Screenwriter.

Ryan Prestipino is an emerging shortlisted screenwriter hailing from the rural locality of Grapetree, Queensland. After completing a Bachelor of Film & TV at Brisbane's QUT, he screened his comedic short screenplay and directorial debut, Vegan, at the Adelaide Vegan Film Festival. Ryan's true-crime documentary, Mama’s Boy, was featured in Melbourne’s Women in Film Festival.

Throughout COVID, Ryan wrote and developed Keys, an original 1-hour mystery-adventure pilot, which went to option.

Ryan was shortlisted in 2024 for the Australian Writers Guild's 'Emerging Writers Awards' for his short drama screenplay, Hallow. In 2026, Ryan was highly commended as the runner-up for the AWG’s John Hinde Award for his unproduced television screenplay The Parenthood Test.

Currently, Ryan is adapting the popular memoir Trials and Tribulations in Community Law, an anthology of wonderfully bizarre court cases, into an 8-episode lawyer drama series, Walk-Ups.
He is also working alongside producers in Sydney, Brisbane, and the US to bring the story of the 1891 Queensland shearer’s strikes to life in his series Waltzing Matilda.

Awards, Recognitions & Education

  • Highly Commended / Runner-Up - Unproduced Category

    “The Parenthood Test”

    In a world where compulsory IUDs control overpopulation, a lesbian couple win a rare chance at becoming parents by participating in “The Parenthood Test”, subsequently becoming subjects of a national reality television show.

  • Shortlist - Short Form Category

    “Hallow”

    A young girl, convinced her elderly neighbour is God, sets out to receive his religious acknowledgment.

  • Honourable Mention

    “A, B, or C”

    When the hacker of the 2016 Federal Australian census is brought to trial, the jury is exposed to the full-frontal patriotism that is the Australian way of life.

  • First Break is a unique professional development program designed by the Australian Writers’ Guild to give talented, aspiring screenwriters the opportunity to gain in-demand and practical skills, develop their understanding of the industry, and build industry connections. 

  • AFTRS 10-week course led by Susan Bower (McLeod’s Daughters, All Saints, Neighbours, A Place to Call Home)

  • Queensland University of Technology