Before starting my Scriptwriting MA I worked at Gothenburg Film Studios. I always knew I wanted to be a scriptwriter and decided to enrol on the Master’s in Scriptwriting at Bournemouth University.

During the Master’s itself, I wrote numerous scripts that were made by the Media School. I also met a Director, for whom I wrote many scripts. He asked me to write a script for his Master’s project, which I did. The Film, Ciaran, went on to be selected at various short film festivals. It actually won Best Student Film at the ‘Los Angeles Thriller Film Festival’.

My Master’s project was a feature film script. I know that the opportunity to write my first feature with the support of the staff and students was instrumental in its success. My feature script, Worthless, has been nominated for best Screenplay at various scriptwriting competitions. Most notably, it has recently been selected in the top 100 of the prestigious Scriptapalooza Scriptwriting Competition. Subsequently, this has led me to obtaining a placement agent with Scriptapalooza and Worthless is now being promoted in and around America. Next summer I am actually off to LA for few months because of the networking opportunities I now have.

Since leaving the course I have worked on numerous scriptwriting projects as an editor and as a writer. I wrote the open-set script for the Gokinema Film Festival. This saw my script, Rock, Paper, Scissors directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Philippe Rousselot.

I’m also pursuing teaching of filmmaking. From October next year I will be undertaking a PhD in Scriptwriting – specifically examining the relationship between the gangster and the audience. Finally, I am undertaking my PGCE in which I teach Film & Media.

By Levi Dean