The Village Roadshow Prize for Screen Writing: Judges 2006

Claire Dobbin is a freelance script editor and producer. She is a script advisor/editor who works with development agencies and filmmakers in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and France. Additionally, Claire is Chair of the Melbourne International Film Festival, the Australian and New Zealand representative and on the selection board of the Paris-based international script workshop éQuinoxe, selector and advisor for screenwriting workshops in Australia and New Zealand, guest lecturer and mentor for masters students, Victorian College of the Arts Film School, and Board member of the Melbourne Writers’ Festival. Claire was the Director and Senior Development Executive of the Melbourne office of the Australian Film Commission from 1986 to 2000.

Vincent Giarusso is a Melbourne-based film maker, writer and composer. He wrote and performed with the ARIA award-winning undergroundLOVERS/gbvg, a rock group that toured nationally and internationally. Vincent wrote, directed and composed the score for the highly acclaimed Mallboy (official selection in Director’s Fortnight at Cannes 2000). Since then he has had a number of projects at various stages of development in the private and government sector as both a writer and director. Music compositions include the score composition to The What IF man (a science fiction documentary, MIFF 2001) and MISTY, an Arts Victoria-funded new media project due to be delivered in 2006. Vincent lectures in script writing, directing for television and feature films, and multimedia at Swinburne University.

Cristina Pozzan’s career spans over 20 years and a broad range of filmmaking experience including feature films, documentaries and interactive media. Credits as producer include the award-winning feature film Return Home, documentaries Pop Movie (6 x 30 mins), Punch Lines, Curtains for My Cabin, The Pecking Order, The Fifth Set and interactive projects, Totally Gorgeous and Mabo – The Native Title Revolution (nominated for a BAFTA). In the position of Project Manager at The Australian Film Commission between 2000 and 2003 Cristina assessed hundreds of feature, documentary, animation and interactive projects. Most recently she has worked as an external assessor for Film Victoria, Screen Tasmania and the South Australian Film Corporation on feature films, television series, short films and documentaries. Under the banner of her company Buona Notte Productions P/L, Cristina is currently developing documentaries and feature films.