The Rocaberti Writers’ Retreat
23–28 May 2025, Spain
In November 2024 I had the good fortune to be awarded a part scholarship to a writer’s retreat in Spain.
The Rocaberti Writers’ Retreat, founded and led by the effervescent Claire Elizabeth Terry, has been running for over a decade, with many participating writers having had their screenplays optioned as a result of connections made during retreats. These events are held in medieval castles, rotating between northern Spain, southern France, and an island off the coast of Capri, Italy.
I attended the May 2025 retreat held in Castell de Sant Mori, a short train trip north of Barcelona in the Spanish countryside, which brought together a small group of writers from all over the world, four mentors, the retreat director and several support staff, chefs, and a sweet dog called Mr Sparky.
The setting was delightful — in May, long warm days, eating outdoors at golden hour, quiet countryside, and no distractions. The retreat fee includes a chef who prepares breakfast, lunch and dinner, and there is a ready supply of wine, soft drinks and snacks.
The retreats enable aspiring screenwriters of varying levels of experience to take time out from their daily routines and enjoy convivial time with others on the same path, and also to access the insights of a wide stable of mentors with deep expertise and industry experience.
The mentors at the retreat I attended were:
Chris Deckard (US) — my mentor, a literary manager/producer who founded his own company, Fictional Entity, after seven years with major talent agencies ICM Partners and WME
Wendy Kram (US) — producer and leading industry script consultant, founder of international consulting company LA For Hire
Stan Zimmerman (US) — acclaimed comedy writer whose credits include the Golden Girls, Roseanne and The Gilmore Girls
Michael Davies (UK) — BAFTA-winning director and screenwriter, documentary film maker, award winning short film maker, whose first feature film is in production
There was a wonderful spirit of camaraderie, humour and collegiality, not only those in my mentee group — Gabor, Dawson and Adam — but everyone: Chad, Candice, Lisa, Kathy, Heather, Alejandra, Kristin, Jesse and Eric.
All of the mentors were generous with their time and knowledge, not only in the sessions, but during meals and over drinks.
Some of the most fun, memorable and hilarious moments were simply sharing stories from our lives — such as Gabor’s forays into post-Balkan War recovery work and later running the North Korean Marathon in Pyongyang, to Claire’s tales of her life as a travel writer, sneaking across the Berlin Wall and later discovering the Stasi kept a file on her!
A typical day was breakfast (preceded by optional morning meditation) followed by a presentation by one of the mentors in the main salon.
A short morning tea break was followed by a three hour small group session with respective mentors, including a review by the whole group of each writer’s work on a different day.
Lunch was followed by pitch practice, where each day a new group of four presented their idea to all mentors and participants for feedback.
Participants had so many tantalising ideas which deserve to be picked up and turned into a film we can all enjoy.
There was free time in the afternoon ahead of dinner, and then an informal and fun after dinner presentation from each of the mentors about their journey in the industry.
The retreat culminated in an outdoor party on the last evening.
If you want to go to a Rocaberti retreat with an expectation you will get your screenplay optioned, or be told how good you are, you are not going for the right reasons. Listen to the wisdom the mentors impart to you, as well as the perspectives of your fellow participants, and approach the whole thing with an ethos of being open to learning, to collaboration, and to improving.
This retreat is exactly the tonic most writers need: objective eyes (not friends or family!) with both creative and industry expertise who are there to help you be better, so you can best position your work for commercial interest.
