A feature film exploring female friendship has been awarded the 2025 David Carson-Parker Embassy Prize in Scriptwriting at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.
Written by Eva Brunel as part of her 2025 Master of Arts folio at the University’s International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML), the feature film Peephole is described by its examiners as “powerful, inventive, and original, combining psychological, romantic, and comedic genres with the occasional hint of horror to make a compelling film”.
Named in honour of the late David Carson-Parker, who established the prize to support the Master of Arts (Scriptwriting), it is continued by David’s partner Jeremy Commons. The $5,000 prize is awarded annually to an outstanding Master of Arts (Scriptwriting) student at the IIML and was presented by 2023 winner of the prize Jennifer Wilton.
Peephole centres round a group of female flatmates who discover their Otago student flat was named Peephole after being the target of a peeping Tom years ago. Central character Maisy is already suffering from trauma and as strange events escalate in the house and a romantic triangle exerts more pressure, she struggles with guilt, paranoia and suspicion, increasingly wondering who she can trust.
Eva says she is “both surprised and thrilled” to receive the David Carson-Parker Embassy Prize for her work .
“I’m grateful for the support from my family and my wonderfully talented classmates throughout this invaluable year, and for my flatmates, whose unconditional friendship (loosely) inspired the entire script.”
“Peephole feels grounded in relationships I became really invested in, while building a strong sense of intrigue,” said an examiner.
Fellow Master of Arts student Iris Mackenzie has won the Brad McGann Film Writing Award for her feature film script Claire and Charlie, described by one of its examiners as “a slow-burn character drama about two ‘arrested development’ adult siblings having to renegotiate old power dynamics and patterns of behaviour”.
Named in honour of the late Brad McGann, who was the writer/director of In My Father’s Den, the award is worth $5,000 and was presented by film director and alumna Gaylene Preston.
One examiner found it to be, It was described by an examiner as, “A rare script that manages to build in power as it gets closer to its end, and which is driven by an essence of truth and life.”
Iris says, “I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of such an amazing course that has led me to this point.”
Associate Professor Ken Duncum from the International Institute of Modern Letters says, “I’m very impressed with how hard all the MA writers have worked this year—and the results are now here to be seen with ten strong script projects across the entire cohort.”
Photo caption—From left: IIML Director Damien Wilkins, scriptwriting prize-winner Eva Brunel, film director Gaylene Preston, and IIML Associate Professor Ken Duncum.
