Jesse's Track Record
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Jesse's feature screenplay, "Zero", won the 2025 Australian Writers' Guild national screenplay competition - the John Hinde Award - for excellence in science-fiction screenwriting. In 2026, "Zero" also received an AWGIE Nomination for Best Original Feature. The screenplay has been produced by Donut Mafia and Boho Films. 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 Springs Pictures, Deadhouse Films, and Truce Productions. 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. |
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Awards & Nominations
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NOMINATED - AWGIE AWARD (BEST ORIGINAL FEATURE SCREENPLAY)
ZERO (Survival Thriller-Sci-Fi) / 2026 Screenplay by Jesse Laurie |
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WINNER - AWG John Hinde Award
ZERO (Survival Thriller-Sci-Fi) / 2025 Screenplay by Jesse Laurie Trapped within an escape shuttle, adrift in outer space, a first-time astronaut's only chance of survival and returning to Earth is through the help of a corrupt onboard AI system with the intellect of a toddler. |
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$100k GRANT RECIPIENT - Screenwest's Bill Warnock Talent Accelerator
Awarded to Jesse Laurie The Bill Warnock Talent Accelerator is a year-long skills development program for early to mid-career Western Australian writers, who receive $100,000 to develop their professional writing skills and screen projects. |
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Deep Down (Thriller-Drama) / 2023
Screenplay by Jesse Laurie Trapped thirty metres below the earth’s surface in the watery recess of an abandoned deepwater well, an absentee father must find a way out before he and his estranged daughter drown. |
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A Novel Christmas (Family-Comedy) / 2022
Screenplay by Jesse Laurie After moving into their new home, Olive wants just one thing for Christmas: a picture-perfect Christmas tree. |
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Best Film - WA Made Film Festival Get Smart!
Aflame (Drama) / 2023 Screenplay by Jesse Laurie A widower imbues his grief into written letters as he attempts to hold onto his lost love. |
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Showcase - AWG Pathways Raising Thunder (Family-Comedy) / 2021 Screenplay by Jesse Laurie A young farm girl must raise an infant storm cloud and catch its lightning in a bottle to reignite her grieving father’s diminishing spark. |
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Shortlisted - AWG Monte Miller Award (Short Form)
Raising Thunder (Family-Comedy) / 2021 Screenplay by Jesse Laurie A young farm girl must raise an infant storm cloud and catch its lightning in a bottle to reignite her grieving father’s diminishing spark. |
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