Home debut for graduate screenwriters

Published On Wed 23 Apr 2014 by Grant Hill

A movie written by University of Dundee graduates Jill Mannion and Kevin McComiskie will receive its Dundee premiere next month after winning acclaim overseas.

‘Random Acts of Romance’ was written by Jill and Kevin at Vancouver Film School in 2006 after they received scholarships to attend the prestigious Canadian institution. The resulting film, starring Amanda Tapping from the TV series ‘Stargate’, will be screened at Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) on Saturday, 10th May, followed by a Q&A session with the screenwriting team.

Jill graduated in 2004 with an MA in English while Kevin obtained his American Studies and English degree in the same year. Their Vancouver scholarships came about following a nomination by former Professor of English, Geoff Ward, and they also received funding from the Donald Dewar Arts Scholarship to help develop their talents. While studying in Canada, both Jill and Kevin were commended with an outstanding achievement award for their work on screenplays.

Produced in Canada, ‘Random Acts of Romance’ is an anti-romantic comedy about two couples and three singles whose lives unknowingly intersect with dramatic consequences for all involved.

Jill said, “It was shot in just over two weeks, which is really quick. We were asked to do re-writes about every second day if problems came up with locations or budget things. We were writing the amendments and sending them over to Canada by email. It was released in Canada and then put into film festivals around the world. I think it even played in Cameroon.”

Jill was only able to see the film when she was sent a DVD ahead of its UK premiere in Edinburgh earlier this month.

“That was the first time I’d actually sat down and watched it as a film, and I enjoyed it. The feedback has been really good and in some of the reviews, even when they’ve not been so kind about it, they’ve complimented the writing. There had been a structural change, which was a surprise. Amanda Tapping is the biggest star and the way that we had written it, she comes in late. The financial backers wanted her to come in early so that was changed in the edit but it worked.”

Jill and Kevin sent their script to indie director Katrin Bowen after graduating from film school in 2006, and she called the next day to say she wanted to make the movie. The Dundonian writers were nominated at the Leo awards in Vancouver last year for best screenplay.

The screening takes place at DCA at 3pm on Saturday, 10th May, and the Q&A will be hosted by filmmaker John Fairfield, the founder of Flyboy Creative and another Dundee graduate.

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Grant Hill
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University of Dundee
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