NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR DENNIS POTTER AWARD

NOMINATIONS from writers and producers are being sought for next year’s Dennis Potter screenwriting award.
Submissions must arrive at the BBC by close of play January 26, 2001, and the overall winner will secure a commission from BBC Two.
Set up in 1995, the award aims to nurture and encourage the work of new talented writers and their producers. Three awards to develop scripts will be handed out, one of which will be greenlit for production. Writers should make their submissions through a BBC TV drama producer or an independent drama production company and should take the form of a treatment for a film of between 60 and 75 minutes duration. Writers who have not had produced a single drama or feature film or television serial are al eligible to enter.
Rosemary Kay, with ‘Between Two Eternities’, won this year’s award, which formed part of the first ever BBC Two Awards. Adapted from the author’s novel, it tells the story of Kay’s son Saul, who was born prematurely and struggled with life and death. Due to be screened on BBC Two next year, the story is a fictionalised account of Kay’s own experiences as a mother and is told from Saul’s point of view.
Dennis Potter Editor Jeremy Howe said: “This year’s standard of work was exceptionally high and embodied the spirit of Dennis Potter – to allow artists to have their own voice. We decided to put four scripts into development rather than three and I look forward to capitalising on this success with next year’s entries.”
Submissions should be sent to The Dennis Potter Screenwriting Award 2001, BBC Two Awards, BBC Broadcasting House, Whiteladies Road, Bristol BS8 2LR. For further information, contact Jeremy Howe on tel: (0)117 9747586, or e-mail: BBC2Awards@bbc.co.uk
(CMcL)