Father Geek here with word on the 2000 Austin Film Festival's Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference that will take over this town beginning October 12th. Below I've got a small sampling of the noted writers that will be attending the event this year. In years past many many more professionals have arrived without fanfare to participate in the many panels, roundtables, etc... conducted throughout the downtown area.Here's some of Father Geeks coverage of a previous fest; Click here to see alittle sample of Harry's coverage from a past fest, and Again Here if you want to see more past coverage from a different year by Tom Joad. This is one hell of alot of fun, and you just might learn something to boot. Many movie stars will be here for the premieres of their flicks, parties will be everywhere, and The AICN Headquarters crew will be all over the place, on panels, watching panels, attending movies, luncheons, dinners, Bar B-Qs, and partying as you only can in Austin... See You There!
Confirmed participants to date in the 2000 Austin Film Festival's Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference include writer Shane Black (Lethal Weapon I & II, The Last Action Hero, The Last Boy Scout); writer Bill Broyles (Apollo 13, Entrapment, Cast Away); writer/producer David Chase ("The Sopranos," "Northern Exposure," "The Rockford Files"); actor/producer Ned Dowd (Shanghai Noon, The Wonder Boys, The 13th Warrior, Slap Shot); actor/writer/producer/director Paul Mazursky (Enemies: A Love Story, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Moscow on the Hudson); writer/director Tim McCanlies (Dancer, Texas Pop 81, The Iron Giant), writer Anne Rapp (Dr T and the Women, Cookie's Fortune); writer/producer Scott Rosenberg (Gone in Sixty Seconds, High Fidelity, Con Air); writer/producer Darin Scott (Tales from the Hood, Love and a ..45, Menace II Society); writer Ed Solomon (What Planet Are You From?, Men in Black, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure); actor/producer/director and former professional football player, Fred 'Hammer' Williamson (From Dusk Till Dawn, Black Caesar, M.A.S.H., Down and Dirty); and screenwriter Bill Wittliff (The Perfect Storm, Lonesome Dove).
Some of the additional screenwriters, talent agents, managers, distributors, network and studio executives attending are Marty Bowen, Jenny Frankle, Mickey Frieberg, Sheila Gallien, John Scott Shepherd and Larry Wright.
The Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference is set to run Oct. 12-15; the Film Festival runs Oct. 12-19. The Austin Film Festival is the first festival in the country dedicated to recognizing the writer's contribution to the motion picture and television industries.
Entries are still being accepted for the 2000 Austin Film Festival Film Competition, with the seventh annual Festival and Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference - set for Oct. 12-19 - focusing on the artistic contribution of screenwriters.
The final deadline for entering a film into competition is September 1 at a cost of $50. Categories are open to independently produced features, shorts and student shorts.
Each finalist in the film competition receives two all-access producers passes to the Festival (value, $695 each), 10 tickets to the film's screenings, the option to attend a Master Class conducted by a presenting Festival filmmaker, and inclusion in the AFF Filmmaker's Catalogue, which is distributed to all judges and other interested industry representatives.
Winners in the feature-length category receive all of the above plus a cash prize of $750 and a special Winners' Night Screening, with the winners of the short film and student short categories also receiving the above and a cash prize of $500. Winners in all categories will receive reimbursement of one roundtrip airfare to Austin (up to $500) to attend the AFF, hotel accommodations at an AFF hotel (not to exceed $500) and the AFF Bronze Award.
Films that have received distribution as a direct result of this film competition include Hands on a Hard Body (1997), Lewis & Clark & George (1997), The Last Big Thing (1997), La Cucaracha (1998), Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God Š Be Back by Five (1998), Wednesday's Child (1999) and The Hi-Line (1999).
For more information, please call the Austin Film Festival at 800.310.FEST or visit www.austinfilmfestival.com to get the entire picture.
