2008 AFF Comes to an End

The Austin Film Festival came to a close on October 23rd. The Screenplay Competition Winners were:
Drama- Mine by Anita Skibski
Comedy-eLove by Betsy Morris
Sci-fi- The Man Who Would be Sherlock Holmes by Walter Campbell
Latitude- Shimmer Lake by Oren Vziel
Drama Teleplay- Pushing Daises: Rumpology by Steve Daniels
Sitcom Teleplay- The Office: The Crossword Contest by Beau Henry

The Film Competition Winners were:
Narrative Feature: Lost and Found- Writer/Director Nobuyuki Miyake
Documentary Feature: Les Ninjas du Japon, Director Giommi Giovanni
Narrative Short: Sikumi, Writer/ Director: Andrew Okpeaha
Narrative Student Short: Danzak, Writer/Director: Gabriela Yepes
Animated Short: Chainsaw, Director Dennis Tupicoff
Documentary Short: Zietek, Director: Bartosz Blaschke
Congratulations to this years winners!!

From all the panels I attended most writers gave the same advice. I think Terry Rosio sums it up best. Below are some quotes from the writers panels.

The Langlais Brothers, Me, Terry Rossio, & Vickie Hanan

Write from the point of view of the screenwriter facing the blank page. You have to find your own voice. Read the guru books to fix your structure after writing your first draft. Write something you think is cool but unattainable. Does your concept throw off ideas?

-Terry Rossio

Herschel Weingrod & Jimmy Miller

Read scripts, write, and keep writing! Catch films and pay attention to what you find interesting. Is your story coherent and compelling? It should be an act of seduction. Don't do other people's jobs for them (i.e. camera angels, etc.).

-Herschel Weingrod

Dom Hughes, Heather Hughes, Shauna Cross, & Grady Hughes

Try to get scripts before you see the films. Read scripts from every genre. You should always be learning!

-Shauna Cross

Eric Red, Mya, & Casey

Write what scares you! Write something out of place that shouldn't be there. Something beyond your control that shakes you to the core. Play with the audiences expectations. Handle everything realistically. Make your killers logical to be convincing and fresh. Fear can bring clarity to a situation. Flawed characters makes them more identifiable and you'll want to root for them.

-Eric Red on writing horror flicks

Me, Shane Black, & Vickie Hanan

Writing action has a lot to do with reversals. My favorite script was Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, it was fun! Never lose your naivety.

-Shane Black

For more you'll just have to save the dates for next year (October 22-29th, 2009), and attend yourself!!