Arts: Write your way into the cinema

INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY/BT PAYPHONES SHORT FILM AWARD

INSPIRED BY the rejuvenation of the British film industry, the Independent on Sunday and BT Payphones have joined forces to launch a search for the next generation of British scriptwriters.

In the last few years, the worldwide success of British films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral (written by Richard Curtis) and The Full Monty (Simon Beaufoy) has helped to raise the profile of British film-makers and screenwriters - and indeed, of all things British.

You can't get much more British than a red phone box: it's as synonymous with Britain as red buses and red letter boxes. There are 140,000 BT public payphones around the country, so it's no surprise that phone boxes feature in so many films shot here. From the shiny steel boxes at Liverpool Street Station, where Tom Cruise picked up instructions from base in Mission: Impossible, to the red box which facilitated the complex negotiations in Local Hero, phone boxes have had starring roles in scores of British films.

Now, the first Independent on Sunday/BT Payphones Short Film Award challenges you to write a script for a short film (of no more than 10 minutes) that puts a BT payphone firmly in the spotlight. We'll pay for the best entry to be produced and screened.

The prize will be pounds 3,000 in cash plus the costs of production (maximum budget: pounds 5,000), and a private screening of the film in London. The winning script will be produced, in close consultation with the writer, by final-year students at the University of Bradford, which is affiliated to the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television. If the winning author has proven expertise in film-making, alternative production arrangements may be agreed.

Entries should be clearly typed and include soundtrack ideas to give the judges a feel for the mood you are trying to portray. Scripts will be judged by a panel of critics and editors at the IoS together with senior employees of BT Payphones.

Entry forms with full details are available from Payphones in Films, c/o Band & Brown Communications, 57 Jamestown Road, NW1 7DB (0171 419 7000). The closing date for entries is 31 July.

All scripts must be the original work of the entrant.

Entries should be clearly marked with the entrant's name, age, occupation, address and phone number.

We regret that entries will not be returned and advise all entrants to make a duplicate copy prior to posting. Posting does not guarantee safe arrival. BT and the IoS are unable to accept responsibility for items lost or damaged in the post.

The prize is as stated and the judges' decision is final; no correspondence will be entered into.

The competition is not open to employees of the IoS or BT, or anyone else connected with the award.

Winners will be notified by post after 30 Sept 1998. A list of winners will then be sent to those who send an SAE to IoS/BT Payphones Short Film Award, c/o Band & Brown Communications, 57 Jamestown Rd, NW1 7DB.

The promoter is British Telecommunications plc, 81 Newgate Street, London EC1A 7AJ.

All copyright and other proprietary rights in the winning script shall vest in BT and the IoS. The winning entrant will be credited in all material, and shall waive all moral rights to the script.

BT and/or the IoS may publicise the competition and the winning entrant must agree to participate in any such publicity.

A pounds 5,000 budget will be allocated to the production of the winning script. Production will be undertaken either by film students from the University of Bradford, working in close association with the scriptwriter; or, at the discretion of BT, the winning scriptwriter. Production budget costs may require that the film is shot on video.

The private screening is a showcase for the winning film. The winner will be allowed a guest list. BT Payphones will fund the hire of cinema and screening facilities, and cater the event. !