2019 FELLOWS
2019 Fellow
JESSICA
PAINE
"The In Dreams Fellowship helped me get a better handle on the American industry and expand my network.
On top of that, Carmen and Melissa provided invaluable support, insight and guidance – it was a relief to find active allies in trying to navigate meetings and pitching myself and my work. Thanks to their efforts and belief my project got optioned.
If you’re looking for a way to get a foothold in the international side of screenwriting, definitely apply for this – having the In Dreams team in your corner could make all the difference."
Through In Dreams fellowship, Jessica has had her pilot script optioned to a US production company and has met with execs from Stampede Ventures, SK Global, Echo Lake Productions and more.
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Jessica Paine is a screenwriter, script editor and obsessive tea drinker.
After a previous life spent as a producer working in breakfast television, Jess completed her Graduate Diploma in Screenwriting at AFTRS. Her major project was nominated for a Monte Miller Award in 2013. Since then Jess has worked with, and learned from, some of Australia’s most acclaimed writers on shows such as DEADLINE GALLIPOLI, WONDERLAND and CLEVERMAN. Performing every conceivable role in a story room, Jess worked her way up from note-taking, through to Associate Story Producer and Story Editor. Having spent 2017 working in the UK on long-running British icon EMMERDALE, she also continues to write scripts for NEIGHBOURS, while developing other projects.
2019 Fellow
RAMON
WATKINS
"The In Dreams Fellowship has been a crucial step in my evolving screenwriting career.
Under Carmen and Melissa’s guidance, I have honed two half-hour comedy writing samples to a degree that is helping me attract continued interest from industry players. For an Australian writer, the US industry and global market can seem inaccessible and shrouded in mystery. Since I began the Fellowship, my work has been exposed to reputable international production companies and agencies including Imagine Entertainment, Stampede Alliance and Verve Agency, and I’ve received guidance on how to approach these industry meetings. This has given me confidence I’m on the right track as a writer, and I feel as if an invisible barrier has been broken down.
I would encourage any emerging Australian writer to apply for the In Dreams Fellowship. The up-to-date industry knowledge, introductions and bespoke career guidance it provides are practically impossible for less established writers to access in this country."
Through In Dreams fellowship, Ramon has met with execs from Verve, Roll with the Punches, Semi-Formal Productions and more. Ramon has since been accepted into Impact Australia 2.
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Ramon grew up in Adelaide, Australia, the child of a singularly strong-willed mother, and spent his childhood devouring stories about women kicking ass. By the age of twelve his three favourite films were ALIEN, THELMA & LOUISE and ERIN BROCKOVICH, and he knew his future had to revolve around telling stories of his own.
At age 18, he moved with his best friend to Melbourne to study Film & Television at Swinburne University, and promptly came out of the closet, finding freedom and acceptance. He wrote, directed and edited short films throughout his bachelor degree, following that with a Masters of Screenwriting at the VCA, where he fell in love with writing for the television medium. Since graduating in 2015, Ramon has written and directed short films (DANCES 2018, SUMMIT 2019), edited a feature documentary (CAMINO SKIES 2019), and continued to hone his screenwriting craft, with several projects at various stages of development. His TV pilot, DADDIES uses fast-paced, irreverent humour to explore new parenthood through a gay male lens.