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Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Films and Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Writersroom are delighted to announce Charlotte Josephine as the winner of the inaugural ‘Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Screenplay First Award’, an award which was launched last year in line with Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Films’ 25th Anniversary celebrations.

Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Films and Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Writersroom are committed to finding and developing new talent and invited applications for the Screenplay First Award from UK writers with previous credits in theatre, TV or radio, who were yet to have a feature film produced. A total of 445 scripts were submitted to Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Writersroom for consideration, with the applications judged by Anne Edyvean (Head of Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Writersroom) and Beth Pattinson (Development Executive, Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Films).

As the winner, Charlotte Josephine will receive the £10,000 Screenplay First Award and the support, time and advice of the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Films development team to develop her original feature screenplay. Due to the high calibre of applications submitted, a runner-up was also selected, Patricia Cumper, who will also be supported with a development opportunity from Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Films and a £5,000 Award.

Anne Edyvean said: ‘The standard of submissions was incredibly high, making it difficult to decide on the shortlist, let alone a single winner… In the end, we created a Runner Up award so as to offer both Charlotte and Pat a development opportunity with Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Films!’

Beth Pattinson said: ‘Charlotte is hugely talented with a brilliantly original voice and really exciting ideas – it was a joy to meet her. Patricia, who has worked extensively in the theatre and on radio, also had a really original and timely pitch and I’m thrilled we’ve found a way of working with her as well. So many of the submissions were of an incredibly high standard, it only goes to show that there’s a fantastic array of talent out there.’

On her award win, Charlotte Josephine commented: ‘I'm so excited to have been selected. I've got no screen experience as either writer or actress, so I need this support, and you can't get better than the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú. I'm grateful for the opportunity and can't wait to crack on.’

Charlotte is co-artistic director of the award-winning Snuff Box Theatre. Her first self-penned play, 'Perfection', was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2011 and won Commendation For Writing from the NSDF. ‘Bitch Boxer’ was the winner of the Old Vic New Voices Edinburgh Season 2012 Award, the Soho Young Writers Award 2012 and the Holden Street Theatres Award 2013.

Patricia Cumper has been writing for radio and the stage in the UK and the Caribbean for more than twenty years. A collection of her plays, 'Inner Yardie', has been published and her latest play, ‘Chigger Foot Boys’, will be on at the new Tara Arts Theatre later this year. She has won RIMA and Sony Silver awards for her radio drama and has just completed the adaption of Tony Morrison's classic, ‘Beloved’.

Patricia said: ‘This award will help me to hone my craft, tell bigger and bolder stories, and write for an exciting medium. I look forward to getting stuck in.’