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New Writer Focus 2020-2021 open for applications



Date Posted: March 26, 2020

Northern Ireland Screen is now seeking feature film and TV drama scripts to develop for its New Writer Focus scheme 2020-2021.

Only Northern Ireland resident writers new to feature film and long-form drama are eligible to apply. For the avoidance of doubt “writers new to feature film and long-form drama” in this context means a writer without a writing credit on a produced feature film or long-form drama.

This is a script development call; a producer and director are not essential at this stage.

What are we looking for?

  1. Compelling stories with a unique or fresh perspective.
  2. Ambitious authored voices.
  3. Stories with strong character journeys
  4. A range of art-house and commercial stories
  5. Feature film projects only
  6. Projects need not be limited by budget or genre.

What will scheme involve?

New Writer Focus will have 2 major components to the 8 month development scheme:

  • Writers Room
  • Individual project and writer development

How many projects will be selected?

Up to 4 scripts will be chosen for development between August 2020 and April 2021

The selected writers will be eligible to apply for an individual writer award.

The closing date for receipt of applications is 6pm on Thursday 28th May 2020.

We will announce an online screen writing seminar in the next week to help you prepare your scripts for application. The seminar/webinar will take place in April 2020 and will take place on ZOOM. Please keep an eye on our website and social media for further information which will be made available as soon as it is confirmed.

For further information, including application details, please click here.

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