IFP announced the re-launch of its popular spring filmmaking conference, Script to Screen. After a five-year sabbatical, the conference returns to address the new landscape and opportunities facing content creators working across platforms in film, television and new technologies. The conference opens with a conversation between James Schamus, Focus Features CEO, and Scott Macaulay, Editor of Filmmaker Magazine. The conference closes with a conversation with filmmaker Lee Daniels, director of the recent Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire. Other featured speakers include: Stella co-founder and web sensation David Wain; producers Ted Hope (Adventureland) Nelson George (American Gangster) and Scott Franklin (The Wrestler); and Damages creators Glenn Kessler, Todd Kessler and Daniel Zelman. IFP's Script To Screen Conference will take place March 7 and 8, and will be hosted at the New York Film Academy.
Presented by IFP, the nation's oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers, "Script to Screen" will feature some of the most prolific entertainment industry innovators and iconic writers based in New York City. The Conference explores the art, craft and business of writing for the screen.
Other confirmed speakers to date include:
Screenwriters Ramin Bahrani (Goodbye Solo); Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Sugar); Glenn Kessler, Todd Kessler and Daniel Zelman (Damages); Michael C. Martin (Brooklyn's Finest); Kelly Masterson (Before The Devil Knows You're Dead); Paola Mendoza (Entre nos); and Avi Weider (Zeroes and Ones);
Producers Josh Braun (A History of Violence), Scott Franklin (The Wrestler), Nelson George (American Gangster), Gill Holland (Adventures of Power), Ted Hope (Adventureland), Gretchen McGowan, (The Limits of Control), Jason Orans (The Toe Tactic), Mike Ryan (Old Joy), and Susan Stover (Laurel Canyon);
Executives Matt Dentler (Cinetic Rights Management), Ryan Harrington (Indiepix Studios), John Hodges (Big Beach), Peter Kujawski (Focus Features), Angela Lee (Vox 3), Susan Lewis (Big Pita Lil' Pita), and Cordelia Stephens (Belladonna Productions);
Agents and managers Robert Lazar (ICM), Rhonda Price (The Gersh Agency), and Jon Rubenstein (Authentic Management);
Screenwriter organizations Rachel Chanoff (Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab), Ingrid Kopp (Shooting People), David Nugent (Hamptons International Film Festival Screenwriters' Lab), and Paul Rachman (Slamdance Screenplay Competitions);
Casting director Cindy Tolan (The Namesake) and entertainment attorney Steven Beer (Greenberg Traurig).
"The landscape for writers has changed so dramatically since the program last took place," says Michelle Byrd, Executive Director of IFP. "There's a real appetite from a new generation of content creators looking to connect and learn how others in the New York community are finding their niche."
Previous Conference speakers have included: Gale Anne Hurd, Paul Schrader, Tom Fontana, Alison Anders, Arthur Miller, Terry George, Nora Ephron, Richard LaGravenese, James Toback, Rene Balcer, and Barbara DeFina.
The Conference is open to the public. Day and weekend passes are available and cost $75 / $125 for IFP members and $100 / $ 175 for non-members. For a complete line-up of speakers or to purchase a pass: http://conference.ifp.org
About IFP
After debuting with a program in the 1979 New York Film Festival, the nonprofit IFP has evolved into the nation's oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers, and also the premier advocate for them. Since its start, IFP has supported the production of 7,000 films and provided resources to more than 20,000 filmmakers - voices that otherwise might not have been heard. IFP believes that independent films enrich the universal language of cinema, seeding the global culture with new ideas, kindling awareness, and fostering activism. The organization has fostered early work by leading filmmakers including Charles Burnett, Edward Burns, Jim Jarmusch, Barbara Kopple, Michael Moore, Mira Nair and Kevin Smith. For information: www.ifp.org.
