unique scriptwritING competition launched today
BY NIK POWELL
chance to win £3,000
Opportunity for aspiring scriptwriters to Make their Mark in Film
A new nationwide competition to encourage and support young British scriptwriting talent has been launched today (23 August 2006) by film producer/director and Director of the National Film and Television School, Nik Powell, at the 60th Edinburgh International Film Festival.
The Make Your Mark in Film with CobraVision script competition is a collaboration between the national Make Your Mark campaign, which aims to encourage enterprise in the widest possible sense among young people, and Cobra Beer’s short film competition CobraVision, to support new screenwriting talent.
Judges include Franc Roddam, director of six major feature-films including cult film Quadrophenia, and City University Creative Writing MA course director, Chris Fallon, who was nominated for an Academy Award in 2000.
The winning screenwriter will win £3,000; the chance to see their film put into production and a screening of the finished work at a premiere, before being shown around the UK in 2007. The script will be divided into ten five-minute episodes and produced on a national scale by ten regional production teams, who will be selected via the second stage of the competition, to be announced later in the year.
The backing of the competition by the Make Your Mark campaign means that the central premise of the script will be around the theme of having an idea and making it happen.
The film itself can be from any genre, from film noir to gothic horror but with a small cast of no more than four central characters. While the film should contain minimal special effects, there is the possibility that the winning script will feature cameos from well-known actors or actresses.
Kevin Steele, Chief Executive of Enterprise Insight, which runs the Make Your Mark campaign, spoke at the launch of the competition in Edinburgh:
“This competition is a tremendous opportunity for established or budding young scriptwriters to make their mark in the film industry. In its later stages this unique project will also give aspiring directors, producers and crew a chance to showcase their talents.
“The Make Your mark campaign aims to encourage young people to be more enterprising – to turn their own ideas into reality. To do this, it is important that we tap into their own areas of interest. This competition aims to inspire them to make their ideas happen through film.”
Simon Edwards, Marketing Director of Cobra Beer says: “Cobra is committed to supporting and encouraging creativity and filmmaking in the UK with its short film competition CobraVision. The Make Your Mark in Film with CobraVision script competition is a fantastic initiative which will provide a real opportunity for an aspiring scriptwriter to have their work produced and showcased as part of a national campaign”.
Full details about how to enter can be found at http://www.makeyourmarkinfilm.org