The Village Roadshow Prize for Screen Writing: Shortlist 2004

Judges

Ian Pringle (Convenor), Brian McKenzie and Mira Robertson

Although down in numbers from last year, perhaps a reflection of the volatile nature of the industry, the entrants were of a high standard, with a mixture of feature films, 50 minute short features and a diverse range of TV drama and comedy.

Life in rural Australia again figured prominently as a theme in all formats, as did Australia’s treatment and accommodation of refugees. The range and quality of the scripts was a reflection of the professionalism and talent at work in the industry, and suggests the future is bright in this most fundamental skill area of the business.

Shortlist

Tom White
Daniel Keene
Rescued Films/Fandango Productions
Sometimes the routine and perceived injustices of day-to-day life can wear down the facade that keeps things together. When this happens to Tom White he cracks. He abandons his family and work and drifts into a world of fringe dwellers and, surprisingly, finds a strange, uneasy solace when he befriends a male prostitute, a girl fighting a heroin habit, and a glue sniffing graffitist. Daniel Keene vividly creates a world where the currency is raw emotion laced with tragedy; and navigates Tom to where we sense he is able to grasp an understanding of himself and the confusion of the human condition.

Martha’s New Coat
Elizabeth Mar
Newtown Films
Elizabeth Mar’s short feature script delves into the hopes and frustrations of a young teenage girl. Martha is stuck in a country town, with a circle of friends who offer little inspiration while her mother and her live-in-lover are less than role models and if anything regard Martha as an annoyance in their narrow, selfish lives. Fed up and disillusioned Martha takes her young sister on a search for her estranged father. This bitter-sweet story is a powerfully told and resonates with finely written dialogue and controlled scene structure.

Somersault
Cate Shortland
Red Carpet Productions
Cate Shortland’s contemporary drama set in the alpine region of Australia is a powerfully told story about a young girl, Heidi, adrift and searching for a place to belong. Heidi leaves home in Canberra following a misunderstanding with her mother and her mother’s lover, and finds herself in the town of Jindabyne. There she meets up with a local boy, Joe, and a passionate attachment develops, but is quickly shaken sideways with frustration and confusion, with Heidi never sure of the difference between friendship, love and sex; while Joe finds it hard to cross the social barrier and even harder to grasp a sense of his own identity. The dialogue is raw and accurate and we never for a moment doubt that the characters are real and allowing us an insight into the mechanics of the heart and soul.