Thom Benny (Scriptwriting, 2020)

You'll have your ambition and creative processes challenged and developed, and come away a more complete writer.

Thom writes: 'This course was a flashpoint in my writing life. You don't get in without real ambition to write for the screen or stage. And you don't get out without having that ambition heightened, fuelled and hammered into a more refined set of skills that allow you to find better ideas and convert them into stronger work. The workshop format is like a creative thinking incubator. Not only for your own ideas and projects, but for the mindset you need to cultivate to evaluate work, give and receive criticism, draft and develop. You'll experiment, fail, learn and grow. Ken and the team at the IIML lend their brilliant experience and support to the MA scriptwriting programme.'

Bio: Thom has worked as a journalist and copywriter since graduating with degrees in English Literature and Music in 2009. He hadn't written a line of screenplay before gravitating to the IIML and returning to NZ for the screenwriting MA in 2020. In 2021, he works as a communications director, consults on other writers' screenplays, and is contributing music to an animated short film.