A BUDDING director from Worcester was one of only four screenwriters invited to attend a prestigious course to develop their talents.

After two years working in television production in London, Rory Haines, aged 25, of Meadowbank Drive in St John’s was offered a place at the Film MFA program at Columbia University.

Mr Haines, who now lives in New York, was selected from a pool of industry-nominated candidates to attend the Nantucket Screenwriters Colony, where the chosen four live and work together for a month to create their own pieces.

During his time on the course, Mr Haines has worked with esteemed Hollywood writers such as Justin Hoythe, who wrote Revolutionary Road and Brian Nelson, who wrote 30 Days of Night.

The mentors stay in the colony every weekend to workshop the writers’ screenplays and give them one-on-one feedback sessions.

Mr Haines has always written and directed his own short films and his most recent film Dry River Road, enjoyed success at festivals and events in Europe and the USA, playing at the highly regarded Palm Springs Festival in California.

After studying a BTEC National Diploma in media at Worcester College of Technology’s school of art and design, he went on to study film at Swansea University before heading to London.

He said: “The media course at Worcester Tech College was a great start for me.

“The college always encouraged my aspirations to make films and really pushed me into developing an understanding of what it is to make films.”

Since moving to New York, Mr Haines has had his first taste of success after being honoured with the 2008 Hollywood Foreign Press Association foreign filmmakers award, which is based on a nominee’s body of work and industry recommendations.

“New York has been a fantastic place for me to start my career. It is such an open city and the people there are always interested in what you have to say,” he said.

Now in his third year at Columbia, Mr Haines has impressed his tutors so much that last year he was asked to teach undergraduates at the university, which he has been doing for the past two years.