15 Dec Introducing The First Draft Screenwriters
INTRODUCING THE FIRST DRAFT SCREENWRITERS
Six Scottish screenwriters begin a year of feature film script development with The Portal Arts and Screen Scotland.
The Portal Arts and Screen Scotland have today announced the first cohort for First Draft, a new year-long programme supporting new and emerging screenwriters based across Scotland. First Draft forms part of Screen Scotland’s Talent Builder programme announced earlier this year.
The screenwriters selected are Alia Ghafar, Dawn Sievewright, Jason Bradbury, Lillian Salvatore, and co-writers Fin Cramb and Sean Watson. Beginning this month and running until November 2026, the screenwriters will work under the support and guidance of Development Executive, Lizzie Gray as they take their feature film scripts from early outline through to a polished first draft.
The chosen writers represent distinctive Scottish voices across comedy drama, horror, psychological mystery and intimate character-led storytelling. This inaugural round of First Draft received almost 200 applications from across the country. The breadth, ambition and creativity of submissions making the final selection is exceptionally competitive.
First Draft is a national feature film screenwriting development programme delivered by The Portal Arts in partnership with Screen Scotland as part of its Talent Builder programme. Over 12 months, participating writers will receive paid script development, editorial guidance, masterclasses, industry support and mentoring designed to strengthen their craft and progress their feature screenplays.
Selected Screenwriting Projects
Dawn Sievewright – MIMI
Mimi offers a bold and provocative re-examination of the Madeleine Smith murder case, reframing the notorious Victorian scandal through a contemporary feminist lens. The project blends scandal, desire and class tension while drawing parallels with modern narratives around shame and public judgement.
Jason Bradbury – LAYBY
An atmospheric queer thriller, Layby follows a solitary Scottish lorry driver who becomes entangled with a volatile man on the run in Poland. As danger and intimacy deepen, the film explores grief, desire and the complicated need for human connection after loss.
Lillian Salvatore – SASHA GOES SWIMMING
Set in a remote Scottish motel, Sasha Goes Swimming is a dreamlike psychological drama about Sasha, a young woman whose world unravels when a magnetic actress arrives. A story of identity, longing and disappearance, it examines loneliness and emotional inheritance with a haunting, atmospheric sensibility.
Alia Ghafar – LAV STORY
A sharp and heartfelt comedy drama, Lav Story follows Orla Weir who abandons her disastrous birthday and embarks on a spontaneous night-long odyssey through Edinburgh after discovering a trail of cryptic graffiti. The film explores the pressures placed on women in their thirties and the freedom found in stepping outside expectation.
Sean Watson and Fin Cramb – CIRCLES
Circles is a taut Highland horror centred on estranged sisters trapped inside a protective Celtic circle while a Fae creature stalks them. The film blends supernatural dread with themes of trauma, fractured memory and the struggle to break from a destructive past.
Kieran Hannigan, Head of Scripted at Screen Scotland said:
“First Draft is a key part of Screen Scotland’s Talent Builder programme and this first cohort includes an incredibly exciting line-up of compelling films from new voices from across Scotland. The team at Portal Arts are putting in place a strong programme to guide these projects and the writers achieve their potential, including the invaluable opportunity for them to have the dedicated support of such a brilliant script exec in Lizzie Gray. It will be great to see these scripts take shape over the coming weeks and months.”
Lizzie Gray, First Draft Development Exec said:
“I am thrilled to be involved in this first year of First Draft with The Portal Arts and Screen Scotland. The standard and variety of applications was an honour and pleasure to read. It is an incredibly exciting journey to be part of, and I am delighted to begin working with this year’s selected cohort.”
The First Draft programme is supported by Screen Scotland and delivered by Moya Crowley, Creative Director, and Helen Sim-Robertson, Programme Producer, at The Portal Arts.
Notes to editors
About First Draft
First Draft is a transformative new feature film script development programme designed to discover and elevate the next wave of Scotland’s screenwriting talent.
Delivered by The Portal Arts as part of Screen Scotland’s Talent Builder initiative, the programme supports writers to develop their ideas from a strong story treatment into a polished first draft feature-length screenplay. Find out more at FIRST DRAFT – Screen Scotland Talent Builder – The Portal Arts and follow us on Instagram and X.
Talent Builder
Talent Builder is a bold new programme featuring six integrated initiatives designed to develop the next generation of Scottish filmmaking talent and increase creative origination from Scotland. Created to support Scotland-based writers, directors and producers working in film, Talent Builder – First Draft, The Bigger Picture, Next Wave, North Star Shorts, and Opening Shot, alongside GMAC’s continuing Little Pictures programme, offers a clear and comprehensive pathway from early stage through to the completion of a first feature film script.
This new approach to film talent development in Scotland will run for the next five years to 2030–31, in line with the wider Screen Scotland strategy. More details can be found here: Talent Builder | Screen Scotland.
About Screen Scotland
Screen Scotland drives development of all aspects of Scotland’s film and tv industry, through funding and strategic support.
Screen Scotland is part of Creative Scotland and delivers these services and support with funding from Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Find out more at screen.scot and follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.
About The Portal Arts
The Portal Arts is an arts and media charity based in Govan, Glasgow. Through creative participation we aim to improve wellbeing and address inequality.
Our creative participation programmes provide opportunities to meet new people, develop creative skills and access professional resources. Follow us on X, Facebook and Instagram.