Reader Question: What advice do you have for someone attending the Austin Film Festival?
From Ray:
I’m going to the Austin Film Festival next month, as a total film industry newbie, just a fiction writer with a handful of publishing credits and a couple of scripts that still need polishing. What advice can you give for getting the most out of the experience? What should I be prepared for? What should I definitely try to do, and what would be a waste of time?
First off, it’s a whole lot of fun, not only because of the festival itself, but also because Austin is just a fine city. If you like to carouse and stay up late, you will have a good ol’ time.
In terms of using the AFF to learn something about the craft, it’s almost impossible not to. There are dozens of panels with an incredible array of screenwriters [this year’s list is here]. Go through the schedule for panels and focus on writers or subject areas most closely related to your interests.
But I would be shocked if the most memorable experiences you have are between scheduled events. While a big event, the AFF has an intimate feel, so you can feel okay about going up to this or that writer on the street and — as long as you don’t act crazy! — you should have some decent one-on-one or small group confabs with professional screenwriters. To make the most of those impromptu moments, it might be wise to have prepped some questions in advance, key aspects of the business about which you generally want to learn more.
Beyond that network with the other attendees. It’s a great opportunity to talk shop with them about everything screenwriting related. It’s the type of environment where you could come away from the Festival with 25 or more contacts with other writers. Will all of them have talent or interests similar to you? No. But even if you find two or three who end up becoming friends or part of an online writing group where you can share pages for critiques, how great is that?
Once again, I’ll bet the GITS community will have plenty of advice for you, so please, folks, go to Comments and opine away — for Ray and anyone else who has plans to attend. And while you’re at it, how about some restaurant and bar recommendations for the Festival?
Finally if anybody who is attending the AFF this year and would up to do some reporting of their experiences, please email me. I’ll be happy to post salient observations on the blog.
Have fun, Ray!
UPDATE: Just heard from Franklin Leonard who will be participating in the AFF. Here is his schedule:
10/21 Marketing Yourself as a Writer (Semifinalists and Above) — Driskill Hotel, Hogg Room (3:15pm-4:30pm)
10/22 Roundtable: The Business Side — St. David’s Church, Crail (2:15pm-3:30pm)
10/22 Pitch Finale Party — TBD (7:00pm-9:00pm)
10/22 The Black List Conference Wrap Party — TBD (11:00pm-1:00am)
Franklin will also be judging the finale of the pitch competition and semi-hosting the conference wrap party. If you’re there, be sure to tell Franklin you’re a loyal GITS reader. That is likely to boost your face time with him.
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