Sofia Wickerhauser, a Brazilian student on the MA Script Writing at Goldsmiths, writes about culture clash, and her experience as a Goldsmiths post-graduate student.
An MA Script Writing student receives feedback from fellow students on the structure of his script.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why I chose to pursue a Masters in London instead of Sao Paulo, where I was born and raised. In the three years before starting the course, I had made a series of apparently successful short films, but I still felt I’d hit a wall in my progress as a filmmaker, and didn’t know how to move forward. After learning that several Brazilian screenwriters had studied abroad and had come back the better for it, I decided the UK film industry was exactly what I needed.
MA Script Writing students pitch a film idea in a joint session with MA Directing students.
However, when classes started I was dismayed to notice I was not keeping up with the tasks like my classmates were. Because of my high IELTS grades I had thought myself prepared to study in English, only to find that expressing a point succinctly in another language – while tired and under pressure – is no easy task. I’m finally getting used to it, but I still have to weigh the pros and cons of speaking up – explaining a complex idea in English can be a headache.
Two students in Sofia’s class feeding back on each others work.
The program revolves around two main weekly tasks: writing, and giving feedback to other writers. In this process, you listen to feedback about your own work, go home, and you rewrite. The repetition would be taxing if not for the fact the scripts do evolve and improve, which is all we desperately want as writers. Aside from optional classes on film theory and other formats of writing, we attend workshops every Tuesday in the Media Research Building lasting between six and eight hours. The diversity of my class is quite interesting, and my classmates are people of unparalleled creativity. The 13 of us each write our own original feature film scripts, which range from stories about 19th century female boxers, heists, post-apocalyptic societies, space exploration, and even the hardcore punk scene.
MA Script Writing students analyse material brought by a guest lecturer.
We often form small discussion groups in these workshops, engaging with each other’s work, while also learning screenwriting skills. We regularly pitch our stories with a timer, an exercise where the listener also learns to pay attention and give feedback. Sometimes we deliver our protagonists’ monologues in the first person, or bring in songs that would set the tone of our films.
We regularly meet each other for one-on-one feedback in pubs or cafes around the university. One thing is sacred, though: no talking shop while we eat. Occasionally we join students from the Producing or Directing pathways in special workshops or guest lectures. Last year we collaborated with production students in their adaptation projects, writing short scripts based on real life stories chosen by the producers. This year, some of us are writers in their graduation short films, which should become calling cards for future industry work. Writing in this rhythm can be exhausting, but also very rewarding, especially when doing it with friends who are with you all the way!
For more information on the MA Screen Writing at Goldsmiths, please visit the programme page. The university also has a number of scholarships and funding opportunities for applicants to filmmaking programmes.