The winner for the South African leg of the Trigger Street Presents Jameson First Shot has been announced. He is 26 year old Alan Shelley from Cape Town, who majored in directing and as a student won several awards for his films. He has worked as a writer, director, editor and vfx supervisor on a locally produced independent mini-series.
His winning scrip, Spirit of a Denture, tells the story of a workaholic dentist who gets a visit from a disruptive pirate. Shelley, and the respective winners from USA and Russia all triumphed, beat over 700 budding screenwriters and directors from across the three countries in the international short film competition designed to uncover up-and-coming film talent from South Africa, Russia and the USA.
“We were impressed with the calibre of many of the entries, but the three winners stood out; they listened to the advice we gave and as a result delivered some well-constructed, clever stories that grabbed our interest. It’s great to be able to discover this level of talent and we’re really excited to see what they will each bring to the shoot,” Kevin Spacey commented.
Trigger Street, with their judging panel of industry experts, produced a shortlist of 20 entries. After completing a rigorous second stage selection process to showcase their creativity and directing skills, the winning three were chosen. Each winner will now fly to LA to shoot their script and direct Kevin Spacey, all with the backing of his award-winning Production Company, Trigger Street Productions.
“I would firstly like to thank everyone at Trigger Street and Jameson, I feel honoured that my script and I were chosen, it is a great privilege. My first reaction was shock and then denial. I couldn’t quite believe it. Competitions are for other people to win; not yourself. I’m still trying to get used to the idea. I’m most excited about meeting new people, people I can learn from. I can’t wait to see America and of course meet Mr. Spacey,” Shelley said.
Seth Pereira, brand manager for Jameson South Africa, said a total of 276 scripts were entered by South Africans. “The expert panel in Trigger Street including President Dana Brunetti (Producer of the Oscar Winning film The Social Network 21) had a great task in whittling the scripts down to a strong short-list. Our South African short-list then had to submit additional work to demonstrate their creativity and directing skills. Alan Shelley from Cape Town was then chosen as the ultimate South African winner from this short-list by Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti. We have no doubt that this will be Alan’s launch pad to furthering his career in the film industry not only here in South Africa, but hopefully abroad too. We look forward to showcasing his film at the premier in Johannesburg and hosting him and Kevin Spacey as our distinguished guests.”
