One of the main goals of NOISE Flicks is to give young filmmakers a chance to interact with and hear from successful industry professionals. Our Screenwriting for Shorts workshop on February 26th 2011 was  another fantastic opportunity to learn from one of the best in the business. Award-winning screenwriter/director Cecilia McAllister was on hand to provide all the necessary tools and advice to pen a prize-winning script!

Below is an interview with Cecilia about her work, experience as a screenwriter and the workshop she held for the 2011 NOISE Flicks Film Festival.

McAllister has written and directed scripts, which received Filmbase, FilmBoard and RTE funding. Her Filmboard Short ‘Feileacan’ won Best Irish Short Film at the Cork International Film Festival and showed in competition at over 30 International Film Festivals. She has also written for BBC’s Doctors and sold feature scripts to Danish producers Thura Films and Magnolia Films in Germany.

You’ve written and directed a number of award-winning shorts that have been very well received on the festival circuit. Where do you get the ideas for your stories?

It’s hard to know how ideas come to me. One of my shorts was based on personal experience but others come from characters that come into my head or two different ideas coming together.

Were there any particular sources of inspiration behind your shorts The Fixer, Missing Link and Feileacan?

Missing Link came about from my desire to do something with special effects and I have a background in science so I wanted to do something with scientists. The Fixer came about from the idea of the Butterfly Effect, the idea that butterflies flapping their wings could cause storms. So it’s about a man whose every action is far more powerful then you could ever think. Feileacan came from a memory I had.

Do you have a preference in terms of genre?

Not really, I love film. I think a good comedy though is hard to achieve and hard to beat when it works.

You’ve also written for BBC’s Doctors. Is there much of a difference between writing for television and for film? Which do you prefer?

Well television generally has formats that have to be followed. Film you have a bit more latitude to play with the form. I like both for different reasons. I’d love to make an HBO TV series! As a film maker I want people to see my work and that is very difficult to achieve in film so that would be the big appeal of TV, you know people are watching.

Is writing a short more of a challenge given the time constraints?

I think it can be but it has more to do with the ideas that would work as short films. There’s no point in trying to fit 90 minutes of story into ten minutes. You need to think about stories that can be fully achieved in the time you have. It’s amazing how much can be told and achieved in ten minutes.

You’ve managed to secure Filmbase, FilmBoard and RTE funding for your work in the past. What features should a marketable script have in your opinion?

A strong idea, a clear plan on how to achieve it and a willingness to continue to develop the story and idea so that its strength’s come to the fore. There needs to be a story arch and generally characters we as an audience can identify with. That doesn’t mean we have to like them but we need to be able to understand them and that’s the film maker’s job.

Are there any up and coming Irish filmmakers or screenwriters that you admire?

Loads. Ken Wardrop has a definite voice. Ian Power made some great short films and now just made his first feature which is really strong. Andrea Arnold has a lovely collaboration with an Irish DOP Robbie Ryan and her work really stands out.

What advice would you offer aspiring screenwriters?

Write a lot and listen to advice. That’s not to say everyone is right in their feedback but having an open mind allows you to continue to engage in your story. So many times I just didn’t get a first draft and through discussion the core of the idea comes out and then the next draft has the real gold in it, and usually in a way I would never have expected as the reader.

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m finishing a short film which my dogs star in! I also have a few feature scripts I’m working on. One is a comedy and the other is a coming of age.

Do you have aspirations for any future screenwriting projects?

To see the scripts on screen one day, that’s always the challenge!

For people interested in shorts, are there any good evenings or events that you could recommend?

Filmbase runs allot of different short courses depending on what your interest is. The internet is a really valuable resource and YouTube has so many great shorts on it, it’s a question of finding them. The Filmmaker’s Network is a forum of film makers where you can get loads of information as well.

You’re hosting a screenwriting master class as part of NOISE Flicks on February 26th. What can people hope to learn at your workshop?

The main idea is to show people the basics for the scriptwriting process such as formatting your script, brainstorming ideas and writing visually. Hopefully people will go away with strong ideas that they believe in and an understanding of how to put together their applications for the Screenwriting Competition.

Where can people find out more about and see your work?

My work is on the Irish Film Board site and my showreel is on YouTube. Sometimes my short films are on RTE and TG4 as well.

Tags: BBC, Cecilia McAllister, Cork International Film Festival, NOISE Flicks, RTE