Top (L-R): Amy Hobby, Anne Hubbell, Elizabeth Kaiden, Jamie Zelermyer, bottom row (L-R): Joey Tuccio, Krysane Katsoolis, Nitza Wilon, Timothy Cooper.
In a bid to strengthen international connections while the screen industry grapples with the impact of COVID-19, the New York-based Australian International Screen Forum and Screenworks have announced an online workshop that will connect regional screenwriters in Australia with NYC-based industry mentors.
The inaugural Write From Home (WFH) Screenwriting Workshop will be an eight-week program held across June and July, specifically designed for people living in regional, rural and remote Australia who have film and television projects that would appeal to a global audience.
Among the mentors are Joey Tuccio, founder and CEO, Roadmap Writers; Nitza Wilon and Elizabeth Kaiden, co-founders, of The Writers Lab; Anne Hubbell, vice president of motion picture, Kodak and founder, Tangerine Entertainment; Amy Hobby, executive director of the Tribeca Film Institute and founder Tangerine Entertainment; Timothy Cooper, founder and owner, Blueprint Screenwriting Group and Krysanne Katsoolis Present and CEO, Viewpark.
Put on in association with Patricia Beaury, the former MD of The Writers Lab, the initiative will be hosted on Zoom, and will involve weekly interactive webinar sessions, development exercises and networking opportunities.
WFH program director and producer Laura D’Augello said ‘The WFH Screenwriting workshop provides an opportunity for regional Australian writers to work collaboratively on their screenplays in peer groups and creates a barrier-free engagement in reaching international networks and industry. AISF and Screenworks’ first partnership program will provide guidance and mentorship from industry experts with a focus on connecting Australian writers with the US market whilst in the comfort of their own homes.’
Screenworks CEO Ken Crouch said: “We are excited about our recent partnership with the AISF and to be able to bring this international opportunity to regional Australian screenwriters.
“Connecting regional screen practitioners to international opportunities has been one of Screenworks priorities. Given the challenges that our industry is facing globally at the moment we believe this will open new and valuable pathways and opportunities for regional Australian screenwriters.”
The announcement of the new initiative comes at a time when both the 2020 Australian International Screen Forum in New York and the Screenworks Business of Producing Conference had to be postponed or cancelled due to Coronavirus concerns.
Apply here.