Local Screenwriter Chosen For Literary Tour

Emerging Dunedin screenwriter Henry Feltham has been chosen to create a 20 minute literary tour of the city to be shown as part of the Digital Writers’ Festival in Melbourne next month.

One of the quirks of the festival, from 11 – 22 February, is that it will all take place on line.

Henry's will be one of several tours produced by emerging writers from other UNESCO Cities of Literature, including Edinburgh, Reykjavík and Norwich. The 20-minute livecast stream will use two smartphones and a 3G/4G data connection.

Emerging Dunedin writers were asked to put forward a proposal for the '20 Minute City' and Henry's was selected by Melbourne, giving him the opportunity to showcase Dunedin's cultural side.

"Dunedin is New Zealand's artistic heart, but it's not always easy to see. A lot of it is hidden away. So it's a fantastic chance to give the world an introduction to my city's extraordinary culture."

A screenwriter for film and video games, from 2007 – 2009 he was the principal writer for the Casebook series of games, winning a United Nations World Summit award for digital content in 2010. He has worked on a range of projects for the BBC, Cow Prod (France), the New Zealand Film Commission, 38 Pictures (NZ) and Alpha Bristol Pictures (NZ).

Growing up in Wellington, Henry says he read books and played computer games. He went on to write some award-winning fiction and scripts for award-winning computer games before falling into film work.

Now he lives in Dunedin, where he writes for film, TV and web, while working with more experimental forms of fiction in the small amount of spare time he has.

Dunedin's City of Literature bid co-ordinator Liz Knowles says it is exciting to get someone of Henry's calibre to produce the tour.

"Henry is a talented writer and passionate storyteller and will relish this challenge. I'm really looking forward to see his take on Dunedin's literary heart.

"It is a fantastic opportunity to show Dunedin to a new generation of writers from around the world. This really is a great start to Dunedin's new life as a UNESCO City of Literature."

Contact details

Contact Dunedin City of Literature Bid Coordinator on 03 477 4000.