BAFTA Launch - Delegate List - Programme Update - Guest Speakers

SWF BAFTA Launch – We have Lift-Off!

Following a thoroughly enjoyable Launch evening at the BAFTA headquarters in London on Tuesday 6th May the countdown to the Third International Screenwriters’ Festival is now properly underway. Quaffing glasses of fine wine provided by Chateau de Sours, 250 industry personnel comprising Agents, Writers, Producers, Directors, Sponsors (and Rory Bremner) gathered in the David Lean suite at BAFTA for an evening of drinks and presentations. After an introduction by Simon Relph CBE, Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park, Young Victoria) opened with an engaging discourse on the giving and receiving of ‘notes’ (the bane of many a Screenwriter’s experience). An interview panel then followed in which winners and finalists of the Festival’s live pitching competitions of previous years revealed the opportunities that have come their way as a result of the Screenwriters’ Festival. William Nicholson (Elizabeth – The Golden Age, Gladiator, Shadowlands) closed the evening with a rousing examination of exactly what it is and what it means to be a Screenwriter. The evening was a tremendous success and anticipation of this year’s festival is now gathering momentum as never before.

Quotes and photographs will be available on the website from next week.

LEFT: Simon Relph CBE (SWF Board), Elizabeth Morgan Hemlock (Producer Arturi Films), David Pearson (Festival Director), Paula Wilcox (Actress), Sarah-Jane Spooner (Touch PR media), with guest speakers Julian Fellowes and William Nicholson. RIGHT: David Pearson discusses the merits of good scriptwriting with impressionist Rory Bremner.

Delegate List goes Live!

From Friday 16th May the SWF website will boast the long awaited live Delegate List, enabling those who have registered over the past three years to see who is currently due to attend the festival this year. This feature will hopefully assist all delegates in planning their own itineraries for the Festival and deciding not just what they want to see, but who they want to see, and meet! This list will allow you to put faces to names and to recognise one another during the festival itself. The list will be updated each and every time someone purchases a ticket. The list will only show the registration number and the delegate name, unless a given delegate has opted to show other additional details. Any other details shown are made available to view by the delegate concerned. The information shown is determined at the point of registering but this can be changed at any time thereafter by simply logging in. It's in a delegate’s own interests to facilitate their own networking opportunities and so we strongly encourage delegates not merely to submit their photos but to add a bit of information to their entry summarizing who they are, their experience to date (however negligible or extensive) and perhaps something about what they hope to get out of the Festival.

* Would those who have not yet provided us with a photo please do so as soon as possible. We are still experiencing Hotmail / MSN / Live email problems, so if you have one of these e-mail addresses could you please send it to the following alternative address - swfestival@btinternet.com

Programme - Update

Updates to the Festival Programme continue. To be kept abreast of all amendments and additions please consult the website on a regular basis. As of today, Friday 9th May, a new edition of the programme will be available to view.

GUEST SPEAKER PROFILES #13 and #14

This week we are looking at well known Psychiatrist Dr. Raj Persaud and writer David Lemon…

SPEAKER PROFILE #13 - Dr Raj Persaud Dr Raj Persaud - Raj is a Consultant Psychiatrist at The Maudsley Hospital in South London and is Gresham Professor for Public Understanding of Psychiatry, he presents 'All in the Mind' on BBC Radio 4 and has written many books on self help including 'Simply Irresistible', 'Staying Sane' and 'From the Edge of the Couch'. After a very successful and entertaining session at the Screenwriters' Festival 2007, Dr Persaud returns to give yet another enlightening glimpse into the mind of a screenwriter.

SPEAKER PROFILE #14 - David Lemon David Lemon - David has written several episodes of the BBC1 daytime drama 'Doctors' as well as live action and animation for children's television. He also worked in TV production directing 'fly on the wall' documentaries in inner city hospitals and producing 'making of' DVD documentaries on classic British films including 'Brief Encounter', 'The Red Shoes' and 'The 39 Steps'. His big screen debut 'Faintheart' is a Film4/Vertigo Films production in association with myspace and Slingshot Studios and is a comedy about a group of hapless battle re-enactors, starring Eddie Marsan, Jessica Hynes and Ewen Bremner, and will premier at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.