It was quite a moment for me, because here's how it happened: Ken Russell looked at everyone's film in rough cut. Mine was last on the list. He was scathing about every single one (the idea being, so people could arrange rewrites/reshoots, following his ruthless assessment). I sank lower and lower in my chair, fully expecting him to eviscerate mine too (again, bear in mind this was unfinished, with no proper sound effects or music score, etc - just a rough assembly). Anyway, I ran the film. Twenty minutes later, the lights came up and he turned to me and said: "Wow. I rather enjoyed that. It could use a trim here and there, but otherwise it's in really good shape."

In retrospect, it is probably worth pointing out that everyone else in my year made dissertation films that were terribly "worthy but dull" issue based pieces, whereas I'd made a heist thriller/horror hybrid that featured an attractive blonde getting attacked by invisible vampires wielding scary syringes. (Said blonde was a friend who herself made an interesting dissertation documentary about BDSM clubs in London that I helped shoot in return for her help with mine.) I reckon my piece was more to Ken’s taste.

Anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if I became the most hated person in my year at that point. Not only that, but Ken slightly took me under his wing during the following few weeks, and even going so far as to give feedback on another short film screenplay I'd written (involving time travel) which I shot later in the year.

I daresay the whole thing completely went to my head, but at the same time, shortly after graduating, I decided I preferred writing to actually directing, and after that I returned to writing screenplays (none of which were ever produced, alas), then short stories and novels (three of which have been traditionally published by a small indie publisher in the US, the rest of which are self-published or in various states of disrepair).

Anyway, sorry for the long ramble, but I thought it might interest you. As I said, all the best with your screenplay. I look forward to hearing good news. :)