Screenwriting

COURSE OVERVIEW

Could you write an award-winning film, TV drama or animation? Or devise a multi-layered narrative for a ground-breaking game?

This rigorous, practical course has a long history of producing outstanding writers for film, television, animation and games, and will give you the chance to see your writing tested in production.

In partnership with BBC Drama

"Studying at the NFTS was completely invaluable to starting my career. Not only did I meet wonderful tutors who helped nurture my voice as a screenwriter, it also gave me direct access to the industry which helped get my writing read by agents and led to me being signed."

Laurie Nunn

NFTS graduate - creator of Sex Education

Programme Specification Full Course Outline

The voice of the individual screenwriter is at the heart of our course. You’ll be taught by working screenwriters, producers and script developers, and your voice will be nurtured, developed and challenged to produce work of quality and originality, ready to take out to the industry.

All aspects of professional screenwriting are addressed, with the added benefit that you will also collaborate with other departments – including fiction, animation, producing and games - putting into practice the skills you learn throughout the course.

This is a hands-on course set in a working film and television studio – something that is unique to studying Screenwriting at the NFTS. You’ll cover all aspects of screenwriting across film, television, games and animation, in different forms and genres, from the development of ideas, treatments and bibles, through the drafting of scripts, into production and post, and you’ll receive comprehensive preparation for the professional world of the screenwriter.

You will also have your writing workshopped by professional directors and actors and, working with student producers and directors, have the chance to see your writing tested in production. Samples of your work will be read by literary agents, broadcasters, commissioners and film and television production companies, in advance of a round of industry meetings in your final term where you can pitch your ideas directly to the industry.

The course is intensive and full-time and requires a high level of dedication, a prolific output, and the ability to meet professional deadlines.

You will need to display a talent and passion for screenwriting, a fund of ideas and the desire to tell stories for the screen. You may have written in other forms - plays, novels, short stories, journalism – or already have a body of work, but whatever your experience, your writing must demonstrate an original voice with something to say.

Professional experience in any field is an advantage, in particular work in film, TV or theatre, or allied creative arts. A sound general knowledge of film, TV and theatre writing is expected, as well as a high level of self-discipline and personal motivation.

While many applicants will have a degree from a British or overseas university, we will consider applicants who do not have a degree if they have an impressive portfolio, a creative track record or an alternative qualification.

International students Visa and English language requirements

If you have any questions, please email info@nfts.co.uk

UK* Tuition Fees: £14,800 per year

*Includes EU Nationals with settled/pre-settled status subject to meeting residency requirements.

International/EU Fees: £26,000 per year

These are the fees for January 2024 intake.

Please note:

Fees are confirmed/updated in June each year for the following intake date.

There is a non-refundable £25 application fee for each MA application.
A non-refundable deposit of £500 is required against the cost of your fees on confirmation of your place.

All production costs are included in the course fees, including the use of School facilities and equipment.

We will do all we can to help you make the finances work to come to the NFTS, so please visit our funding guide to find out more about what support is available to you.

The following item(s) should accompany your online application:

One original screenplay, 20 pages in length, together with a one-page (A4) synopsis.
The screenplay may be a short (up to 20 pages) or the first 20 pages of a longer work. It should be presented in a standard screenplay format as per Final Draft, Celtx, etc. All work must be original and must not be adapted or co-authored. It should include a one-page synopsis of the entire story, at the beginning of the screenplay. The screenplay and synopsis should be included in one document to upload and include your full name on the first page.
Optional: If your writing to date has been in a different field (other than screenplays) you may submit a piece of original fiction typed and double spaced, together with a one-page (A4) synopsis. This piece of fiction may be a story, novel or play. It may be a short work, up to 10 pages, or the first 10 pages of a longer work.

Applications open 8th January 2024. We are happy to receive applications from 8th January until the midnight of the application deadline date.

Funding Available

The NFTS awards more scholarships and bursaries to British students, relative to the size of our student body, than almost any other educational institution in the UK. If you’re successful at gaining a place on the course, you will be contacted by our funding team with details on how to apply for one of these scholarships.

Visit our Funding Guide

Tutors

Head of Screenwriting

Brian Ward

The Interpreter / Death Defying Acts

Brian Ward

Main Campus

Course Leader for Screenwriting: Finding Your Voice - London

Tammy Riley-Smith

Credits include Lady M, Delicious and Ain't Misbehavin'

Tammy Riley-Smith

Visiting Tutor

Angeli Macfarlane

Development Producer, writer and founder of Script Cube

Angeli Macfarlane

Student Showcase

Play video

Spring Roll Dream (trailer)
2022 graduate animation

Director/Lead Animator - Mai Vu
Producer - Thijme Grol
Screenwriter - Chloe White

Linh is a Vietnamese single mother who has successfully forged a life for herself and her son in America. But when her father visits from Vietnam and insists on cooking the family a traditional Vietnamese meal, Linh is confronted with the past and culture she left behind and the question of where it belongs in her family’s new life.

Play video

Terminus (or How Dr. Clark Almost Saved The World) (trailer)
2022 graduate fiction film

Director - Sarah Knar
Producer - Alfred Deragne
Screenwriter - Hipatia Argüero Mendoza

It has been raining for weeks on end. A young woman commits herself to a psychiatric clinic, claiming that she is the cause of the rain, and that she has the power to end the world.

Play video

Harp Song (trailer)
2022 graduate game

Designers/Developers/Story - Stephen Glenister, Ástráður "Ace" Ísak Lárusson
Writer - Paul Carey

Harp Song is a narrative-adventure game set in ancient Ireland. Inspired by Irish mythology, our heroine, Clár, is pulled into an on-going war between the old Gods.

Play video

Other Half (trailer)
2021 graduate animation

Director - Lina Kalcheva
Producer - Michelle Brøndum
Screenwriter - Laura Jayne Tunbridge

As an Individual Being in a world comprised of Merged Couples, Ren embarks on a hero’s quest to find his other half and become complete.

Play video

City of Lost Children (trailer)
2020 graduate fiction film

Director - Misha Vertkin
Producer - Jesse Romain
Screenwriter - Brid Arnstein

City of Lost Children is a near future thriller set in a refugee camp for kids in the UK. We follow Dami and Azra as they negotiate the chaos of the camp, desperately trying to find a home for Dami before Azra is deported the next day.