The Village Roadshow Prize for Screen Writing: Shortlist 2005

Judges
Ian Pringle (Convenor), Claire Dobbin and Christina Pozzan

In a year of fluctuating fortunes for the film and TV industry, with local production down and competition from overseas increasing, the entries this year demonstrated that our script writers have nevertheless been able to maintain a high level of professionalism and innovation.  

Dealing with a wide range of themes, from the trauma of a dysfunctional family, to the search for personal identity within society, to the examination of our culture and history offered from unexpected voices, it was a year of surprises and engrossing rewards.

Shortlist

Revealing Gallipoli
Wain Fimeri
December Films
This docudrama script demonstrates the writer’s ability to delve into our nation’s history and present us with an imaginative interpretation of events that is resoundingly authoritative. The story of Gallipoli has been told countless times, to the point where it has been etched into our national psyche. But what really happened? What were the disastrous and often insane decisions that led to this tragedy? Who were the soldiers that paid the ultimate price for this folly? What did they think, what did they feel, what did they understand about what was happening? These and many other questions are explored and answered in Wain Fimeri’s innovative work.

Little Fish
Jacquelin Perske
Porchlight Films
Jacquelin Perske’s script is a powerfully observed drama about the impact of drugs on the lives of people in suburban Sydney. Tracy Heart tries to escape her past but finds herself dragged back into a world of deception and desperation that ultimately tears her apart, making her search for happiness and fulfilment a poignant reminder of the resilience of the human spirit.

Look Both Ways
Sarah Watt
Hibiscus Films
Sarah Watt’s skilfully executed script combines her expertise as an animator with the narrative feature length format. This engaging, harrowing story, illustrates that upheaval and possibly disaster lurk within the shadows of every move we make. Following the derailment of a train the lives of seven people become intertwined as the story delves into their daily lives, hopes and fears.