CONTENT LONDON: A panel of internationally acclaimed drama specialists has received the final pitches ahead of the inaugural C21 International Drama Series Script Competition, which kicked off Content London here at the BFI today.

Launched in August, the competition, produced in association with leading independent studio Entertainment One (eOne) and Creative England, is designed to find the next big thing in international drama.

Projects ranged from Angela Berliner’s secret agent-focused Matryoshka, which studies three different timelines of a woman’s life, to Shirley Lixenberg’s dramedy Handcuffed, which explores the secret lives of an adult novel authoring duo.

Berliner and Lixenberg were among eight shortlisted writers given a final opportunity to pitch their projects to a panel including Ben Donald, exec producer for international drama at BBC Worldwide, and Polly Williams, head of scripted drama for eOne TV & Creative England.

Also on the judging panel was Christian Vesper, senior VP of international programming, development, acquisitions and coproductions at SundanceTV, ex-Lifetime development exec Nina Lederman and Alan Gasmer, producer and founder of Alan Gasmer & Friends/Veritas Entertainment, who were on the lookout for outstanding pilots for a one-hour drama series.

A Place Called Home, from Naida Redgrave, explores themes of terrorism; 123 Kings Road, from Lucy Wadham and Rosie Miles, tracks a dysfunctional family; and Ed Wiles’ The Black Terror is about a US boxer looking to make it big in Victorian London.

This Man, from Adam Ciancio, explores the mysterious world of an internet character; Shira Rosenzweig’s Orthus follows the murky lives of a hit man and a genius analyst; and The Ladder, from Fraser Flintham, tracks the story of an abduction in suburban London.

The two winning projects – one from the UK and one international pitch – will receive £10,000 development funding, time in a writers room on a current series and assistance in taking their drama project to series, with unprecedented access to the global television drama market. The winning projects will be announced at the second annual C21 International Drama Awards tomorrow night.

C21 editor-in-chief and MD David Jenkinson, who welcomed delegates, said more than 200 scripts had been received, with four from the UK and four from international writers shortlisted.

“It’s been an absolutely fantastic experience. We’re trying to have more creativity and development as part of this event because we realise how important it is to connect new talent with established producers, distributors and broadcasters,” he said.

Carrie Stein, exec VP of global production at eOne Television, said: “I’ve read all of the final scripts and many others, and what stood out was how diverse the stories and the characters were. It’s really exciting to hear from our finalists, who have written some extraordinary material.”

Caroline Norbury, CEO of Creative England, also revealed that several “really interesting” ideas had already been supported through her firm’s recently launched joint venture with eOne, with details to follow in the coming months.