Winner to be announced at an awards event at Wellcome Collection on Oct 8.

2009 Screen Star of Tomorrow Emma Sullivan [pictured] and Mum & Dad writer/director Steven Sheil are among the finalists announced for the inaugural Wellcome Trust Screenwriting Prize, a screenwriting prize for feature films inspired by the fields of biology and medicine, which includes a £20,000 reward for the writer to further develop the script.

Josh Appignanesi (who is co-writing with Naomi Alderman), Sam Firth, Al Smith and Martina Amati will also compete for the prize.

The prize, which was publicly launched in June, is run in association with the BFI Film Fund. The winner will be announced in an awards event on Oct 8 and, in addition to the cash prize, will receive support from the Trust to connect them with leading scientists, commercial partners and producers.

Dr. Daniel Glaser, head of special projects at the Wellcome Trust, said the shortlist of scripts move beyond more established staples of science films. “We are certain that all the shortlisted screenwriters will benefit from working closely with our scientists and partners,” Glaser commented.

Judges of the prize include representatives from the BFI, Film4 and the Wellcome Trust and leading scientist Dr. Allan Pacey from the University of Sheffield. The judges are chaired by story editor Kate Leys.

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