Producer and writer Pete Ireland has showcased his talent at the 2022 ScreenCraft Short Film Screenplay Competition, named runner-up for his script Children of Laika.
The Opening Act Films managing director was selected along with grand prize winner Sav Rodgers from more than 1300 global submissions for the LA-based contest, with Ireland securing a US$500 cash prize, as well as acceptance into the ScreenCraft Writer’s Development Program for his efforts.
His story follows Natalia, a young girl who, along with her secret friend Oleg, is forced to confront the consequences of being a child in the grown-up world of the Soviet Union in the 1980s.
Ireland, who produced Tony Radevski’s LA Shorts International Film Festival winner Risen, said the idea had been in his head “for months”.
“It felt like a world that people would be able to imagine and feel, so eventually I just had to write it – for my own sanity,” he said.
“The runner-up win is a nice reason to celebrate during these odd times, but more importantly for me was getting an updated barometer on my taste and my writing.
“Oftentimes we are writing in a bubble, so it’s helpful to know that my stories and my craft can cut through on an international level, amid 1300 other scripts from around the globe.”
Having begun writing short stories when he was a child, Ireland wrote his first script while attending the Sydney Film School about fourteen years ago.
More recently, he penned a comedy script entitled Ned, which was a quarter-finalist in the 2020 ScreenCraft Comedy Screenplay Competition.
Following his success with ScreenCraft this year, Ireland said he would now seek ways to take Children of Laika forward.
“Given its Soviet/European setting which is crucial to the story, I’m chatting to a Director in Slovenia who was selected for the 2019 Berlinale Talents Program with me,” he said.
“He is interested in directing it in Slovenia, which has all the right architectural and geographical settings to create the story world. It would be amazing to see it come to life.”