This year’s Arrow Video FrightFest and Queensbury Pictures’ Giles Edwards will see its New Blood initiative return with its quest to find the best emerging UK-based genre writers and bring their projects from script to screen.

The scheme has already successfully brought two projects to completion. Broadcast Signal Intrusion – written by Phil Drinkwater and Tim Woodall and directed by The Signal’s Jacob Gentry will be screened at this year’s festival following its world premiere at SXSW, and Carina Rodney’s The Change, which was brought to the screen by producer Jennifer Handorf (The Borderlands).

The shortlisted writers will get a chance to workshop their ideas with a group of industry professionals and genre experts. This year’s panel include Prano Bailey-Bond, director of the eagerly-awaited Censor, Jed Shepherd, co-writer of Host, Najarra Townsend, star and producer of The Stylist, and Giles Edwards from Queensbury Pictures.

Edwards said of New Blood: “Having already achieved the initial aim of New Blood, with the discovery of the phenomenal script Broadcast Signal Intrusion from Phil and Tim which then exceeded our wildest expectations as a finished feature, and the amazing Jennifer Handorf falling for Carina’s absolutely wild The Change, we’re more adamant than ever that the cream of UK genre writing talent is out there, just waiting for the opportunity to wrench our collective gut with their visions of true terror.”

FrightFest co-director Greg Day added: “For FrightFest to be continuing to support and enable aspiring scriptwriters to have this opportunity is very gratifying, especially as Giles and Queensbury Pictures have proved that they really mean business and are not just playing industry lip-service. Good luck to the New Blood class of 2021.”

The workshop will take place on Thursday, August 26th, the opening day of the festival, and applications open on Monday, July 12th. A dedicated application page is available on the FrightFest website for hopefuls to submit their 400-word proposal. If selected, the writer will then send the first 10 pages of their script idea. The deadline is Sunday, July 26th and successful applicants will be notified by July 31st.

For more information on Arrow Video FrightFest, head over to www.frightfest.co.uk.