Talented writer on course to win prestigious competition

Laura Turner, who lives in Tattershall, entered her short film idea ‘Red Lamp’ and has successfully made it through several tough rounds of voting to become a finalist.

Along with nine other entrants, she won a place on an intensive ‘masterclass’ in the Lake District with top Los Angeles-based screenwriter Laurie Hutzler last month.

Now, Laura will go on to pitch her story idea at Pinewood Studios later this month aiming to clinch the overall title.

Laura, who has previously written scripts for a number of well-known TV shows including Casualty and EastEnders, said the masterclass was outstanding.

She added: “I’ve really enjoyed meeting the other candidates, watching their ideas develop, and gaining feedback for myself.

“I think it was great to have the opportunity to have a few trial runs at pitching too in preparation for the finals weekend at Pinewood!”

Speaking about her film idea ‘Red Lamp’, Laura describes it as an historical drama set in World War One.

She explained: “It is set in a brothel on the front line and is based on the Old Testament prostitute character Rahab.

“As a writer and a woman, her story fascinated me, so in turn, Marguerite in my story mirrors her.”

The overall competition winner will receive a unique opportunity to have their film made with production support and a budget of £30K.

They will also go to Hollywood, meet Ralph Winter (producer of X-men and Fantastic Four), and a host of other industry 
professionals who will give feedback on the completed film.

Laura’s talents were first spotted in a drama session at QEGS taken by Richard Main, a director of the Chapterhouse Touring Theatre company.

She has since re-worked a number of classics which have been performed at venues throughout the country.