PhD student secures climate change TV drama support
A Glasgow Caledonian PhD student has won a place on a script development programme backed by BBC Writersroom and The British Film Institute.
Jess Moore is one of six UK writers to be selected for Climate Spring's Hot House: Development Lab for scripted TV and feature film projects about climate change.
Writers were asked for ideas that creatively explore climate change by submitting a one-page pitch and a sample script written for TV, film or stage.
Jess, a director, playwright and scriptwriter, is working on a PhD on climate change and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which will result in a commercially-credible television script.
Her pitch, No Man's Land, focused on three best friends who start an off-grid lifestyle on wasteland next to a petrol station.
Their unlikely utopia is upset when the oil company uses dirty tricks to evict them.
Professor Catriona Miller, of Glasgow Caledonian's Department of Media and Journalism, said: "I am thrilled for Jess as this is exactly what her PhD is all about and is a fantastic example of how creativity and academia are far from being mutually exclusive."
The writers selected will receive one-to-one development, over the next three months, and the opportunity to pitch for development funding for their projects from Climate Spring.
Jess has previously written a romantic comedy series for Audible and had short films screened at festivals in Cannes and Montreal. Her debut play, Gin for Breakfast, received an Off West End Theatre Award nomination for Best New Play.