Darren Fisher awarded prestigious screenwriting scholarship

Bond University Film and Television Senior Teaching Fellow – and accomplished screenwriter, director and producer - Darren Paul Fisher was today named the 2018 recipient of the annual Greg Coote Scholarship.

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.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk 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 in 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’s previous film work includes Inbetweeners, Popcorn and Frequencies and he is currently developing two television series as writer/producer with Essential Media and Entertainment, with several feature film scripts in development.

Mr Fisher also served as a writer on the Australia-China co-production At Last, currently in post-production and supported by the Queensland Government.

Mr Fisher, who is a film and Television Senior Teaching Fellow for Bond University’s Faculty of Society and Design, 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.

“It is very fitting that we announce the Greg Coote Scholarship recipient, named after one of Australia’s most prolific screen industry figures, here at Charlie’s in the heart of Hollywood,” Ms Marks said.

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