Jesse Laurie

Jesse's feature screenplay, "Zero", won the 2025 Australian Writers' Guild national screenplay competition - the John Hinde Award - for excellence in science-fiction screenwriting. The screenplay has been produced by Donut Mafia and Boho Films, and is set to hit the festival circuit in 2026. Residing in Western Australia, in 2025 Jesse was also selected for Screenwest's prestigious Bill Warnock Talent Accelerator, receiving a $100k grant to secure placements with BBC Australia and Tony Ayres Productions/NBCUniversal. With a background in elite sports, Jesse was drafted into the AFL in 2009 before pivoting to screenwriting, where his scripts have consistently earned recognition in international competitions and high praise from vetted Hollywood coverage services (Terri Zinner and SpecScout with 75+). Jesse's slate of projects has been engaged with a number of production companies, including Zero Gravity, Steel Spring Pictures, Deadhouse Films, and MOFA & Stories by Green. Historically, Jesse's short films - "Raising Thunder" and "A Novel Christmas" - have screened at Austin FF, Chicago International Children's Film Festival, Rhode Island FF, Flickerfest, and St Kilda FF, among others.