Wednesday, November 27, 2013

New award for emerging film writers


An award that recognises emerging film writers has been established at the International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML), via the Victoria University Foundation, in memory of notable New Zealand filmmaker Brad McGann.

The Brad McGann Filmwriting Award, worth $2,000, will be presented annually to a graduating screenwriter from the IIML at Victoria University of Wellington.

Mr McGann, who passed away in 2007, won international acclaim for his first full-length feature film In My Father’s Den, which he wrote and directed. The film is one of the top 20 highest grossing New Zealand movies. He was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2006.
Funds for the new award were donated by Mr McGann’s friends, family and colleagues, and the New Zealand Film Commission.

Ken Duncum, the Michael Hirschfeld Director of Scriptwriting at Victoria University, is thrilled about the award.

“It's very gratifying, not only that this award will aid the development of an emerging film writer but that it honours Brad McGann, a much-missed writer and director,” says Mr Duncum.

The prize will be awarded to a student who has just completed the Master’s in Creative Writing majoring in Scriptwriting, and who demonstrates through their folio of work, that they have excellent potential as a film scriptwriter.

The first winner will be announced on 10 December 2013

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