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Screenwriting fellowship looks to connect Aussies to Hollywood

Carmen Knox and Melissa Azizi.

Carmen Knox and Melissa Azizi. 

Producers Carmen Knox and Melissa Azizi have launched a new screenwriting fellowship, In Dreams, with the aim of connecting unrepresented Aussie writers to Hollywood.

Two writers, selected by a judging panel of representatives from companies such as Imagine Entertainment, Greg Silverman’s Stampede, Verve Talent and Literary Agency, Abrams Artists Agency and Gunpowder & Sky, will be invited to participate in the program.

As part of the fellowship, the two winners will receive curated series of virtual introductions and meetings with key Hollywood industry professionals, as well as 1-on-1 consultation and creative guidance from the Knox and Azizi.

The program is sponsored by the Jen Grisanti Consultancy; Grisanti is a story/career consultant, former studio executive and the writing instructor NBC’s Writers on the Verge program. Both winner will have the opportunity to participate in Grisanti’s six-week Storywise Teleseminar.

Unrepresented Australian screenwriters of all experience levels are encouraged to apply. Applicants will be asked to submit an original full-length screenplay or teleplay that best showcases their craft. Five semi-finalists will be notified and asked to submit a short video introducing themselves and their screenwriting dreams and ambitions.

Three finalists will be announced, with the two winners then selected by the industry panel of judges.

Knox is a former creative executive at Los Angeles-based independent studio Insurrection Media and is now based in Melbourne as a screen consultant.

Azizi spent many years working closely with producer Gail Mutrux, helping to produce The Danish Girl, Show Me a Hero and iBoy, before establishing her own company Sparkwood Films. Azizi currently lives in Los Angeles.

“The media and entertainment industry is undergoing a seismic shift and we, as screen professionals, are increasingly pressed to innovate new pathways that are truly conducive to global opportunity and success. In Dreams finds a kind of method in this madness by giving unrepresented writers a genuine opportunity to forge meaningful relationships with Hollywood visionaries,” says Knox.

“In Dreams is really about global outcomes for Australian screenwriters, and the industry expertise of our Hollywood judging panel is what immediately sets us apart.

Azizi adds: “It’s clear that the global storytelling marketplace is opening up and diversifying in ways previously unseen. In Dreams provides an opportunity right now to get unrepresented Australian screenwriters and their stories onto the desks of Hollywood. We can’t wait for Hollywood to meet our winning fellows.”

Application fees apply, with a discounted fee available until September 20. Final Deadline for submissions is November 1. To apply, go to: www.indreamsfellowship.com

The winners will be announced in late January 2020, with the Jen Grisanti Storywise 6-Week Seminar to commence in February, and virtual introductions and meetings with Hollywood professionals beginning mid-March.