Screenwriters' Festival Update

If you don’t already know, there’s going to be a Screenwriters’ Festival this summer in Cheltenham (Tuesday 27 June - Friday 30 June): the first of its kind in this country.

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You can now book to attend the New Writers Day, which will feature Oscar winner Julian Fellowes, with noted agents, developers and talent spotters, and also the three Professional Delegate Days with Bill Nicholson, Jimmy McGovern, Barbara Machin, and a host of other writers, producers and directors examining adaptation, censorship and the impact of low cost digital filmmaking on storytelling. Follow the link for details on how to attend and how much it will cost.

To be a professional delegate at the festival (a writer who’s had their work optioned or produced) it’s going to cost a cool £323 beans for three days of networking and seminars. This is a bit sharp but it may well be worth it given the who’s who of peeps that are going to be there and the potential networking opportunities therein.

When the Festival was initially announced, it sounded a long way off but it’s fast approaching around the corner so probably best to register now and book accommodation if you are going. I’ve emailed them about accommodation so if I get any details I’ll put it up on the blog.

The weather’s getting nicer and summer’s beginning to show its face. The Screenwriters’ Festival in June should be a good few days but of course, this month is all about Cannes and swanning around the French Riviera like you own the place. It’s my first visit to the south of France so I’m a bit nervous and intimidated but also extremely excited by the prospect.

Luckily, Tim Clague and Suki Singh, two fellow Bournemouth writer/directors, have ‘been there and done that’ so they know all the ins and outs of the festival. We’re going to be in Cannes together, ostensibly as a ‘group’, but all pitching and doing our own things.

We practised pitching last night and although everyone knows all the effective techniques for solid, attention grabbing communication, it is easy to lose track and go off into tangents when you start to tell your own story. I’m not bad at pitching but I do get nervous and my mouth gets extremely dry as my heart rate picks up. If I forget to have a glass of water while I’m talking, I end up sounding like the elephant man. But usually, after the initial rush, I settle down into just telling the story and the guys had great tips on how to be concise and how to get the key details across.

Cannes is only a few weeks away now so the preparation intensifies as the excitement builds…