Submissions have opened for Australian in Film’s script development program, GatewayLA.
The program gives screenwriters the chance to have their script seen by top industry professionals. Finalists receive two months of complimentary hosting on The Black List, free script evaluation, phone meetings with the program judges and a copy of the latest version of Final Draft.
On top of this, the winner will also be awarded a cash prize of $10,000 and a return flight to Los Angeles.
This year’s judges include:
• Bonni Lee, senior vice president of production at Village Roadshow Pictures
• Jairo Alvarado, manager at Circle of Confusion
• Aïda Mashaka Croal, current writer and supervising producer on Marvel’s Jessica Jones
• Ben Lusthaus, a creative executive at Amy Pascal’s company Pascal Pictures
• Paddy Murphy, development executive at Tobey Maguire’s Material Pictures
• Chris Dickie, the current director of Development at Endemol Shine Studios.
Last year's winning script, Cargo, is currently in production in South Australia. Writer Yolanda Ramke is co-directing alongside Ben Howling, with Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, Black Panther, Sherlock, Fargo) in the lead role.
"The GatewayLA script prize couldn't have come at a more crucial time for me. I had a first draft under my belt, but like most emerging writers, I was juggling day jobs with late night writing sessions and struggling to make further progress,” said Ramke.
“Not only did winning this award provide a significant confidence boost, but on a financial level it allowed me to dedicate the time I needed to complete the second draft of Cargo. It also generated some wonderful buzz around the project both at home and abroad. I was also fortunate enough to secure my first paid writing commission off the back of this accolade, and as a result [I] now have a second screenplay in development.”
Submissions will close on 5pm October 17 (PST).