A COMPETITION is being launched by Stroud-based film company Arturi Films, inviting aspiring writers across Gloucestershire to submit screenplay synopses.

The Stories Start Here screenwriting competition is open to anyone over 16 who has a story to tell.

Organisers hope to attract a diverse range of people, including those who have not written before.

Successful applicants will be invited to attend a screenwriting workshop at the BBC Learning Centre in Gloucester and will go on to write a short screenplay.

Those scripts will then be judged by professional writers and prizes presented on June 27, 2006 at the New Writers Day at the International Screenwriter's Festival in Cheltenham.

The competition is part of an International Screenwriter's Festival. This will be a five-day event devoted to professional screenwriters, industry delegates, high profile guests and new writers, and is to be held between June 27 and July 1 at Cheltenham Film Studios.

The festival is the brainchild of David Pearson, managing director of Arturi Films, who has an extensive credit list as an award winning director and producer for British television.

"The script is what excites and drives everyone in films and TV, and it gets a film financed and made," he said.

A submitted synopsis must be on one page or less.

Full scripts will not accepted. The closing date for the competition is Monday, March 20.

For writing tips and more information about the competition, including rules, visit www.screenwritersfestival.com