The Sondra Kelly Award

Colleen Murphy wins the 2012 Sondra Kelly Award!

On a festive night in Toronto at the WGC Holiday Party, hundreds of screenwriters and friends gathered to celebrate the holiday season. We also marked the occasion with the awarding of the annual Sondra Kelly Award. Sondra Kelly was a founding member of the guild, and served on the WGC Council for eight years. The Award in her memory was created because Sondra understood how difficult it can be for a screenwriter in mid-career to set off in a different direction and get a new project off the ground. The Sondra Kelly Award – this year totaling $6,000 – is meant to buy time out for a screenwriter to develop their project their way.

The 4th Annual Sondra Kelly Award was presented to WGC member Colleen Murphy, whose proposal for the short film, Bloodsucker Waltz, impressed the jury with its “passion and honesty, and Colleen’s proven ability to push formal boundaries while making films that both disturb and resonate with viewers.”
Congratulations Colleen.
 

Our thanks to ACTRA Fraternal Benefits Society, who sponsor this award. We also want to thank Ron Kelly for his generous additional support of the Award.

Sondra Kelly was a longtime member of the Writers Guild of Canada. In 2007, she received the WGC Writers Block Award for her record of exceptional service to the WGC and for her strengthening of the Canadian screenwriting community as a whole. In addition to serving on the WGC Council from January 1997 to December 2003, Sondra occupied the first WGC-designated seat on the Actra Fraternal Benefits Society (AFBS) board (1998 to 2003). Hers was the first writer’s voice on a board made up of actors, producers and broadcasters at a time when a writer’s voice was much needed. This Award in her memory, generously supported by AFBS and the Kelly family, honours her dedication and contribution.