Rookie female screenwriters win chance to work with Offspring co-creator Imogen Banks
Fifteen rookie female screenwriters have won the chance to witness first-hand how an idea for a TV show is developed in a writers’ room.
The winning entrants will work with acclaimed producer Imogen Banks and screenwriter Alice Bell as part of Endemol Shine Australia’s ‘Smart For A Girl: ROAR’ initiative.
Alice Bell and Imogen Banks sift through applications
More than 900 women entered the competition funded by Screen Australia, and the scheme proved so popular the number of places increased from 12 to 15.
The successful applicants, all at entry-level, will work on one of five different projects, including Unruly Girls, a mini-series inspired by the 1961 riot at the Parramatta Girls Home.
Producer Imogen Banks has been nominated for more than 50 AACTA, Logie, AFI and ASTRA awards, while Alice Bell has written for acclaimed Aussie dramas The Beautiful Lie, The Slap and Rush.
Banks, best known for creating Ten’s Offspring, said: “There was so much promise inside those 935 applications – it was excruciating limiting ourselves to four projects, so we’ve stretched to five.
“It’s been a hugely rewarding experience already, and with our first room running on Monday, we’re about to start the fun part.”
The ROAR campaign was created to address the lack of new female voices emerging in Australia’s TV industry.
Alice Bell added: “Reading the 935 submissions personally (yes, every single one!) has shown us what we suspected when we set out to create the Smart For A Girl: ROAR initiative – that there is a high level of untapped talent out there.”
What a great initiative.
Imogen Banks is a legend.
Now looking forward to watching the shows these people make in the future.
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