competition

Communications charity Media Trust has teamed up with ITV News to launch Breaking into News, a nationwide competition to search for ITV’s next up and coming broadcast journalist.

The initiative was founded eight years ago and aims to promote diversity in broadcast journalism.

Fronted by journalists Charlene White and Ria Chatterjee, Breaking Into News is now open to everyone of all ages and backgrounds and welcomes individuals with little or no media experience.

The RIFA awards recognise the best short films, of up to 30 minutes in length, which will be judged by a panel of experts from academia and the film industry. The the winners will receive a trophy and £2,000 in prize money for future filmmaking projects.  

This year's panel includes Richard Davidson-Houston, Head of All 4, Channel 4 Television and Matthew Reisz from Times Higher Education.

Now in its sixth year, this year the panel of judges features acclaimed writer and director Richard Curtis (Love Actually, About time, Four Weddings and a Funeral); Nadine Marsh Edwards, Company Director at Greenacre Films and philanthropist Professor Stefan Allesch-Taylor CBE; with further judges to be announced.

Phil Edgar Jones, Sky’s Head of Entertainment, promised that the shows would “make Sky 1 even bigger, bolder and better by bringing… three epic entertainment shows to the channel. There’s something to get everyone either on the edge of their seats or dancing around the living room.”

The TriForce Short Film Festival aims to promote, support and showcase the range of talent within contemporary film-making.

The festival focuses on diverse talent, enabling filmmakers to break into the mainstream. Showcasing the best in short film, alongside a programme of career-focused seminars throughout the day and an industry expo, the TriForce Short Film Festival is designed to help people further their careers in film.

The seven winners were hosted by MP Nigel Evans, who praised A+E’s efforts to tackle the “top heavy dominance of men” in the media industry.

The Lifetime Shorts Competition was open to any UK-based women film-makers, and received over 200 entries which were judged by a panel of experts including actress and producer Michelle Collins, Women in Film & TV UK CEO Kate Kinninmont and General Manager UK of A+E Networks Heather Jones.

The Screenwriting Goldmine Awards help talented British writers develop the right skills and contacts needed to break into the industry. The screenplays can be in film, TV drama or pilot in any genre.

The competition allows talented writers to have their screenplays read by over 33 leading industry professionals from the likes of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and HBO. 

Entries should be submitted via the website at www.awards.screenwritinggoldmine.com.

Writer Matthew Kirton won the competition, which bagged him a paid development option with Lionsgate and Idris Elba’s production company Green Door Pictures to develop his script into a full TV series.

Kirton was one of three finalists whose work made it past a panel of industry experts, including The Wire star and Green Door CEO Elba, Lionsgate UK’s Zygi Kamasa, literary agent Amanda Davis, and a number of others.

Kamasa, CEO of Lionsgate UK and Europe, told the RTS that the final three scripts had all shown originality beyond those of their competitors.

The broadcaster is partnering with Triforce Creative Network and MonologueSlam UK to support up and coming actors from all backgrounds across the entire UK.

MonologueSlam UK is a scheme running across the UK which offers professional actors the opportunity to perform a monologue before a judging panel of industry professionals.

Twenty-two actors will compete in the final in London in December in front of key industry decision makers and a Channel 4 drama commissioner, with 10 finalists going on to explore working with Channel 4 Drama.