Writing the Heroine s Story: A Screenwriting Seminar with Helen Jacey

Screen Australia is pleased to announce, on International Women's Day, a new development initiative Writing the Heroine's Story, a screenwriting seminar with renowned UK author, lecturer and screenwriter Helen Jacey. The two-day workshop will be held with a select group of Australian filmmakers in June 2013.

Participants will be invited to consider why successfully written screen heroines are more than just female heroes, and what they represent in terms of the writer's attitudes and beliefs about gender and being a woman. The seminar will explore why we choose certain types of heroines, and what we want to say about women's lives when we choose a heroine. Via practical examples and creative exercises, participants will put the principles into practice to benefit their own projects.

Screen Australia's Head of Development, Martha Coleman, said, Great movie heroines should be one of the cornerstones of our feature film storytelling. Realising them to the screen is both sound business practice and an ongoing cultural necessity. We hope to see some dynamic projects being developed out of this two-day workshop.

Helen Jacey graduated with an MA in Screenwriting from the London Institute in 2001 and gained her doctorate from the University of the Arts London in 2010. Realising that most screenwriting books don't address the female character, Helen embarked on her own quest to explore gender issues and screenwriting in her highly regarded work The Woman in the Story. Alongside her work as a screenwriter, Helen widely lectures on screenwriting all over the world. She lectures on several MAs in Screenwriting, including at the University of the Arts London, Bournemouth University and the London Film School. She is also an external examiner for film studies at the University of Southampton. Helen is currently developing several film projects and is also writing a new book for writers, filmmakers and artists.

Eligible writers can apply to Screen Australia solo or as part of a creative team and will need to provide a short outline of their drama project. Deadline for applications is Friday 19 April 2013.

Full details of the application requirements and forms are available at: www.screenaustralia.gov.au/heroines

Screen Australia has also today released an infographic looking at the evolution of women's roles on the other side of the camera over the last 40 years. View Did You Know? Women in Australia's Audiovisual Industries infographic.

Media Enquiries

Teri Calder T: 02 8113 5833; M: 0408 440 995

teri.calder@screenaustralia.gov.au

LINK:	http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/news_and_events/2013/mr_130308_heroi...
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