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Cornwall Media Focus

Cornwall Film launches Uprising

Screenwriters selected for UPRISING announced as the first workshop is held.

The scheme will open with an exciting and informative workshop on low budget drama development run by award winning writer, director and producer Emmanuel Oberg. Oberg has worked as a script consultant for producers including Aardman, Monogram, SKY and the BBC. His international clients include The UK Film Council, Le Studio Canal +,The Film Consortium, Moonstone, Arista, MEDIA and ACE.

Pippa Best, Project Director of Cornwall Film says “We’re thrilled to be bringing Emmanuel’s expert knowledge to Cornish screenwriters. We want to see more fantastic Cornish stories up on screen. Uprising is an important step towards achieving that. New technology is making production cheaper and potentially much more profitable, and Cornish film-makers have always been fantastically creative within a low budget. The Uprising scheme aims to develop market knowledge and skills, and to develop Cornish stories with the ability to reach a wide audience.”

8 talented screenwriters have been selected for the scheme with projects that take full advantage of being made at a low budget – using limited locations, characters and stunts, but finding other creative ways to entertain and thrill an audience. Pippa Best says “New digital TV channels are offering more opportunities to make low budget TV dramas. The Blair Witch Project is a great example of a film that was made for very little money, but which reached a huge audience. International films like Festen and Goodbye Lenin have had great box office success on the arthouse circuit. Cornwall has the talent to produce films and TV programmes like these.”

The selected projects should include something for every taste. There are two thrillers, Loic Rich from St. Day’s “Plan A”, and Paul Farmer from Truro’s “What Can I Do?”, a pair of romantic comedies - Jonathan Brassington’s “Animals”, and Jane Pugh’s “The Single Parent Camping Club”. A horror from Nancledra’s Joan Beveridge entitled “Echoes”. A comedy from Emma George of Trekenner called “Nothing But Daffodils”, a rites of passage thriller from Patrick Evans from Penryn aptly titled “Coming of Age”, and a father son drama from Pauline Sheppard of St Buryan “Dressing Granite”.

As well as attending Oberg’s workshop, the Screenwriters will be supported by experienced script editors who will assist in the development of their first drafts. They will also receive feedback from marketing and distribution specialists. Look forward to seeing some of these on a screen near you soon!