Thanks to The New Zealand Writer's Foundation

Michael Bennett is the recipient of the FilmFour Award for screenwriters set up by the British Council New Zealand and the NZ Writers Foundation. His recent short film Kerosene Creek - was selected for screening at the 2005 Berlin Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival and National Geographic All Roads Film Festival in Washington DC and Los Angeles. He is currently on a working attachment at FilmFour's feature development division in London - a place he's starting to describe as Wonderland.

London - 17 October 2005
"Something weird has happened to London. Previously this city ranked somewhere between Jakarta and Manila in terms of places I'd like to live...

Image: Still from Michael Bennett's Kerosene CreekThanks to The New Zealand Writer's Foundation

Michael Bennett is the recipient of the FilmFour Award for screenwriters set up by the British Council New Zealand and the NZ Writers Foundation. His recent short film Kerosene Creek - was selected for screening at the 2005 Berlin Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival and National Geographic All Roads Film Festival in Washington DC and Los Angeles. He is currently on a working attachment at FilmFour's feature development division in London - a place he's starting to describe as Wonderland.

London - 17 October 2005
"Something weird has happened to London. Previously this city ranked somewhere between Jakarta and Manila in terms of places I'd like to live...

Image: Still from Michael Bennett's Kerosene Creek"But in the 18 years between my visits here, someone has trotted about and sprinkled fairy dust all over the place. It's beautiful. It's sunny - it's ridiculously warm - the trees are green. Despite the bombs everyone seems cheerful, relaxed. Optimistic even. It's Wonderland. Descending into the underground does entail a certain degree of sphincter-clenching. But exercising the entire muscular system on a daily basis is never a bad thing.

"A little update on what's been happening with the FilmFour attachment. Before arriving here, I was in Los Angeles at the National Geographic All Roads festival. Amazing people and amazing films - Native American filmmakers, Aboriginal filmmakers, Kazakstanis, Tibetans, a woman making a film about Palestinian hip-hop artists, an Afghani who risked imprisonment and torture to document what's happened in his country. While a lot of festivals seem to be about the Industry, this one was uniquely about people and about cultures. Something special. And being with filmmakers who literally put their lives on the line to pursue their art rather puts into perspective our own 'horror stories' about getting our work made.

"FilmFour has perhaps 80 feature films in different stages of development at any given time, it invests in perhaps two or three times as many feature films each year as are made in New Zealand. With the breadth and range of films at various stages of development, the development team is correspondingly large. And things happen fast, projects fly about with the speed and relentlessness of the black cabs that race round Oxford Circus on a Friday night - new pitches are heard daily, new properties are constantly looked at for their filmic potential, projects are suddenly greenlit and need to be readied to go, the scripts and treatments and ideas and revisions don't stop coming.

"My introduction was on familiar ground, spending the first week working and advising on a slate of short films co-funded by FilmFour to help identify and promote talent they may subsequently develop features with - the scheme, co-incidentally, that funded Wasp, the short film that pipped Taika at the post at the Oscars in March. It was a buzz to work with a bunch of motivated talented upcoming filmmakers, and it was interesting to see the similarities between our short film industries in terms of the strengths - and the weaknesses - of the different projects.

"Subsequently I've worked on a variety of feature projects on the development slate, from a post-terrorist view of England, to a new take on the Boston Strangler tale, to an out-and-out horror - from possible adaptations of books and theatrical pieces, to pitches of entirely new material, to projects that are being urgently readied for imminent production.

"Gotta say, I've been overwhelmed at the degree to which I've been trusted to become a part of, and to contribute in considerable depth to, the development process here. It's all very much on the plus side already and everything augurs very promisingly for my remaining time here. The black cabs keep coming - the sun keeps shining - it's Wonderland.

"My appreciation once more to the NZ Writers Foundation and the British Council New Zealand for facilitating my attachment here - and to FilmFour and Katherine Butler for welcoming me into the fold."
- Michael Bennett

BRITISH COUNCIL NEW ZEALAND / NEW ZEALAND WRITERS FOUNDATION
UK FILMFOUR AWARD

Early this year British Council New Zealand and the New Zealand Writers Foundation created an opportunity for an experienced local scriptwriter to undertake a six-week working attachment in the feature film development division of innovative UK film company FilmFour.

FilmFour is the film arm of the UK's Channel 4 Television. Dedicated to the production of smart, distinctive and contemporary feature films, FilmFour builds on a twenty-year history of ground-breaking films such as My Beautiful Laundrette, Trainspotting, Sexy Beast and Touching the Void. The company has consistently had its finger on the pulse of modern UK and produces compelling, engaging cinema with international appeal. Recently acclaimed productions include The Motorcycle Diaries and Dead Man's Shoes. Me and You and Everyone We Know and Sisters in Law won five awards between them at this year's Cannes film festival. These awards include the coveted Camera d'Or for Me and You and Everyone We Know. FilmFour is home to the best and most visionary filmmaking talent working in the UK.

FilmFour is driven by a dynamic team headed by Tessa Ross, former head of development at British Screen Finance. The recently appointed FilmFour head of development is Katherine Butler. She was formerly head of development with Alison Owen at Ruby Films and Gwyneth Paltrow at Go Go Pictures. Prior to that Butler was an executive producer at the New Zealand Film Commission.

"FilmFour is delighted to be able to team up with the British Council New Zealand and New Zealand Writers Foundation for this exciting initiative. Channel 4 and FilmFour have always been dedicated to nurturing up-and-coming and existing talent. This award gives New Zealand scriptwriters and developers the opportunity to expand and add to their existing experience by working in the UK for six weeks with our feature film development team. We wish all the applicants luck." - Tessa Ross, Head of FilmFour

The British Council New Zealand/New Zealand Writers Foundation UK Award offered a placement in the feature film development division at FilmFour for six weeks from late September 2006. The award was created to encourage professional and creative development in feature film and television scriptwriting and to encourage further opportunities for the recipient through an environment of cultural exchange. The successful inaugural award in 2003 enabled scriptwriters Vanessa Alexander and Kathryn Burnett to work in the development teams of Working Title and Box TV respectively. To read about their experiences visit http://www.britishcouncil.org/nz-arts-and-culture-film-and-television.htm.

Michael Bennett's recent short film Kerosene Creek was selected for screening at the 2005 Berlin Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival and National Geographic All Roads Film Festival, Washington DC and Los Angeles, while his 2002 short Cow screened at the Cannes Film Festival. His previous work includes the feature film Jubilee and television writing credits including Mataku, Street Legal, CoverStory and Skitz.

British Council New Zealand connects aspirational young people with the best of contemporary UK. Working across the sectors of arts, creative industries, science and education, British Council promotes the sharing of knowledge and experience, with the overall aim of building lasting relationships between the UK and New Zealand.

The New Zealand Writers Foundation provides and promotes professional training, development and resources for New Zealand screenwriters. It has been established to foster excellence in storytelling through the creation of outstanding scripts.

After his return to New Zealand in November the Foundation will run a forum and Q&A to give Michael the opportunity to share the experiences, knowledge and insights gained at FilmFour with the local industry. Details of those events will be posted here closer to the time. More information about the initiative can be found at the end of Michael's report.