A Q&A fundraiser with three of the UK's leading female screenwriters as they step down from executive roles in the Writers' Guild of Great Britain.
Join Olivia Hetreed (GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING, WUTHERING HEIGHTS, MRS HARRIS GOES TO PARIS), Andrea Gibb (SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS, MISS AUSTEN, ELIZABETH IS MISSING) and Line Langebek (THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE, I'LL COME RUNNING) for an informative and inspiring Q&A as they discuss their careers to date, and how they’ve balanced this with their long involvement with the WGGB, and mentoring and supporting other writers.
50% of the proceeds from this event will go to support the WGGB Welfare Fund.
Join members of the WGGB Film Committee in the bar afterwards to learn more about the work of the trade union for UK writers.
About the speakers
Olivia Hetreed is the screenwriter of GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING and WUTHERING HEIGHTS. International films include FINDING ALTAMIRA, starring Antonio Banderas, Iraqi Oscar entry THE JOURNEY, and Bosnia’s first animated feature, BIRDS LIKE US. MRS. HARRIS GOES TO PARIS, starring Lesley Manville and Isabelle Huppert, is a global box office hit. Olivia is an international mentor of new writing, with a particular focus on under-represented writers. As President of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, she led campaigns on bullying & harassment, gender equality and greater visibility for screenwriters.
Scottish screenwriter Andrea Gibb’s most recent TV work is MISS AUSTEN, a four-part adaptation of the Gill Hornby novel, for the BBC and PBS, which has received glowing reviews. She adapted Andrew O’Hagan’s bestselling novel MAYFLIES, which aired on BBC in 2022 to rave reviews, and won Best Scripted Television Drama at the 2023 Scottish BAFTAs. She won an RTS Scotland writing award and was nominated for a BAFTA Television award for her single TV film adaptation of Emma Healey’s book ELIZABETH IS MISSING for STV and BBC in 2020. Some of her other credits include SANDITON, CALL THE MIDWIFE, and SWALLOWS & AMAZONS (BBC Films). She won Scottish Screen Filmmaker of the year award for her first two feature screenplays, DEAR FRANKIE and AFTERLIFE, which also garnered a BAFTA Carl Foreman (for Best Outstanding Debut) award nomination.
Danish-born screenwriter Line Langebek’s recent feature film, THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE, was in competition in Cannes 2024, nominated for a Golden Globe and Academy Award and for Best Screenplay at the EFAs 2024. It won an Eagle for Best Screenplay at the Polish Film Awards. Other credits include I’LL COME RUNNING, SINK OR SWIM, FIELD STUDY and ROYALS NEXT DOOR. In 2015, Line co-founded Raising Films, to support greater diversity and campaign for parents and carers in the UK film & TV industry. She is an active member of the WGGB’s Film Committee and as part of the Dissonant Futures Collective, she has worked on an ACE-funded project about climate grief.
The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain is the trade union for professional writers in the UK working in TV, film, theatre, audio, books, poetry, comedy, animation and videogames. Our members also include emerging and aspiring writers, including students. If you’re a writer in the UK – whether you have professional credits or not – we’re your union! Our movement is growing and our community of writers is working collectively to campaign for a better, fairer industry and improve the pay and conditions of all writers.