Time —and Start Telling Your Story
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What if you finally gave yourself the space and guidance to take your story seriously?
That feature film, TV pilot, or hybrid of truth and fiction you’ve been carrying—what if you could move it from idea to shape in just one focused week?
Aurora is your chance to get professional mentorship, practical tools, and clarity, so your story moves forward with momentum and confidence.Â
Join us at Mefjord Brygge, Senja, Northern Norway, and immerse yourself in a week designed to bring your story to life.
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I'm Ready!Tell me if this sounds familiar…
You sit down to write, but the page stays blank. The scenes, characters, and ideas you’ve carried for years feel tangled or incomplete.
Even when you steal a quiet hour, your mind races with emails, errands, and commitments that refuse to wait.
You’ve tried writing in fragments, juggling notebooks, notes on your phone, or late-night bursts of inspiration—but progress is slow, and it never feels enough.
You often work alone, without honest feedback or encouragement, making it hard to know if your story has shape or direction.
The frustration, creative blocks, and isolation can leave you drained and stuck in a loop of starting and stopping, wondering if your project will ever reach its potential.
If it feels like I’ve read your mind, it’s because…
I’ve been there too!
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Hi, I’m Ingvill, the organiser of the Aurora Retreat. I know what it’s like to have a story simmering inside, only for life to keep getting in the way!
I’ve carried stories for years that I never felt I had the space or guidance to write. Workshops, online courses, and solo writing sessions helped a little—but never gave me the clarity or momentum I needed to truly move forward.
That’s why I created Aurora: a week where the world pauses, and your story finally takes center stage.Â
In the quiet of Senja, under the Northern Lights, you’ll reclaim time for your story, get incredible mentorship to help shape your work, and connect with a community that understands the creative journey.
I'm in!
IMAGINE…
…waking up to snow-dusted mountains, fjords stretching to the horizon, and the Northern Lights shimmering overhead.
You spend your mornings in intensive workshops with internationally experienced writers, directors, actors, and story coaches.
Afternoons are yours to write, uninterrupted, as your ideas take shape.
You share ideas with a small, intimate group of fellow creators who understand your process, your doubts, and your excitement.
By the end of the week, your story is no longer a fragment or a half-formed idea. You’re leaving with clarity, momentum, and confidence in your story and your voice.
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Your Week at Aurora
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Over six transformational days, your story takes center stage!
Each morning, you’ll focus, refine, and advance your story — so by day’s end, you’ll see real results in your draft.
Afternoons are dedicated to focused writing sessions, where you put what you’ve learned into action and see your story grow in real time.
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Here’s what a typical week at Aurora looks like...
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- Sunday – Arrival & Welcome
- Check-in at Mefjord Brygge
- Welcome dinner and group introductions
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- Monday–Friday – Daily Structure
- 08:00–09:00 – Breakfast
- 09:00–12:00 – Intensive, hands-on sessions led by Stéphanie Joalland & Sean McConville. You’ll explore story spine, character arcs, world-building, and thematic depth. Every session is designed to move your story from fragmented ideas to a coherent, compelling draft.
- 12:00–12:30 – Lunch break
- 12:30–14:00 – Afternoon Guided Writing & Feedback Sessions – Continued session with guided feedback where your story gets real-world shaping. You’ll see your ideas develop scene by scene, making tangible progress each day.
- 14:00–17:00 – Free time for optional wellness moments like sauna, jacuzzi, or walks through Senja’s dramatic landscapes. Recharge your mind while your story continues to grow. Optional excursions such as Northern Lights Safari or Arctic Boat Safari can be booked directly at Mefjord Brygge.
- 17:00 - 18:30 Masterclasses with Nicholas PinnockÂ
 - 19:00 – Group dinner
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Integrated Mentor Masterclasses
During the week, additional interactive sessions with our mentors are built into your schedule, giving you direct, hands-on guidance to develop your characters, scenes, and story structure.
Mid-week Highlight
A dedicated acting workshop led by Nicholas Pinnock. Selected attendees can submit scenes in advance to be performed by local actors — giving you a rare opportunity to hear your dialogue spoken, see your characters embodied, and refine your work with direct feedback from a working actor. Plus a session on poetry and how poetic craft informs screenwriting.
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- Friday Evening – Closing dinner and open mic night
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- Saturday – Departure
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By the end of the week, you won’t just have worked on your story—you’ll have a clear, actionable plan for moving it forward, along with concrete tools and strategies to continue developing it long after the retreat.
Meet Your Mentors
You’ll be guided by four industry-leading creatives, each bringing decades of experience in writing, directing, acting, and coaching. Their combined expertise will help you shape your story with precision, depth, and confidence, giving you insights you won’t get anywhere else.
Workshop leader
StĂ©phanie Joalland is a film producer and writer-director with a love of genre, especially the supernatural and sci-fi. Originally from France, she studied filmmaking at UCLA and now lives in London, where she co-founded Frenzy FilmsÂ
Her feature film THE QUIET HOUR is on Netflix and her projects have won prestigious international accolades. Among them, her award-winning climate-change related project ICE is a co-production with the Nordic Countries. She regularly lectures at the University of Cambridge and NFTS.
Having spent half a year in Norway as an Erasmus student, she couldn't resist the appeal of the Northern Lights - this time to guide you at Aurora!
Stephanie will help you identify the core of your story, create a clear structure, and turn your ideas into a polished outline or draft that could realistically move toward production. You’ll leave knowing exactly what the next steps are for your project, equipped to move forward with confidence, and with a clear plan to turn your ideas into a strong, production-ready draft.
Guest Masterclasses
Nicholas Pinnock is a powerhouse actor and producer whose work spans television, film, and stage. You’ve likely seen him in Top Boy, the legal drama For Life, and most recently he stars as Judge Roland Brack in the highly anticipated film Hedda. Â
He has worked with major studios and taken on complex, emotionally rich characters. At Aurora, Nicholas will lead masterclasses on story, character, and emotional stakes — including a dedicated acting workshop where local performers bring attendees' scenes to life, giving you a rare opportunity to hear your dialogue spoken and refine your work with direct feedback. He'll also lead a session on poetry and its connection to screenwriting, exploring how poetic craft can deepen your storytelling. We’re so excited to have him join us!
Main instructor with Stephanie & masterclassÂ
Sean McConville is a British/Irish producer-writer-director and co-founder of Frenzy Films. After working on studio movies such as STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE and James Bond movies GOLDENEYE and TOMORROW NEVER DIES, he obtained an MA in screenwriting from the London College of Communication and studied screenwriting at UCLA. His feature film DEADLINE starred Brittany Murphy and Thora Birch, sold all around the world and premiered on Sky Cinema. He produced THE QUIET HOUR which is now on Netflix. His upcoming genre feature project, THE LAST MOON, was selected for the Marché du Film "Fantastic 7" this year at Cannes. He is a Berlinale Talents and Cannes Producers Networks alumnus.
At Aurora, Sean will show you how to take your story from concept to a detailed, production-ready outline, with practical tools for pitching, character arcs, and story development.Â
This is for you if…
You have a story that’s ready to be shaped — whether a feature film, TV pilot, novel, or documentary — and want professional guidance to bring it to life.
You're a writer, director, or actor who wants to deepen your understanding of storytelling — and see how words translate to performance.
You're tired of working alone — you want feedback, structure, and the kind of clarity that comes from a week dedicated entirely to your story.
Invest in Your Story: Workshop + Mentorship
Aurora is a focused, immersive week where every detail—from the workshops to the meals—is designed to give you clarity, momentum, and professional guidance.
Here’s all the details on pricing and accommodation & how you can make it your own:
EARLY BIRD RATES ARE EXTREMELY LIMITED
Don't Wait!
Fancy a sneak peek...
Watch our FREE Q&A-meets-masterclass with Aurora Mentor Rune Temte, for a taster of the expertise you'll have access to at Aurora!
watch the masterclass
FAQs
How do I get to Senja?
I’ve never written a screenplay before — can I still attend?
Are meals included?
Can I split the payment?
Will I have time to explore Senja?
What should I pack?
What is the accommodation like?
Will I have time to write independently?
Can I participate if I don’t have a completed story?
Are there opportunities to receive feedback?
How intensive is the retreat?
Got more questions?
If you're interested in joining us at Aurora, but have questions that we haven't answered above, please just drop me a message and I would be happy to talk you through ALL the details, to make sure this is a great fit for you!
Ingvill
Drop your question below!
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