Tatjana Samopjan
Meet Tatjana
Creative consultant and speaker specialising in development of TV series,
films and documentaries
I am not in the business of keeping people asleep. Stories shown on screens can point us toward a more direct and clear-eyed engagement with life or mislead and numb us out.
Guiding, challenging, inspiring, and provoking storytellers toward their most honest, perceptive, and compelling expression is my expertise and my passion.
What I offer
Hands-on creative development to increase the story's power, resonance and level of insight
I'm not in the
business of keeping people asleep
Tatjana Samopjan
Creating stories that wake us up to life
As a Creative Consultant and Funding Advisor, I draw from my development experience and extensive exposure to thousands of projects in different stages of development through my work with European broadcasting and production companies, film academies, film and TV festivals, industry conferences, and funding institutions.
Part of my consulting work is providing astute assessments and analyses that help creative companies and funding institutions select projects with the greatest potential in terms of quality of content and its resonance with the audience.
"My goal is always to help develop an utterly compelling story - never mere entertainment. The kind of story that surprises, bothers, inspires, and may even challenge the way we see the world."
The other part is all about hands-on creative project development. My approach is best described as “Going Beyond Entertainment.” The goal is always the kind of story that wakes us up to life through genuine exploration of both the light and the dark side of being human, while staying clear of simplification, naivety and cynicism.
Entertainment gives us a respite from the pressures of our lives, which is an honourable function. In moderation, it provides comfort and a sense of easy connection to the world and other people. However, when it is made and consumed without awareness, entertainment can become an opiate that keeps us sleepwalking through our own lives. Skilful storytelling has always been used to both keep us asleep and wake us up.
To support the quality of penetrating truth, authenticity, depth perception, and clear vision that great stories bring, I initially focus more on the storytellers themselves than the story. Examining their actual life experience, beliefs, assumptions, and openness to uncertainty and not-knowing leads us to a deeper source of creativity. It steers the creative process away from derivative ideas and echoing the stories and larger narratives that are already in circulation.
Combining imagination with direct experience of reality - be it one’s own or one acquired through immersive research - gives power and authenticity to the story.
I work one-on-one, in writers’ rooms, in workshops, and intensive creative retreats that I lead. Explorations of contemplative traditions have informed and deepened my way of working.
CONSULTING
SPEAKING
Lectures known for their depth, clarity, and originality
I enjoy crafting and delivering presentations that show eclectic and unusual connections between storytelling, AI, music, spirituality, social responsibility, philosophy, and real-life experience.
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New lectures are always brewing in my mind.
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Some topics I like to explore:
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Rediscovering Life - storytelling in the age of AI
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Storytelling & AI - from generic to authentic
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Imagining Truth - storytelling in a polarised world
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Imagining Future - the skill and the art of seeing past dystopias
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Fire in the eyes - turning our eyes from a projector into a camera
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Deep structure, patterns and conflict in serialized stories
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Turning a TV series from a song into a symphony
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The use and the abuse of the Hero's Journey
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Storytellers as truthsayers, healers and attention thieves
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Going beyond entertainment
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Entertainment and responsibility
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Stories we create and stories that create us
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Hidden ideologies and reality as it is
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What does it mean and take to Love Thy Characters?
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Relationship between reality, imagination and truth
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Facts, truth and complexity in fiction and documentaries
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Buddhism and the roots of drama
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The body as storyteller
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How to engage in research with both head and heart
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Connection between the life we live and the stories we tell
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COACHING
Nothing beats imagination rooted in real life fully lived
As a Coach and Facilitator, I offer guidance and support - as well as disruption - to get the storytellers out of their comfort zone and into their most powerful, insightful, skilful, and authentic expression. I have a highly personal approach, and I see a strong connection between the life we live and the stories we tell.
"I don’t shy away from
unconventional methods."
For a storyteller, the work on the story will often invite a stronger engagement in their own life. This turns out to be as true for creating a sci-fi opera as it is for a biographical piece. When it comes to impactful storytelling, nothing beats imagination rooted in real life fully lived.
I work one-on-one, in writers’ rooms, in workshops, and in intensive creative retreats that I lead. Explorations of contemplative traditions have informed and deepened my way of working.