Screen Ireland has announced the next round of the Spotlight scheme, focusing on new and emerging talent in play writing who wish to adapt a piece of their own stage or radio work for the screen.

About the Funding

Up to ten participants will be chosen for this scheme to adapt an existing stage work/radio play of their own into a feature film of any genre.

Selected writers will be awarded funding of up to €15,000 for individuals and up to €18,000 for teams of two or more writers.

Each writer/writing team will be paired with a script editor, paid for by Screen Ireland, and mentor specialising in writing for stage and screen for the duration of the program.

A series of virtual webinars and masterclasses will be held throughout the program, culminating in an alumni networking event with industry members and the past participants of the Spotlight scheme in attendance.

Who Can Apply

Please note, this scheme is targeted to new, emerging, and under represented voices with a clear background of writing for the stage and/or radio drama and demonstrable ambition to work as both theatre/radio and screenwriters. Applicants’ stage or radio works do not have to have been performed/broadcast in order to qualify. Submissions from applicants who have not applied to Screen Ireland previously are strongly encouraged.

Applicants must have a clear background in one or more of the following areas in order to qualify:

• Writing for the stage through community/regional/amateur theatre/third level education (applicants must have graduated prior to applying).
• Stage writers previously supported through new talent programs through any of the country’s theatres or theatre training programmes.
• Radio dramas (of any genre).
• Established theatre writers who do not currently have backgrounds in screenwriting.

Applicants who have previously been supported by Screen Ireland are not eligible to apply with the following exception: Recipients of funding under Screen Ireland’s Short Film schemes including the Actor As Creator Scheme. If applicants have received any other Screen Ireland funding in addition to these schemes, they are not eligible to apply to Spotlight.

Applicants who have a produced credit as a writer on a live action or animated feature film or television series are not eligible for Spotlight.

Application Requirements

Applicants are asked to submit a 1-2 page pitch outlining why they want to adapt a particular piece of their work for the screen.   

Applicants submitting the most original and unique ideas with evident screen adaptation potential and clarity of vison will be invited to develop the idea into a feature length idea and write a first draft screenplay over the course of the program.

Application Guidance

The pitch document should address the following headings:

• Logline: One sentence pitch of your idea within 25 words.
• Synopsis: Complete synopsis, including spoilers so please give us a clear conclusion of how your stage or radio play or monologue ends.
• Motivation/Why: Please outline why you want to adapt this particular piece of your work for the screen?
• Themes: What do you have to say through stage or radio drama which could thematically resonate with a screen audience? Is there an urgent and important perspective, currently absent in Irish cinema, that you need to share with the world through adapting your work for the screen?
• Character Journey: Does your main character(s) currently undergo any kind of journey or realization in the work you wish to adapt?  Is there potential for a journey or arc?  Describe your main character(s) potential journey in a paragraph; the psychological and emotional evolution or devolution of your main character over the course of the story. 

Making an Application

Applications should be sent to [email protected] using the Application Form in the Downloads section at the bottom of this page.

Applications which do not meet the criteria set out in the above guidelines will automatically be deemed ineligible for consideration.

Due to the nature of these short pitch applications, feedback will not be available.

If you have any questions regarding the guidelines or the scheme in general, please contact [email protected]

Application Deadline

Applications will close at 1pm on Friday, 5th May. Late or incomplete submissions will not be accepted.

Downloads

• Application Form
• Spotlight – Frequently Asked Questions