Katielee.co.uk

Screenwriter and crafty type

Your Hand Found Mine: Best Drama at the Berlin Flash Film Festival!

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The micro short film I wrote has just won Best Drama at the Berlin Flash Film Festival!

I can’t quite believe how beautiful this film is. It came out exactly how I imagined it, which is just nuts. Working with the team on this has been a privilege and pleasure; I can’t believe how lucky I am. We made the film as part of BAFTA Crew x BFI Network. Our groups were assigned at random (we were Group One) and I totally lucked out with mine.

You can watch the award-winning one minute cut here:

Watch this space for the longer cut!

Lost Tapes of Roxy Jones gets BAFTA Rocliffe shortlist!

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Very excited that we made the shortlist for BAFTA Rocliffe Children, Family and YA competition with our YA script, THE LOST TAPES OF ROXY JONES. This is the third time we’ve made it through on this prestigious award. Rocliffe really is a life-changing competition. It helped us get representation, it’s given us the chance to meet so many new contacts and friends, and it’s been a massive boost for morale. I entered my first ever script – Mum-Life Crisis – into the Comedy competition back in early 2016, and the thoughtful and encouraging feedback I received helped me to write a better draft (and – most importantly – stopped me from giving up straight away!)

That draft went on to make the shortlist for the Funny Women Awards.

The next script I wrote (family comedy drama DARKE TIMES, co-written with Alex Milway) reached the Rocliffe Children’s Award final six (also in 2016) and we got our agent, Clare Israel.

We stopped entering for a few years because we were busy developing a project with Zodiak Kids and working on other things. Then, in 2019, I decided it was time to try again, this time getting shortlisted for FOLLOWERS in the Childrens’ & YA category again. (Full disclosure: there have been at least three other scripts that didn’t get anywhere! Don’t want to give the impression it’s been all sunshine and lollipops.)

Anyway, if you’re trying to decide whether or not to enter, just go for it! I entered that first script not knowing anything much at all about screen writing. It really has been life-changing.

BAFTA Crew X BFI Network

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I made it onto Bafta Crew X BFI Network!

It’s a brilliant opportunity to meet other people in the TV and Film industry and I can’t quite believe I got selected. Big thanks to Lucy Dwyer and Kirsty Smith who nominated me. They’re like the fairy godmothers of the writing community. They would absolutely hate that description. Luckily, I don’t think they’ll see this, so I will let it stand (until they send me a cease and desist notice).

One of the best things about becoming a script writer has been the amazing gang of writer buddies I’ve made. I spend more time with my writing crew WhatsApp group than I do with my family (this is a joke, but also true).

So while I’m here, let me tell you about my my writing crew. (We have been trying to think of a name for ourselves. When we started writing sketch comedy we called ourselves the Sketchy Bitches, but then we toyed with Scarecrows – because we’re outstanding in our field – but for now we remain ‘Writing Crew’ in the WhatsApp.)

Our members are:

Lucy Dwyer

Emily-Jane Clark

Katie Lee (that’s me)

Kat Rose-Martin

Kirsty Smith

Lorna Woolfson

They really are the best bunch of humans: supportive, funny straight-speaking and kind. They give excellent notes and brilliant pep talks. I am grateful every day for having found them. I can’t believe I managed to sneak into their gang.

Anyway, the point of this post was to say I made it onto BAFTA Crew. I’ve already met even more lovely people thanks to the scheme, which has meant even more WhatsApp groups. Soon I won’t have to spend any time with my family at all and will maintain a full social life from the comfort of the spare bed in my office. 👍

(And you can see the full BAFTA Crew directory here: https://www.bafta.org/supporting-talent/crew-directory-2020-21-new)

 

Shortlisted for BAFTA Rocliffe 2019

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Did I mention this? Well I should have! My YA script, Followers was shortlisted for BAFTA Rocliffe’s Young Adult/Children’s writing award last year.

Followers is about three also-ran YouTubers who get caught up in the mysterious disappearance of a famous vlogging star. Inspired by true events in the YouTube community (including my past life as a digital journalist and vlogger), Followers finds a dark heart within the weird and wonderful world of web celebs.

It’s the second time I’ve made the shortlist. The previous time was with a family comedy drama I wrote with Alex Milway. At the time, getting that boost from Rocliffe was amazing – it certainly set us on the path towards getting an agent and getting paid as scriptwriters.

So if you’re thinking about doing it, get cracking! It’s really worth it. Even if you don’t get anywhere, you’ll get great feedback. Before we entered our children’s script, I entered my sitcom “Mum-Life Crisis,” which didn’t get anywhere. But the feedback Rocliffe gave me helped me to redraft it, and that’s the script that got shortlisted for the Funny Women Award. So it’s a competition that’s worth its weight in gold!

Plus, if you go to the Showcase live event, you get to take selfies with writing legends like Sarah Phelps. Look how bloody chuffed I am in this photo!!

 

 

For more information on Followers (or anything else) you can get in touch with Clare Israel at David Higham Associates

 

*Well, actually, the last time we were “forum listed”, which was one step up from shortlisted, but doesn’t seem to exist any more.

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