Top Of The Lake (Episode One) by Jane Campion & Gerard Lee

JUDGES' COMMENTS 

Set against the spectacular and atmospheric landscape of a small town on New Zealand’s south island, Top of the Lake opens with 12-year-old schoolgirl, Tui, walking into the icy waters of a lake. Rescued and taken to the police, Tui is discovered to be five months pregnant but refuses to reveal who the father is. Enter detective Robin Griffin, returned to her hometown to visit her ailing mother. Called in to interview Tui, Robin soon finds she is investigating the girl’s disappearance instead.

Jane Campion and Gerard Lee have devised and written an intriguing opening episode for a six-part television series that promises mystery and suspense in a small town community peopled by a cast of finely drawn characters enmeshed in complex relationships. Bubbling with menace and tension, the script is compelling, the dialogue is spare and the seeds of adult drama and mystery deftly sown.