Jessica Paine and Ramon Watkins.
Jessica Paine and Ramon Watkins are the inaugural recipients of the In Dreams screenwriting Fellowship, launched by producers Carmen Knox and Melissa Azizi.
The fellowship is designed to connect Aussie screenwriting talent with Hollywood; Paine and Watkins will now complete the Storywise six-week Teleseminar with story/career consultant and In Dreams sponsor Jen Grisanti before participating in a curated series of meetings with key Hollywood industry professionals. All finalists in the program were also awarded Final Draft screenwriting software.
Finalists’ scripts were evaluated by a panel of Hollywood judges, including representatives of Imagine Entertainment, Greg Silverman’s Stampede, Verve Talent and Literary Agency, Abrams Artists Agency and Gunpowder & Sky.
Paine, a former breakfast TV producer, is a screenwriter and script editor who since graduating from AFTRS Graduate Diploma of Screenwriting has worked on shows such as Deadline Gallipoli, Wonderland and Cleverman. Most recently, Paine spent 2017 working on the UK’s Emmerdale, and continues to writes scripts for Neighbours while developing other projects.
Watkins graduated from a Masters of Screenwriting at VCA in 2015, and has written and directed short films Dances and Summit, edited a feature documentary Camino Skies, while continuing to develop a number of projects including TV pilot Daddies.
Azizi says: “We’re inspired by the number of submissions and range of stories we received. We’re excited by the judges’ choices – Jessica and Ramon’s scripts were exceptional in standing out and we’re looking forward to working with our fellows over the coming months.”
Knox says: “Our winners’ scripts have sparked genuine excitement amongst our judges. We’ve identified two unrepresented voices that Hollywood clearly want to hear; we’re excited to now further develop their talent and ready them for international opportunities to come.”