Brisbane comedian Jenny Wynter will be jetting off to France later this year, to take up a prestigious screenwriting residency at Marseille WebFest. The opportunity comes courtesy of Melbourne WebFest, who chose Wynter’s pitch for comedy Viking Mama as the winner of their inaugural Pitch Perfect Award.
A joint venture between Melbourne WebFest and ABC iview, the Pitch Perfect Award was presented at a live event at Deakin Square earlier this month. 15 web series pitches were shortlisted from over 120 submissions, and writers were given two minutes to present their ideas before a live audience and the judging panel.
Judging on script potential, creativity and audience reaction, the panel consisted of Rick Kalowski (ABC Head of Comedy), Kevin Mountain (Content Manager, ABC iview), John Cabrera (Gilmore Girls, H+: The Digital Series), Craig Batty (screenwriter/academic) and Steinar Ellingsen (MWF Director).
Winning idea Viking Mama first premièred on stage in Brisbane in May, and Wynter has gone on to tour the country with her quirky tale of a Viking mother navigating the pitfalls of modern suburbia. Described as a “shamelessly silly, but poignant, rock opera”, Wynter’s one woman show will now be developed as a web series, with Wynter having the opportunity to pitch it to the ABC upon her return from Marseille.
In addition to the residency place, Wynter also received a $5000 cash prize.
“I love doing the live show so much and really feel like there are so many more possibilities there in terms of adapting it for the screen. It’s a very fun concept and one that I think mums can completely relate to.” Wynter says. “It’s such a crazy silly idea for a show, but I’m so thrilled that the judges believe in its potential as much as I do! I can’t wait to see where it goes from here,”
For more details head to the official Melbourne WebFest website.
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