Updates and News

“The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, to see if they could become something more. See if they could

It was a very emotional moment taking in your applause. Not because I love standing on a stage – it is comical that just

It’s been two weeks since the London Screenwriters’ Festival, and what have I learned? Well, as I bask in the afterglow of a

Pitching, Networking, Great Talks, World Class Training and A Massive Dose Of Creative Rocket Fuel Buckle up Buttercup, The London Screenwriters’ Festival is

In my first London Screenwriters Festival, I have spent time in a virtual café with a Lithuanian sit-com writer, an Australian who lives in British time by writing horror movies at night and a woman who was beaten to a Children’s TV Award by Sooty. I have also been challenged to write a feel-good movie in thirty days and learnt that there are no rules in screenwriting – only tools for my scripts which avoid upsetting those that say there are. The reason this is my first LSWF is that, as a theatre writer looking to move into writing for television, I have always assumed that screenwriting festivals would be heavy on film and offer little for the writer who aspires to penning work for the smaller screen. The inclusion of the likes of Kate Goode (A Discovery of Witches) and Michal Aviram (Fauda) and the online element avoiding the cost of travel to the Big Smoke from Yorkshire, persuaded me to sign up.

While talks preceding the ‘Robin Hood: Price of Thieves’ Script to Screen with Pen Densham were interesting and informative, this was the moment I realized attending the festival was the right move for me.

Fragile, resilient.  Perceptive, narrow-minded.  Reclusive, convivial.  As writers we are all these things and more.  We are the canaries in the coal mine, the watchers against the dark, the mirrors of society.  But if we are empaths and mirrors, what do we do when society has a really bad day?  Or a really bad week? Or months? Or a year?  If you were fortunate enough to listen to Rebecca Day’s session on “Where’s your head at? Mastering creative uncertainty in 2021,” you would have heard some strategies about new ways of thinking about yourself and your work and about the crucial importance of mental health and wellness during this time of unprecedented stress.  It was a revelation to me.

If you’ve followed the LSF for the last few years, you’re probably familiar with Samantha Horley. Samantha’s sessions are always frank, forensic trials

Burning question – can you write believable romance if you don’t have romance in your own life?  The answer is a resounding “Yes!” according to Jenna Moreci, author of “The Savior’s Champion” and “The Savior’s Sister”, and speaker at the London Screenwriters’ Festival on February 10th.  A very popular YouTube creator and presenter, Jenna broke down her three rules of creating romance in films, even when the movie is not overtly a romance.  Using examples from The Mummy and bromance movies, Jenna presented a schema for authentic, engaging romantic interactions that further the action of a story, no matter the genre.

One of the things that makes life worthwhile is the opportunity to keep learning something new. The first week of London Screenwriters’ Festival

All writers get stuck. Some of us manage to work through it; others stop writing altogether. I find going to another writing project often helps, particularly if it’s a different form of writing, such as flash fiction or writing a blog. But sometimes the words don’t come, and staring at a blank page loses its appeal pretty quickly. That’s why Pilar Alessandra’s session ‘Brainstorming through the Block’ was so useful. Here she dived into what might stop us in the first place, and gave us tools to get the pen flowing across the page again. 

If I were to put the word ‘lively’ in bold, capitalize it, underline it, highlight it and circle it in red, it still wouldn’t convey the energy of the discussion at the Female Gaze Panel. What is the female gaze? It’s the female vantage point, whether that be the point of view the story is told from, realistic female characters, or the perspective of the female viewer.

“Touchdown confirmed,” a woman’s voice announced over the public address system. “Perseverance safely on the surface of Mars, ready to begin seeking the sands of past life.” The NASA control room erupted. Staff were on their feet, their arms raised in a victory ‘V’, whooping and hollering. The only difference between this and past scenes of human triumph in space was the surgical masks everyone was wearing. That’s space endeavours in the time of a pandemic for you.

At last year’s festival, Savannah Morgan asked delegates who they should invite to the next festival. I, like many others, eagerly replied: Eric Kripke, showrunner of Supernatural. She responded, I’ll try but he’ll be filming Season 3 of The Boys, and also being one of the most successful genre writers, so it might be difficult. Fast forward to this festival, and he is coming on, a couple of days before filming starts on Tuesday 16th Feb. How did she achieve this feat? She sent him a (The Boys-inspired) sonnet!!

When we heard Gary W. Goldstein, producer of Pretty Women and Under Siege, would be speaking at the London Screenwriters’ Festival, we all knew we were in for great session. What I was not prepared for was just how crammed full of useful— no, vital tips Gary would have for staying afloat in the industry; things I myself have implemented since. Gary is a seasoned industry exec and a great mentor to lots of incredible talent. The level of detail and experience he brought was a rare gift indeed.

As a producer and commissioning editor, Graham Smith has had a hand in the creation of many beloved comedy shows, including Spaced, That Mitchell & Webb Situation, and Little Britain. His session at the London Screenwriters’ Festival was a gift for any aspiring TV comedy writers. What he gave was a clear and concise action plan for anyone looking to break in to British comedy.

Writing partners Jonathan Butler and Gabriel Garza (The Flash) pitched 27 different projects before they got a yes. So they know a bit about what is required to keep getting meetings to share their ideas and stories. While their session focused on the challenges and opportunities franchise writers face, their advice applies to all writers whatever the project or medium. Here are my three takeaways:

Once again at the LSF 365, the wonderful Pat Higgins has invited us on a quest to write a feel-good screenplay in 30 days. To all who accepted this challenge, I wish you the best of luck. I’m trying to power on with it myself. For those who may have missed it, we have 10 days write out 40 beat cards to structure our movie; 10 days to dictate each beat into transcription software, and 10 more to edit and tweak it in the screenplay-formatting software of our choice.

There is a warm indie wind blowing through the Festival. Tonight, it whipped up quite a Gale. Do you want to be a disruptive indie filmmaker, taking control of production and distribution to the streamers? Then listen to Jeff Deverett and take notes.

Is there anything more pleasing or powerful than an intelligent woman at the top of her game? That is precisely what and who Lee Jessup is. A former screenwriter who is now a coach for all participants in the film and TV world, Lee presented some outstanding insights into how to get noticed and become successful as an aspiring screenwriter.

Lorien McKenna (Up, Brave, Inside Out) and Meg LeFauve (Inside Out, Captain Marvel) hope you can take the Covid experience, and whatever emotion it is pulling up in you, and ‘give it to your character and give it to your story’.

When Carole Kirschner told her mother she wanted to be in entertainment, she was told to get a job as a court reporter,

The Force was certainly with us at the London Screenwriters’ Festival as Paul Hirsch, editor of Star Wars, Carrie, Planes Trains & Automobiles, and many others joined us for an hour to discuss his career.

What have experienced documentary filmmaker David Nicholas Wilkinson and editor Jon Walker got in common with genre-mashing feature filmmaker John McPhail? David exudes wisdom with his Tolstoy-style beard, which is not surprising given his wide-ranging career, beginning in acting when he was fourteen, and expanding over the decades to include producing, writing, directing and distribution.

At the last festival, Shooting people sent their top reporter Adem Ay, to send daily… no hourly reports on his experience. We will

  At the last festival, Shooting people sent their top reporter Adem Ay, to send daily… no hourly reports on his experience. We