Sheffield Hallam lecturer takes home Best Screenplay award

12th September 2016

A screenwriting lecturer from Sheffield Hallam University has taken home the gong for 'Best Screenplay' at the British Screenwriters' Awards.

Phil Charles was shortlisted in The Impact 50 Best Screenplay category after he beat thousands of entrants to become one of the writers to have his short film screenplay, More, selected for a feature about the end of the world. Phil collected his award from Mad Max: Fury Road producer, Iain Smith at the red-carpet event in London. Other nominees on the night included renowned screenwriters such as Shane Meadows, Alan Bennett, Nick Hornby and Rob Delaney, as we well as writers of many of the UK's most popular television shows and films. The competition brief was to write a screenplay of up to two minutes about what people would do in their last hour on earth, with a meteor about to destroy the planet. The winning short films will be edited together into one feature film, entitled The Impact, which will be given a theatrical release. Hollywood screenwriting legend, Joe Eszterhas (Basic Instinct, Jagged Edge), has written the opening sequence in which the President of the United States delivers the news in a global newscast. Phil said: "To be nominated for the award was an honour in itself, but when my name was announced on stage as the winner - surrounded by many of the UK's most celebrated screenwriters - was a complete shock. "I'm now looking forward to seeing how my script is interpreted." The venture is now open to filmmakers across the globe to produce the shorts, with the winning films making it into the feature. Phil added: "This is a great opportunity for new filmmakers as they could obtain an IMDb credit - a real kick-start to their careers. I'll be encouraging student filmmakers from the University to get involved as it would be fantastic to make this a true Hallam experience."