EIFF announces screenwriter-in-residence

Glasgow-born Nicole Taylor takes on role

by Amber Wilkinson

Three Girls
Three Girls Photo: BBC

Edinburgh International Film Festival announced Glasgow-born screenwriter Nicole Taylor, whose Three Girls recently aired on BBC1, as the new EIFF Screenwriter-in-Residence.

Taylor will receive a bursary of £7,500 and access to the four Edinburgh universities between now and June 2018, when the 72nd edition of the festival will take place. During this time she will have the opportunity to develop project ideas with science and humanities researchers.

Nicole Taylor
Nicole Taylor
Taylor's three-part Three Girls, about the Rochdale grooming scandal, garnered a strong critical response and a consolidated audience of 8.1 million on BBC1 and more than 9.3 million requests for the series were made on BBC iPlayer.

Prior to that Taylor’s multi-BAFTA nominated single drama, The C Word, starring Sheridan Smith, was produced for the channel. She has also written on numerous series, including Indian Summers for Channel 4, The Hour for BBC2, and Ashes to Ashes for BBC1.

Her original feature Country Music - directed by Tom Harper - and telling the tale of a Scots musician who dreams of becoming a star in Nashville, has just completed filming in Glasgow.

Taylor said: “I am so delighted and grateful to have been chosen as the EIFF’s screenwriter-in-residence. I can’t think of a more valuable opportunity for a screenwriter than access to the great brains and great work of Edinburgh’s universities. I’m so excited about the year of discussions that lie ahead, which I hope will be touch paper for new ideas and new work.”

The programme is developed in partnership with Wellcome and with the Beltane Public Engagement Network, who provide links and facilitate access to research at The University of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Napier University and Queen Margaret University. This access helps build connections between the worlds of film and science.

EIFF artistic director Mark Adams said: “We are thrilled that Nicole will be the latest EIFF screenwriter-in-residence. She is a real talent, delivering striking new work and look forward to seeing what she will be achieving with the research opportunities on offer.”

It marks the second year of the screenwriter-in-residence post, held last year by Krysty Wilson-Cairns. Darren Aronofsky's Protozoa Pictures is currently attached to produce her adaptation of The Good Nurse, about a US serial killer.

Share this with others on...
News

Desert dogs Zeshaan Younus and Renee Gagner on I’ve Seen All I Need To See

Inviting curiosity Ildikó Enyedi on the value of science, perception, discovery and Silent Friend

Streaming Spotlight: the rites of Spring We shine our Beltane spotlight on films in which the old ways linger

Fighting fit for a debut feature Valéry Carnoy talks toxic masculinity, memory, confidence and Belgian 'soft-power'

Collective power We look ahead at the programme of this year's Folk Film Gathering

First wave of titles announced for Fantasia 2026 Sensory strangeness, queer vampires, sinister shopping and more lined up for Montreal.

More news and features

We're bringing you news and reviews from the San Francisco Independent Film Festival and Queer East.



We're looking forward to Cannes.



We've recently brought you coverage of Visions du Réel, Fantaspoa, Overlook, BFI Flare and SXSW, the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, the NY Rendezvous with French Cinema, the Glasgow Film Festival, the Berlinale, Sundance and Palm Springs.



Read our full for more.


Visit our festivals section.

Interact

Don't forget that you can follow us on YouTube for trailers of festival films and more. You can also find us on Mastodon and Bluesky.


It's a busy time for festivals and here's the latest from the spring events:


Cannes 16 titles added to line-up


Cannes Announces full jury


Cannes Directors' Fortnight selection


Cannes Payal Kapadia heads Critics' Week jury