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Graduate Wins Emmy Award
Media School graduate wins prestigious scriptwriting award.

A graduate from The Media School has won a prestigious International Emmy Award for a script he wrote in his second year at university.

John Allison, who graduated from Bournemouth's BA (Hons) Scriptwriting for Film and Television course in November 2004, won the award after he entered a competition run by the International Academy of Television Arts and Science.

The academy has been recognised worldwide since 1969 for its celebration of world-class television production, and quintessential writer Sir Peter Ustinov has given his name to this particular scriptwriting award.

The competition was open to novice writers worldwide, and is designed to give them both the recognition and encouragement they need to lead them into a successful career in television scriptwriting.

For his script, 'Distant Relatives' John was awarded $2,500 and a trip to New York to attend the IEMMY's festival. As part of his prize, John has also been allotted an industry mentor who he says seems extremely keen on helping his career progress.

John is the second Bournemouth student to win this award in five years, and course tutor Jan Weddup who describes John as a 'quiet, mature guy', thinks he's done well in this 'notoriously competitive industry. It's a funny, insiders business that's hard to get into', he says.

However the scriptwriting students at Bournemouth have been taught by the experts, as all the tutors here have been in the industry themselves, writing everything from comedy to Emmerdale. Jan tells me what John has done "will give him a major leg up because he'll get to meet important people and it'll make a good impression on agents".

As for John himself, he is extremely proud of his award. "All those hours at the keyboard were worth it", he says. "I never doubted it. It all seems very positive. Onwards and upwards from here".

Story by Crystal Wilde
BA (Hons) Multi-Media Journalism - 2nd Year Student

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