A Feature Film Treatment Developed for TorinoFilmLab — A Study Document for Filmmakers
By Matan Tal
In 2018 I wrote a treatment for a feature film called The Sacrifice and submitted it to TorinoFilmLab.
I didn't get in. Though from what I could tell — tracking links in the application showed me roughly a dozen reads from different locations, including what appeared to be producers in Israel reviewing the production potential — it came reasonably close. That's not nothing. It's also not a greenlight.
The film is about a young Israeli man escaping a war in Israel — already plausible in 2018, increasingly less fictional by the day — who travels to East Africa and finds himself in the middle of a civil war in Mozambique. He meets other Israelis. Something like a community forms. It's an initiation journey more than a plot. Think Antonioni's The Passenger. Think the Motorcycle Diaries, but quieter and less certain of its own romanticism.
I'm not going to make this film. The idea still interests me — I'd be lying if I said otherwise — but I've moved in a different direction, toward essay film and desktop documentary, toward forms that suit how I actually think. The Sacrifice belongs to an earlier version of my practice. It's time it was useful to someone else.
Which is why I'm publishing it here, in full.
Good treatments are almost impossible to find online. Filmmakers guard their unproduced work carefully, which is understandable, but it creates a problem: emerging filmmakers and writers trying to learn the format have almost nothing real to study. They find templates, summaries of what a treatment should contain, vague one-page examples. They rarely find an actual professional document written for an actual lab application.
This is that document.
A treatment sits somewhere between a synopsis and a full screenplay. It's the film without dialogue — every scene described, every dramatic beat present, but the specific words characters say are either summarized or omitted entirely. What you're conveying is what the audience experiences in each scene: the space, the movement, the emotional logic. A good treatment reads almost like a film. You should be able to feel the pacing.
This one is fifteen pages — standard length for a feature. It's written in the European art film tradition, not the American pitch document style. There's no logline at the top, no market positioning, no comparable titles listed for a sales agent. It's a cinematic document, not a commercial one. That distinction matters and it's worth keeping in mind as you read.
Study the structure. Notice how scenes are described. Notice what gets detailed and what gets compressed. Notice where the treatment trusts the reader and where it explains itself.
Then go write yours.
INT: ROOM IN AN AFRICAN RESTHOUSE: NIGHT
A shelter-like room made of clay. A chair and a wooden bed is all that's in it. The room has one small window. Daniel, 23, Israeli man, lays on the old wooden bed. He can't sleep. TV noises are coming from outside. He gets up slowly and looks from the window.
Two African men are sitting outside of a kiosk and watching TV. On TV: news broadcast, there's war in Israel.
Title: Tanzania, 2014
INT: BUS: DAY
Daniel sits on a crowded bus; all the passengers are local Tanzanian people. The bus and the people are loud. Outside of the bus on the sides of the roads there are stores with names like: Hillary Clinton store, Barack Obama store and exc.
The bus slows down and kids with boxes of candy and drinks approach. They are selling their stuff through the window to the people in the bus. One kid drops one can and it rolls like a grenade on the floor. Daniel is tense by it, but stays cool.
EXT: UNDERDEVELOPED COUNTRY ROAD: DAY
Daniel is walking by himself on a muddy road. He watches kids play football on the muddy plane between the village's houses. He looks somewhat worried. He passes an old Muslim mosque. A group of young men are sitting next to it. They start a conversation with Daniel. They want to know where he came from. When they learn he's from Israel, they ask him about the violence and the conflict. Daniel tells them he fled so he won't have to be in it. The young men are very direct but calm. They apologize to Daniel for harassing him with hard questions. They tell him that peace would eventually prevail.
A big military van is passing them, with armed soldiers riding it.
Daniel asks where he can find cellular reception and they point to a high point in the forest.
EXT: GUESTHOUSE COMPOUND: DAY
On the forest's hill, there's a large white colored guesthouse with an old Germanic church next to it. Daniel gets in. The employees of the place greet him. He is asked to sign the guest book. A few Israeli names pop-up on the last few dates. In the employment section Daniel writes: "Ex-soldier".
INT: GUESTHOUSE LUXURIOUS ROOM: DAY
Daniel gets into his room. It's a large well equipped room with a stone floor, wooden closet and beautifully, royalty like bed. Daniel is amazed.
A maid gets into the room with a big bucket of hot water. It's for him to shower. Daniel is more than pleased.
He asks about alcohol and he learns they're none. Only in the city.
EXT: ROOM'S TERRACE: DAY
Daniel goes out to the terrace. The whole forest is visible. He spots two white teenage girls walking down the road. His phone rings. He looks and sees a message from a military officer.
It states: "You fucked us with no APC driver (Armored Personnel Carrier). The moment you'll come back to Israel – your cowardly deserting ass will be thrown in jail till your fucking die".
INT: GUESTHOUSE LUXURIOUS ROOM: DAY
Daniel takes a hot shower and relaxes on the bed. He seems to be content. He looks around the room and listens to the serenity.
EXT: ROOM'S TERRACE: DAY
The church bells are ringing. A Sunday prayer echoes. Daniel observes the beauty of the scenery.
EXT: OPEN FIELD AND A VILLAGE: DAY
Daniel strolls around the grassy open field in the forest; children call him and run towards him from all angles. They look joyful as they walk beside him.
INT: GERMANIC CHURCH: NIGHT
Daniel takes a look at the church and gets in. He smokes a large cigar. An old Tanzanian priest approaches him. He tells him to smoke outside and ask where he is from. Daniel tells he came from Israel and the priest looks stunned. The priest asks him to write down his name. It seems that the priest sees the arrival of an Israeli as a divine sign. He plans to pray for him.
INT: GUESTHOUSE LUXURIOUS ROOM: DAY
A cold wind breezes into the room. Daniel is half-asleep. He gets up, gets half dressed and goes outside.
EXT: LAUNDRY AREA: DAY
Daniel passes through the laundry on the ropes. He spots the white teenage girls again from a distance. He looks curious. Then, he hears the sound of a TV news broadcast. He looks from the window into the kitchen. Guesthouse workers are watching the news reel. It's about the Israel-Gaza War. 10 Israeli soldiers died when their APC stepped on a landmine. By first examination of the event it seems that the driver was never qualified as the APC driver. Pictures of the dead are shown. Daniel recognizes them all.
EXT: VILLAGE CENTER: DAY
Daniel walks shook to the core. He gets to an improvised wooden stand. He buys cigarettes. He lights one up. A crowd of people surrounds him and aggressively asks him for a cigarette. He is completely disassociated.
INT: GUESTHOUSE LUXURIOUS ROOM: DAY
Daniel gets into the room. He grabs all his stuff and gets out.
EXT: DUST AND CITY ROADS: DAY
Twilight. Daniel is riding on the back of a motorcycle with his stuff behind him. A local man drives the motorcycle. Daniel is riding with no helmet on. He looks desperate.
EXT: OUTSIDE OF A CHEAP HOTEL: NIGHT
Daniel gets off the motorcycle in front of a cheap hotel. The hotel has a big sign indicating it sells drinks.
INT: HOTEL'S BAR: NIGHT
Daniel goes to the hotel's bar with a mission in his eyes. He buys a drink and lights a cigarette. A white lady, sitting not too far from him, looks irritated. She asks him to leave the bar or to turn down his cigarette. In a defeated manner, Daniel goes outside.
EXT: OUTSIDE OF A CHEAP HOTEL: NIGHT
Daniel goes outside with his drink and cigarette. He stands not too far from another guy that smokes. The other guy is also named Daniel. He's from Switzerland. They talk. Daniel tells the Swiss that he once visited Switzerland, and he believes it's the most beautiful country. Swiss Daniel is not too impressed by his own land and thinks it's a boring place. They talk about the cinema of Switzerland once the Israeli Daniel reveals he has dreams about becoming an actor. The Swiss tell him that there's no cinema in Switzerland. People go to see films only once a year in Switzerland. Daniel is getting drunk. The Swiss asks him to show his acting skills but Daniel just makes a fool of himself. The Swiss goes back inside, and Daniel, now completely drunk, starts to walk away from the Hotel.
EXT: CITY STREET: NIGHT
A Local man on crutches follows Daniel. His name is Jackson. He starts talking to Daniel. The usual: "where are you from?" Jackson asks him bluntly about the war and the conflict. Afterwards he asks Daniel for money. Daniel is looking for a way to get out of the situation. He spots a cinema and gets in, Jackson stays outside.
INT: CINEMA: NIGHT
Daniel sits in the theater. Next to him there are three foreign men. They talk in Arabic about the film. Daniel, still drunk, asks them where they are from. They are from Egypt. Daniel looks content, "so we are neighbors" he says. The three men look confused. When they learn he is from Israel they start to investigate him about his purpose of visit. They don't seem to like Daniel. From the back seats Daniel hears about a party going on by the beach.
The film on the screen shows a couple approaching for a kiss, but then the screen turns black. Daniel is confused. The film is censored. The film continues after a moment. The next scene is extremely violent: a goat is slathered. Daniel covers his eyes.
EXT: PARTY: NIGHT
A full-moon party. People are dancing and making out all around. Daniel stands outside the circle of people. He looks unsure. He smokes a cigarette and he spots two British girls looking at him and chatting. They approach him. One girl leaves and the other stays. Her name is Beatrice. She learns he's Israeli and it turns her on. She met a lot of Israeli travelers when she visited India. They go dancing. Beatrice kisses him and they make out on the dance floor. Daniel dances real badly. They continue to dance and it's awkward. Daniel is unsure what to do or say. Beatrice tells Daniel she needs to go to the bathroom. Daniel starts to wonder around the party. Daniel sees Beatrice back with her friend, she dances with her and ignores him. Daniel starts to walk away and he sees the Swiss Daniel making out with a Tanzanian girl.
EXT: CITY STREET: NIGHT
Daniel can't walk straight. He has a bottle in his hand and he throws it away. The man with the crutches, Jackson, approaches Daniel. He starts the conversation like the first time, he forgot about him. Daniel tells him to get lost; he won't give him any money. Jackson asks Daniel where he is headed, and Daniel tells him he wants to get far away from him and from this city. Jackson gets close to Daniel and tells him that he can take him to the train station, the first train is the southbound train to Malawi, and it will leave early in the morning.
EXT: OUTSIDE OF THE TRAIN STATION: NIGHT
Daniel and Jackson get close to the train station. Daniel can barely walk and Jackson helps him. It is clear now that Jackson can walk without the crutches. Jackson helps Daniel to sit down.
The two teenage white girls are passing through the station and leave. Daniel is half-asleep and Jackson starts checking his pockets. He grabs Daniel's wallet and leaves.
EXT: OUTSIDE OF THE TRAIN STATION: DAY
Dawn. Daniel wakes up with a headache. He coughs heavily. The station is full of people. Daniel realizes that Jackson stole his wallet. He looks around, thinking what to do next. He sees three white foreigners. He immediately recognizes them as Israelis. He gets up and goes to see them. He says hello in Hebrew. He smiles, they are really Israelis.
Gaya, 23, with a fire colored hair and a Georgia O'Keeffe vibe.
David, 21, with a Jewish afro and a stoner's vibe.
Hagar, 21, with a crooked nose and cute smile.
The three are smoking weed. They offer it to Daniel. He says he smoked enough, and maybe he should quit. The three looked bewildered by his response. He thought they were smoking a cigarette. They tell him they are going to catch the train to Malawi, and ask him to join them. They would help him, now that he lost his wallet.
INT: TRAIN STATION: DAY
David and Daniel talk about the war and the army. Apparently they have some mutual acquaintances. David realizes Daniel was in the 2012 war. He tells it to the girls. Hagar knows about a well known incident that Daniel apparently took part in. They realize Daniel is a brave soldier. They are surprised because his appearance is far from heroic.
A group of Mozambique soldiers are also standing on the train platform.
INT: CABIN IN THE TRAIN: DAY
The 4 of them are sitting in a small first class cabin: in it, 4 beds and a table in the middle. They are smoking one of Daniel's cigars. They laugh and enjoy themselves. Gaya suggests they will go on top of the train to see the view.
EXT: TRAIN'S ROOF: DAY
They get on the roof of the train by a ladder while the train is rolling. Gaya is the most daring in the group, she gets on almost fearlessly. David helps Hagar to get on and then gets on himself. Daniel gets on last. He is sweaty. He's anxious about it but tries hard to hide it. When Daniel goes back down he sees a police officer.
INT: POLICE'S TRAIN CABIN: DAY
The 4 of them are escorted inside the police's cabin, which is a cabin with benches instead of beds. A police officer talks to them about what they did. He says it's illegal to get on top of the train. There's no sign indicating it. They argue until it is clear that the officer just wants them to pay him a bribe. If they won't he would put them in a detention cell on the next stop.
The officer gets out and the 4 of them talk. They are planning to escape all together.
INT: POLICE'S TRAIN CABIN: NIGHT
The officer is asleep; they go out of the cabin and walk to the train's exit door. Gaya kicks down the police officer's chair and he falls on his head. They all laugh with excitement and jump off the train. They jump off the trains and run to a nearby village.
EXT: LOCAL SHOP: NIGHT
The 4 of them are outside of a local shop, run by a Rastafarian man. They drink. A local boy rolls them a marijuana cigarette from a school's notebook paper. They smoke with the kid and the kid starts dancing like crazy. Daniel is half-asleep, while the others just laugh.
EXT: BACK OF A TRUCK: NIGHT
4 of them are riding on the back of a truck. The cold nightly breeze plays with their hair. Daniel and Hagar sit very close to each other. She passes her hand on his back.
INT: CHEAP RESTHOUSE: NIGHT
All 4 of them are organizing their sleeping bags on the floor of the cheap rest house.
They go to sleep; Daniel gets close to Hagar and tries to spoon with her, but in a very insecure way. It seems Hagar is letting him almost hug her but then she turns to the other side. She is Half-cuddling with David.
EXT: OUTSIDE OF THE CHEAP RESTHOUSE: DAY
Daniel sits outside the cheap resthouse and chain-smokes. Next to him, he has a small empty liquor bottle. He looks upset. He is too anxious to sit so he gets up and starts wandering on the dusty streets.
INT: LIVINGSTONE'S CHURCH: DAY
With a cigarette in his hand, Daniel gets into a big church. He throws the cigarette outside. There's a large Mosaic on the other side of the church, it portrays David Livingstone arriving in Malawi, and he is portrayed like he is a divine- Jesus like character. David gets into the church and calls Daniel. He tells him that the 3 decided to go southbound to Mozambique, to volunteer with War Orphans. To Daniel's ears it sounds like a horrible idea. Mozambique is in the middle of a bloody civil war. It's extremely dangerous.
EXT: OPEN AIR KITCHEN: DAY
Hagar and Gaya are making salad. Daniel and David arrive. Daniel is upset. He wants them to stay in Malawi with him, or maybe keep on traveling. He has no desire to go to a war zone like Mozambique. They argue with him and try to convince him. They tell him that he can help out unprivileged kids instead of traveling just for his own pleasure. He gets angry and refuses to help with the salad. Eventually they eat the salad by themselves and Daniel calms down. He realizes he doesn't have any money and there's no way to get any in this area so he'll have to stick with the group to support him. He agrees to go with them until the most southern beach, not far from the border crossing. There, he can get money that would be transferred to him by Western Union.
EXT: ASPHALT ROAD: DAY
The 3 Israelis board the back of a van, with local Malawian people and their baskets of fish. Daniel gets on with a bit of hesitation.
EXT: BEACH CAMPING ZONE: DAY
A wooden fence circles around an area which is the camping zone: 10 meters from the waterline. The group is setting up two tents. Daniel is pretty lousy at it. He seems to hate doing it. A group of drunken Malawians is dancing to local music not too far from the circle. Gaya leaves the group and dances with the Malawians. She connects with them; she seems to be a true humanist. Daniel observes her dancing and her way of interaction.
EXT: BEACH: DAY
Twilight. Daniel and Gaya sit near the shore line, far from the camp. They smoke cigarettes. Gaya tells him about her adventures in Africa. She's been traveling for a year now, and met David and Hagar just a few days before they met Daniel. Daniel tells her about his dreams of becoming an actor. He isn't very sure in the way he says it. She asks him to perform. He lights on a new cigarette and improves a monologue around it. He is exceptionally phenomenal. His monologue is full of pain and truth. Gaya is deeply impressed. David comes to them with wooden blocks. He wants them to help him build a fire.
EXT: BEACH: NIGHT
The group sits around a fire. They drink, smoke and laugh. Daniel and Gaya share eye contact.
EXT: FISHERMAN'S ZONE: NIGHT
Gaya and Daniel are walking back on the waterline to the camp. They are drunk as hell. They half-hug each other and then separate on the count of their inability to walk straight. They pass some fishermen's canoe boats. Gaya trips and falls down to one. She laughs and so does Daniel. He tries to help her get up but he fails. She tells him to let her just stay and sleep in the canoe. He laughs and goes to camp. Behind Gaya's canoe there are two local Malawian fishermen drinking and looking at her.
EXT: BEACH CAMPING ZONE: NIGHT
Daniel sits outside of the tent and gets ready to sleep. Gaya is approaching. She is upset. She bashes Daniel for not helping her. He feels guilty. She says 2 fishermen saw her and helped her out. Daniel feels like a complete zero.
INT: DANIEL'S TENT: NIGHT
Daniel and Gaya share the tent. The other tent contains David and Hagar. Gaya is asleep. Daniel is wide awake, staring at the ceiling. He can hear Hagar and David. They're having sex. Daniel feels horrendous.
EXT: CLIFF BY THE WATER: DAY
The group is on the edge of a cliff, getting ready to jump into the water. Daniel is anxious. Everybody is getting undressed and stays with their underwear. Daniel is gazing at Gaya's body. She is excited and jumps first. David and Hagar jump together. Daniel hesitates. Gaya climbs again and jumps. Daniel climbs to a lower part and jumps from there while he screams a battle cry. He climbs again and sees a boat packed with Mozambique people. The boat looks like a ghost boat. All the people have a one thousand mile stare. They are refugees from the war. The Israeli group stops their activities and just looks at the people on the boat with shock and pity.
EXT: BEACH CAMPING ZONE: NIGHT
The last night of the group together, before Daniel leaves. Tomorrow morning the 3 Israelis will take a bus to the border and from there to the orphanage in Mozambique. They are listening to African and reggae music. They drink and pass weed among them. David and Hagar go into their tent to have sex. Daniel is trying to persuade Gaya to come stay with him. He tells her he would be going to a place called "Paradise Beach"; it's a few miles to the north. She explains that there are people who need her help. He tells her that Israelis should stick together and take care of each other. They are very close physically. The tension is high and it feels like they are seconds from making out. Gaya starts to feel a bit uncomfortable. She walks back slowly but then Daniel grabs her. He kisses her. She pushes him away, she's surprised. He grabs her again and she slaps him. He stares at her and grabs her once again. He kisses her neck and holds her tight. She pushes him and screams at him. David and Hagar get out of their tent, half naked. They realized he tried to rape Gaya. Daniel picks up his stuff and leaves shamefully.
EXT: ASPHALT ROAD: DAY
Dawn. Daniel walks alongside the asphalt road. He looks dreadful. He's ashamed of himself and realizes he is completely alone again. A vehicle carrying a large machine gun and soldiers pass him.
INT: BUS: DAY
Daniel rides the bus. The bus is full of Malawian locals. He has his headphones on, completely detached from his surroundings. Military vehicles pass the bus in the opposite direction.
EXT: SANDY ROAD: DAY
The bus is at a stop. Some passengers are standing outside of it. They all stare at Daniel, who stands a few meters from the bus, all by himself, looking dim and smoking a cigarette.
EXT: PARADISE BEACH: DAY
Daniel walks through a bush and gets to "Paradise Beach". It's a virginal sand beach with no footprints, crystal clear water and heavenly vibe to it. Daniel drops his bag, looks around, takes off his clothes and gets in. He's all alone.
While Daniel floats on his back, there are tremendous claps and screams; it's a reply of Mario Götze's winning goal at the 2014 FIFA world cup final. A TV at the nearby bar shows the replays.
EXT: OPEN BAR AT PARADISE BEACH: DAY
It's an open beach bar. It's empty except for the local bartender. Daniel gets to the bar and sits in front of the counter. He asks the bartender to switch to a news channel. He switches to a Swahili TV channel. They are showing images of war. Daniel can't understand the language. He asks the bartender to explain. The pictures are from the civil war in Mozambique. The pictures are horrendous. It's a bloody war with the dead toll rising. Daniel doesn't want his friends to go there. He doesn't want history to repeat itself and feels that he has a chance to redeem himself. He gets an urge to act. He gets up determinably and goes.
After he leaves, the news continues. The bartender keeps on explaining the news thinking Daniel was still there. A bus stepped on a landmine this morning and exploded. 3 white Tourists who've been on the bus have died.
EXT: CURVY ASPHALT ROAD: DAY
Daniel is on the back of a motorcycle. A local man drives him. He looks determined and unstoppable. He has a helmet on his head. The two teenage white girls pass him on their own motorcycles.
EXT: MOZAMBIQUE BORDER: DAY
Daniel gets to the busy border crossings. There's a fence and a narrow place with soldiers chucking passports. The line is long. Daniel wants to smoke but he runs out of cigarettes. He goes to a kiosk, and from the TV he sees the bus in flames. He asks locals and gets a stunt. He grabs the cigarettes, and backs off the store. He has a one thousand mile stare. He turns around, passes everyone on the line, shows his passport to the guard and goes and gets in. He just wants to die. He walks like a zombie to the heart of Mozambique. Echoes of gunfire are heard from the distance.
INT: LOCAL RESTAURANT: DAY
A few meters from the kiosk there's a local restaurant. In one of the tables are sitting Gaya, David and Hagar. They are eating and talking about a change of plans.
THE END
That's The Sacrifice. Fifteen pages, written in 2018, submitted to TorinoFilmLab, never produced.
If you've read this far you now have something most emerging filmmakers don't: a real professional treatment to measure your own work against. Not a template. Not a how-to article. An actual document written for an actual application to one of Europe's most respected film development labs.
A few things worth noting as craft observations before you go:
The opening scene does specific work — it establishes location, atmosphere, and the protagonist's internal condition without explaining any of them directly. Everything the audience needs to understand who Daniel is and what he's escaping is present in the behavior, not in description.
The treatment earns compression. Early scenes are longer — they're building the world. By the midpoint, scenes are shorter, faster. The pacing of the document mirrors the pacing of the film. That's intentional and worth imitating.
The European treatment doesn't sell. It doesn't tell you this is a compelling story with a strong three-act structure and a clear demographic. It assumes you can read. If you're applying to American development programs or pitching to producers expecting a more commercial document, adjust accordingly. But if you're applying to European labs — TorinoFilmLab, Berlinale Talents, IDFA, Binger — this register is what they're reading for.
I'm a Berlin-based filmmaker and essay film practitioner. I also work with filmmakers and writers on their own projects — treatments, screenplays, documentary concepts, essay films. Whether you're developing a narrative feature, a short documentary, or something harder to categorize, I work with writers and filmmakers at all stages of development.
I teach internationally — in Berlin in person and worldwide via Zoom. I'm also available through Preply for trial sessions if you want to start there.
If you're working on a treatment right now and want another pair of eyes on it — someone who has written them, submitted them, and spent years thinking about what the form requires — feel free to reach out through my contact page.
Good luck with your film.
