Lucinda Marty, a Masters of Professional Communications student at the WA Screen Academy, won the WA round of the national Holding Redlich/AFTRS/AWG Pitching Competition. She is one of eight semi-finalists who will be flown to Melbourne to pitch their projects at the National Screenwriters’ Conference later this month. Four people will then go on to Brisbane to vie for a trip to the Cannes Film Festival or a major television market in the UK or US at the Screen Producer’s Association Conference in November.
Twenty one West Australian writers pitched their small and big screen ideas in Perth last month. The three finalists, Lucinda Marty, Julie Speight and Mark Willig are all currently Edith Cowan University scriptwriting students.
‘This is a wonderful outcome for these writers. To be chosen as a finalist here in Western Australia will certainly make potential producers and funding bodies sit up and take notice of their scripts,’ said John Rapsey, Coordinator of Scriptwriting and Director of the WA Screen Academy. ‘Commissioning Editors and Script Producers from all of the networks will be at the National Screenwriters Conference so Lucinda’s project has a serious chance of attracting interest.’
Lucinda’s comedy series The Mother Hood looks at two single mothers pioneering new ways of parenting where nothing is sacred, not even the children.
‘The next round in Melbourne will really have me sweating but it’s such an amazing opportunity to really take the project and my pitching experience to the next level,’ said Lucinda.
John Rapsey said he was delighted that all of the WA finalists were Edith Cowan University Scriptwriting students. ‘We offer a comprehensive sequence of courses that includes short films, documentaries, television drama, adaptation, script editing, commissioned content and writing for games. Students in the major graduate with a very strong portfolio. We also offer post-graduate programs – a Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma and Masters of Professional Communications. Projects developed in these programs are considered for production by the WA Screen Academy.’
In August, another ECU scriptwriter, Claire Tonkin won the AWGIE for here short film script Button.
http://wascreenacademy@ecu.edu.au
[release from the WA Screen Academy]