International Screenwriters' Festival
Encyclopedia
The International Screenwriters' Festival, founded in 2006, is an annual event held mid-year at the Manor by the Lake in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The International Screenwriter's Festival has recently been shut down, and in 2010 was succeeded by the London Screenwriter's Festival.
(writer/co-creator, Life on Mars
and Bonekickers
), Guillermo del Toro
(writer/director/producer, The Devil's Backbone
, Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy II: The Golden Army), David M. Thompson
(head of development, BBC Films
), and Steven Moffat
(writer, Jekyll, Doctor Who
, Coupling
).
The second festival, running from 3 to 6 July 2007, drew more than 600 attendees. Speakers included Michael Goldenberg
(writer, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
, Contact
, Peter Pan
), Alison Owen
(producer, Brick Lane
, Shaun of the Dead
), and Sarah Smith (head of feature development, Aardman Animations
).
The 2008 event was scheduled for 1 to 3 July, with attendance expected to surpass 600 people over the three days. Scheduled guest speakers include Jane Tranter
(Head of BBC Fiction), Tanya Seghatchian
(co-producer/development executive, Harry Potter films 1-5), and Terry Pratchett
(novelist, Discworld
series).
The fourth Festival has moved dates and venue as it will take place at The Cheltenham Ladies' College from Monday 26th to Thursday 29 October 2009.
According to festival director David Pearson, "This festival has shown that there is a need and an appetite for a welcoming, open forum for screen writing... the fact that several writers have reported to us that the festival gave them the help and impetus to move them and their projects onto success really makes me proud of the Festival."
History of the Festival
The International Screenwriters' Festival was created by ex-BBC producer David Pearson as a way to bring together current and prospective scriptwriters. The first festival was held from 27 to 30 June 2006 at the Cheltenham Film Studios and the Manor by the Lake. Over 500 delegates, producers, directors, developers and financiers attended four days of networking, debates, and panel discussions. Guest speakers included Ashley PharoahAshley Pharoah
Ashley Pharoah is a British Television writer, co-creator of the successful drama series Life on Mars, which began on BBC One in 2006....
(writer/co-creator, Life on Mars
Life on Mars (TV series)
Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007. The series combines elements of science fiction and police procedural....
and Bonekickers
Bonekickers
Bonekickers was a BBC drama about a team of archaeologists, set at the fictional Wessex University. It debuted on 8 July 2008 and ran for one series....
), Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro
Guillermo del Toro is a Mexican director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and designer. He is mostly known for his acclaimed films, Blade II, Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy film franchise. He is a frequent collaborator with Ron Perlman, Federico Luppi and Doug Jones...
(writer/director/producer, The Devil's Backbone
The Devil's Backbone
The Devil's Backbone is a 2001 Spanish-Mexican gothic thriller film written by Guillermo del Toro, Antonio Trashorras and David Muñoz, and directed by Guillermo del Toro. It was independently produced by Pedro Almodóvar....
, Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy II: The Golden Army), David M. Thompson
David M. Thompson
David Marcus Thompson is a British film and television producer.Thompson moved to London in 1978, and worked for the BBC as a film programmer and documentary maker. He was the founding head of BBC Films...
(head of development, BBC Films
BBC Films
BBC Films is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including An Education, StreetDance 3D, Fish Tank, Stage Beauty, A Cock and Bull Story, Nativity! and Match Point.It aims to make strong British films with...
), and Steven Moffat
Steven Moffat
Steven Moffat is a Scottish television writer and producer.Moffat's first television work was the teen drama series Press Gang. His first sitcom, Joking Apart, was inspired by the breakdown of his first marriage; conversely, his later sitcom Coupling was based upon the development of his...
(writer, Jekyll, Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, Coupling
Coupling (UK TV series)
Coupling is a British television sitcom written by Steven Moffat that aired on BBC2 from May 2000 to June 2004. Produced by Hartswood Films for the BBC, the show centres on the dating and sexual adventures and mishaps of six friends in their thirties, often depicting the three women and the three...
).
The second festival, running from 3 to 6 July 2007, drew more than 600 attendees. Speakers included Michael Goldenberg
Michael Goldenberg
Michael Goldenberg is an American playwright, Hollywood screenwriter, and film director.Goldenberg was the screenwriter and director of Bed of Roses in 1996. He was the co-screenwriter for the film adaptation of Contact and co-adapted the 2003 live-action version of Peter Pan with director P.J....
(writer, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a 2007 fantasy film directed by David Yates and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the fifth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Michael Goldenberg and produced by David Heyman and David Barron...
, Contact
Contact (film)
Contact is a 1997 American science fiction drama film adapted from the Carl Sagan novel of the same name and directed by Robert Zemeckis. Both Sagan and wife Ann Druyan wrote the story outline for the film adaptation of Contact....
, Peter Pan
Peter Pan (2003 film)
Peter Pan is a 2003 fantasy film released as a joint venture of Universal Studios, Columbia Pictures and Revolution Studios. P. J. Hogan directed a screenplay co-written with Michael Goldenberg which is based on the classic play and novel by J. M. Barrie. Jason Isaacs plays the roles of Captain...
), Alison Owen
Alison Owen
Allison Mary Owen is an English film producer. Her credits as a producer include Moonlight and Valentino , Elizabeth , Sylvia , Shaun of the Dead , Proof , The Other Boleyn Girl and Brick Lane .Owen's parents are Mary Kathleen , Allison Mary Owen (born 1961 in Portsmouth) is an English film...
(producer, Brick Lane
Brick Lane (film)
Brick Lane is an award-winning 2007 British drama film directed by Sarah Gavron and adapted from the novel of the same name by Monica Ali. The screenplay was adapted from the novel by Laura Jones and Abi Morgan, and Tannishtha Chatterjee played the lead role...
, Shaun of the Dead
Shaun of the Dead
Shaun of the Dead is a 2004 British zombie comedy directed by Edgar Wright, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and written by Pegg and Wright. Pegg plays Shaun, a man attempting to get some kind of focus in his life as he deals with his girlfriend, his mother and stepfather...
), and Sarah Smith (head of feature development, Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations, Ltd., also known as Aardman Studios, or simply as Aardman, is a British animation studio based in Bristol, United Kingdom. The studio is known for films made using stop-motion clay animation techniques, particularly those featuring Plasticine characters Wallace and Gromit...
).
The 2008 event was scheduled for 1 to 3 July, with attendance expected to surpass 600 people over the three days. Scheduled guest speakers include Jane Tranter
Jane Tranter
Jane Tranter is an English television executive who has been the executive vice-president of programming and production at BBC Worldwide's Los Angeles base since January 2009...
(Head of BBC Fiction), Tanya Seghatchian
Tanya Seghatchian
Tanya Seghatchian is a film producer.She worked for the BBC and was then appointed executive producer on the third and fourth Harry Potter films, as well as a film called My Summer of Love and the film adaptation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, which was due out in 2007.She...
(co-producer/development executive, Harry Potter films 1-5), and Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
(novelist, Discworld
Discworld
Discworld is a comic fantasy book series by English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R....
series).
The fourth Festival has moved dates and venue as it will take place at The Cheltenham Ladies' College from Monday 26th to Thursday 29 October 2009.
According to festival director David Pearson, "This festival has shown that there is a need and an appetite for a welcoming, open forum for screen writing... the fact that several writers have reported to us that the festival gave them the help and impetus to move them and their projects onto success really makes me proud of the Festival."
External links
- Festival web site
- http://www.screenwritersfestival.com/pdf/press-room/Screen%20International%20Article%20-%20DP%20and%20Bill%20Nicholson%20-%2018.01.08.pdf
- http://britishfilmmagazine.com/articles/international-screenwriters-festival-ready-to-register.html
- http://www.soglos.com/film/27372/International-Screenwriters-Festival-2007
- London Screenwriter's Festival