Philip Tarl Denson and Lâle Teoman.
Screenwriters Philip Tarl Denson and Lâle Teoman have been named the 2019 winners of the Australian Writers’ Guild’s annual Monte Miller Awards, which recognise unproduced screenplays.
At a ceremony last night in Melbourne, Denson took home the award in the Long Form category with his sci-fi pilot Anomaly, while Teoman received the Short Form award for her web series The Black Tulip.
The two writers will now share in $35,000 in script development funding to further their scripts, with the funds invested by Scripted Ink.
The winners were selected from a pool of over 390 entries, with television and web series concepts dominating the six projects that were shortlisted.
The final judging panels praised the quality and skills of the winning writers and singled out the incredible feats of imagination displayed in crafting their stories, both of which grapple with intriguing mysteries through a sci-fi lens.
‘It’s an honour to receive the Monte Miller Award and be among such high-calibre writers on the shortlist,’ said Denson. ‘Anomaly now has a producer and studio attached in the US and who knows where it’ll end up. I’m keen to follow the progress of each of the shortlisted projects and hopefully see these stories make it to the screen.’
Teoman reflected on the importance of competitions such as the Monte Miller Awards to connect writers with the industry. ‘This has been incredibly uplifting for me. Being a writer can sometimes feel like you are in a bubble and opportunities like this are so important for feeling part of a greater story.’
The six shortlisted scripts are now showcased on Pathways Showcase.