Wednesday 6 June 2018

The Gold Coast’s Darren Paul Fisher awarded 2018 Greg Coote Scholarship

Queensland-based screenwriter, director and producer Darren Paul Fisher has been named as the 2018 recipient of the annual Greg Coote Scholarship, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced today.

Now in its third year, the $30,000 scholarship is awarded annually to a Queensland-based writer, producer, director or creative executive with a successful record of creating compelling drama for the screen.

The Premier congratulated Mr Fisher on the one-of-a-kind Queensland prize.

“My Government is committed to helping local screen industry creatives gain international experience and that’s what the Greg Coote Scholarship is all about,” she said.

“Supported by Screen Queensland, Australians In Film, the Queensland Writers Centre and Entertainment One (eOne), the scholarship will allow Mr Fisher to travel to Canada to be part of the writing and development process for one of eOne’s Canadian-produced, long-form TV series.

“Darren will gain valuable industry experience working for eight weeks in an international writers’ room, bringing high-end content from script to screen and working towards a global audience.”

eOne’s Jocelyn Hamilton (President – Canada, Television) said the company looked forward to welcoming Mr Fisher.

“We are thrilled to be able to participate in this noble scholarship and work with Premier Palaszczuk to make this opportunity available,” Ms Hamilton said.

“We look forward to having Darren in the trenches of one of our writers’ rooms on a series that will be seen across North America and all over the world.”

Mr Fisher has won multiple awards and previous success for his feature film work including Inbetweeners, Popcorn and Frequencies.  Mr Fisher has several feature film and television projects in development and was a writer on the Australia-China coproduction At Last, currently in post-production and supported by the Queensland Government.

Mr Fisher said he was excited to learn from the ‘best of the best’ in the industry and bring new knowledge and experience back to Queensland.

“I’m incredibly grateful to everyone involved for such a unique opportunity,” Mr Fisher said.

“It’s especially valuable for filmmakers like myself who are looking to transfer success from the feature space into quality long-form television drama.”

The Premier made the scholarship announcement while touring Screen Queensland’s hot desk space at ‘Charlie’s’, a Los Angeles-based working and networking space for Australian filmmakers, run by Australians In Film.

President of Australians In Film Kate Marks congratulated Mr Fisher and thanked the Queensland Government for their continued investment to secure the future of Queensland’s screen sector.

“We congratulate Darren on receiving this incredible Fellowship, which has the potential to be a career defining opportunity. We applaud Tracey Vieira and everyone at Screen Queensland on their continued and innovative investment in the Queensland screen sector. AiF is proud to be the Los Angeles based partner of this prestigious fellowship,” said Kate Marks, President of AiF.

“Greg Coote ran LA-based Larrikin Entertainment with David Calvert-Jones, and worked tirelessly to open doors for Australians in international markets,” said Ms Marks.

The Screen Queensland desk at Charlie’s is a collaboration with Australians In Film and offers Queensland practitioners the opportunity to book a 10-seater meeting room or hire three on-site theatres and is available through an application process.

Screen Queensland has an LA consultant available to assist Queenslanders with accessing the American market with projects.

Premier Palaszczuk is currently visiting Los Angeles as part of a 10-day trade mission to Japan and the United States of America.

Media Contact:  Geoff Breusch 0417 272 875