Updated: 2018 Austin Film Festival & Writers Conference Schedule

The annual event in Austin, Texas runs from October 25 through November 1 and I’ll be there for my 5th appearance.

I’ve been quoted as describing the Austin Film Festival & Writers Conference as “Woodstock for screenwriters.” It’s a big, brash, boisterous event featuring 150+ industry professionals and over 1,000 attendees with dozens of panels and presentations centered at the iconic Driskill Hotel in Austin, Texas.

Here is my updated schedule of events:

Friday, Oct. 26
10:45–12:00
Roundtable: The Art, Craft, and Business of Film Television (panelist)
St. David’s Episcopal Church, Crail Hall

Get in-depth answers to your questions about the art, craft, and business of screenwriting. This session offers Second Rounds from the Screenplay Competition exclusive access to writers, executives, studio reps, agents, managers, producers, and attorneys in an informal setting. Take advantage of this invaluable opportunity to ask those burning questions: What’s the best way to overcome writer’s block? Or risk a taking a new direction after established success? How do I find representation? Are studios buying spec scripts? What are emerging trends in the industry? Don’t miss your chance to ask all this and more without being charged by the hour or forgoing a percentage of your script sale.

Friday, Oct. 26th
3:15–4:30pm
The Third Act (moderator)
St. David’s Episcopal Church, Historic Sanctuary

You’ve made it to ACT THREE — the conclusion that you’ve been building toward since your title page. This is also the moment when you can discover that ending a story can be just as challenging as beginning one. Join this discussion on how to efficiently provide satisfying closure for your conflicts and characters.

Panelists: Justin Marks, Scott Neustadter.

Saturday, Oct. 27
9:00–10:15
Deconstructing Psycho (panelist)
The Driskill Hotel, Ballroom

It is the slasher movie of all time. The mother of all psychological thrillers,and one that revolutionized the horror genre. Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho pulled back the (shower)curtain to the ways rules can be broken and reformed in the world of cinema: protagonists can die mid-way through; monsters can be men; and tensions can cut deeper than kitchen knives. Join this deconstruction of Hitchcock’s game-changing masterpiece, and learn how to extract its many lessons of strain, pacing, and unease to fold into your own writing. We promise this panel will leave you with “bated” breath to return to your script.

Moderator: Greg Garrett, Fellow Panelist: Max Borenstein

Sunday, October 28
11:30–12:45
DIY: Making Short Films, Web Series, and Micro-budget Movies (moderator)
The Driskill Hotel, Maximilian Room

With the advent of digital technologies, this truly is the era of DIY filmmaking. If you write the script, why not make the movie? For those interested in creating short films, micro-budget features, and/or web series, this panel comprised of screenwriters turned writer-directors will cover keys to financing, pre-production through post, marketing, navigating the festival circuit, and more.
 
This panel is presented by DePaul University School of Cinematic Arts.

Panelists: James Choi, Anna Maria Hozian, Gary Novak, Brad Riddell.

Sunday, October 28
1:15–2:30
The Spec Script (moderator)
The Driskill Hotel, Citadel Room

Is the spec script dead? Join a panel of writers who have had recent success with getting their spec scripts sold and produced.

Panelists: Taylor Allen, David Iserson, Andrew Logan, David Rabinowitz.

Featured guests at the 2018 Austin Film Festival Screenwriting Conference include Roger Corman, Tony Gilroy, Daniel Petrie, Jr., and Larry Wilmore, and those are just the honorees with a slew of other screenwriters, TV writer-producers, managers, agents, and the like attending as well. You can check out that roster here.

If you’re going to this year’s AFF, let me know. Happy to hang out, grab a pint, and talk shop!

For more information, go here.

SPECIAL DEAL: You can get $25 off producers, conference, and weekend badges with this discount code: gits25.