Michael Buffong, one of the country's leading black directors, and rising star director Vicky Jones are directing the NFTS' 1st year Screenwriting plays, which will be staged at the Soho Theatre main stage on October 28th & 29th.
The ‘New Plays by New Writers’ is the NFTS’ annual showcase of 10 minute plays written by 1st year students on the school’s two-year Screenwriting MA course, which are directed and performed by professionals. It is a seed bed for expanding the range of writing.
Buffong began his career as an actor in TV series such as The Bill, A Touch of Frost and Grange Hill. He later turned his hand to directing TV series such Eastenders, Doctors, Holby City and Casualty before directing theatre productions, including the National Theatre's Moon on a Rainbow Shawl for which he received critical acclaim. Michael has been outspoken on the lack of diversity in theatre, film and television and is currently Artistic Director of Talawa Theatre Company, leading promoters of BAME writing and talent.
Also directing 5 NFTS 1st year Screenwriting plays is Vicky Jones, Verity Bargate Award winner 2014 for playwriting whose play The One staged earlier this year at the Soho Theatre.
Head of Screenwriting Corinne Cartier said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for our Screenwriting students and a real vote of confidence in the talent the school is producing.”
In previous years, NFTS Screenwriters’ work has been directed by Blanche MacIntyre (Accolade, Foxfinder); Deborah Bruce (The Distance, Godchild; Hetty Macdonald the award winning director of Beautiful Thing’ and Blink the Hugo Award-winning 2007 episode of the Doctor Who series.
We are also delighted to announce that NFTS 2014 Screenwriting graduate Melissa Iqbal was recently selected as a winner of an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 2014 Nicholl Fellowship for her NFTS graduation screenplay 'The Death Engine.'
She is one of just eight finalists selected from a record-breaking 7,511 scripts submitted for this year’s competition and will receive a $35,000 prize. Fellowships are awarded to outstanding writers with the understanding that the recipients will each complete a feature-length screenplay during their fellowship year.
Speaking after the announcement was made, Melissa Iqbal told the NFTS: “Winning the Academy Nicholl Fellowship has been absolutely amazing! The influx of requests I’ve received from producers and agents eager to read my work has been incredible and I’m excited to see what new opportunities arise as a result.”
Melissa’s success, so soon after graduating from the NFTS Screenwriting course, follows in the footsteps of NFTS 2013 Screenwriting graduate Krysty Wilson-Cairns whose Sci Fi screenplay ‘Aether’ was snapped up by Hollywood company FilmNation Entertainment just months after she graduated. Krysty was heralded as a ‘Star of Tomorrow’ by the film industry magazine Screen International, this year.
In previous years, the event has staged plays by emerging writers such as Regina Moriarty who won the first ever Arts Foundation Screenwriting Award in 2013 and went on to write the recent BBC3 and BBC1 60 minute original drama ‘Murdered By My Boyfriend’, and‘Sammy’s War’ a 30-minute television drama for Touchpaper / Channel 4’s Coming Up strand 2013.
Other recent successful Screenwriting graduates include NFTS 2013 graduate Sarah Woolner who won a 2014 BAFTA Short Award for animation ‘Sleeping with Fishes and 2012 NFTS Screenwriting graduate Daniel Brierley who, with writing partner Nicola Paglia, won a 2014 BAFTA Roclifffe New Comedy Award for ‘American Nails.’ Daniel is being flown over to the USA to receive his prize at the New York TV Festival, later in October.
We still have places on many of our courses. MORE INFORMATION HERE: http://bit.ly/1mlqsS6
