Edinburgh, 10 June 2010, The Edinburgh International Film Festival today announced an impressive array of A-list screenwriters and film industry professionals who will lead masterclasses for the newly established screenwriters’ initiative The Story Works.

Screenwriters Jane Campion (Bright Star, The Piano), Mike Leigh (Secrets and Lies, Vera Drake), Ronald Harwood (The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, The Pianist), Kenneth Lonergan (You Can Count on Me, Gangs of New York, Analyze This), Mogens Rukov (Festen, When A Man Comes Home) and DV DeVincentis (High Fidelity, Grosse Point Blank) will all visit the Scottish capital this June to undertake masterclasses with the participating screenwriters. Other masterclass guests who are experts in their field include director John Madden (Shakespeare in Love, Mrs Brown), DoP John Mathieson (Robin Hood, Gladiator), Editor Pietro Scalia (Good Will Hunting, Gladiator & JFK) and Christopher Nolan’s regular composer David Julyan.

The Story Works is a screenwriters’ initiative run by story editor Kate Leys with the EIFF and Oscar-nominated producers Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey. It is a programme for ten experienced British screenwriters, which will run for a year with the residential week of masterclasses in Edinburgh beginning just before the start of the 64th EIFF. The dates (14 – 18 June) will overlap with the Festival, allowing both the participants and industry speakers the opportunity to attend industry events, panels and Festival screenings.

Throughout the year there will be further group sessions and the opportunity for each participant to work with an experienced mentor.

Kate Leys said: “I couldn’t be more proud of what we’re doing with The Story Works; creating an opportunity for this astonishingly talented group of British screenwriters to come together with some of the most brilliant film storytellers from all over the world to focus on story, the thing we all go to the movies for and the thing that shines at the heart of every great film.” We couldn’t have done this without the generous support of Skillset, EIFF, Scottish Screen, our advisory board and our sponsors.”

EIFF Artistic Director Hannah McGill added: “Supporting screenwriters is very important to EIFF. The Story Works is an incredibly exciting new scheme and the participants really are the best and the brightest UK screenwriters. Our brilliant team have put together such an impressive set of advisors and mentors to work with them - and I can't wait to see the results onscreen in years to come!”

The 10 screenwriters this year are:

Amanda Coe is currently adapting Room at the Top for BBC Films and previously wrote the single dramas Margot, Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Experience and Elizabeth David: A Life in Recipes for the BBC. She has also written for Channel 4’s hit show, Shameless and current commissions include a series pilot for HBO, a feature adaptation of Doris Lessing’s The Golden Notebook for Film4, and an original screenplay for BBC films.

Alicia Duffy is a writer and director who received critical acclaim and a BAFTA nomination for her short film The Most Beautiful Man in the World. All Good Children is her first feature and was selected for Director’s Fortnight at the 2010 Cannes International Film Festival.

David Farr is an Associate Director at the Royal Shakespeare Company and has two screenplays currently in production, including Hanna, directed by Joe Wright for Focus Features. He also has written regularly for the television series Spooks. He was formerly Artistic Director of the Lyric Theatre.

Cameron Fraser is a producer and writer. Cameron is currently working on a number of feature film and television projects. With Neil Jack he wrote, produced and directed two half-hour animations for BBC Scotland, Haunted Hogmanay and the sequel Glendogie Bogey. They have recently developed an animated feature script, drama series and a children’s series for BBC Scotland.

Olivia Hetreed wrote the screenplay for the internationally acclaimed and BAFTA-nominated Girl with a Pearl Earring starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth, and her adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, is currently in pre-production to be directed by Andrea Arnold.

Neil Jack wrote and directed animated film The Tree Officer, which won two Scottish BAFTAs for Best New Screenplay and Best Animation. He set up Ko Lik Films in 2004 with producer Cameron Fraser. He co-wrote and directed two half-hour animations for BBC Scotland, with a third feature-length script featuring the same characters recently commissioned.

Mike Lesslie is a playwright and screenwriter; he has developed feature scripts for companies such as Pathé Films, Film4, and Blueprint Pictures and he has written plays for the Royal National Theatre amongst others. His original screenplay War Reporting for Cowards for Film4 and the UK Film Council was included on the Variety Brit List of 2008.

Nathan Parker wrote EIFF’s Michael Powell Award and BAFTA winner Moon, which was directed by Duncan Jones. He is now based in Los Angeles, and wrote Blitz for Lionsgate staring Jason Statham, due for release in 2011

Jon Ronson is a screenwriter, journalist, author and broadcaster working with Channel 4, the Guardian and Radio 4. He is the author of the non-fiction bestsellers The Men Who Stare at Goats, which was adapted into a hit film starring George Clooney, as well as Them: Adventures with Extremists, which is also being adapted for screen. Jon is now developing his own screenplays, including co-writing with Goats’ adaptor Peter Straughan. As writer and presenter, Jon has made a number of films for Channel 4 including The Secret Rulers of the World and Tottenham Ayatollah.

Jack Thorne is a critically-acclaimed and award-winning playwright for stage and radio, who won the Best Newcomer award at 2009 London Film Festival for his first feature screenplay, Scouting Book for Boys. He is now adapting Nick Hornby’s novel A Long Way Down for the screen, and has written for hit shows Skins and Shameless.

Finola Dwyer & Amanda Posey commented: “We are delighted to be part of the inaugural The Story Works, and it has been a privilege to have assembled this dream team of masterclass speakers to work with the A-list writers of tomorrow.”


The Story Works is funded by Skillset and Scottish Screen
Sponsors include Soho House, Olswang, Aon and Sony


The Story Works’ team is:

About Kate Leys:
Kate Leys is a feature film script editor who works on projects at all stages of development from first outline to pre-production. As well as working directly with screenwriters and producers she also advises international financiers in both the commercial and public sectors on projects in development. She teaches story development and screenwriting at post graduate level and speaks regularly at a wide range of industry events including Edinburgh and London Film Festivals and the Cheltenham Screenwriters Festival. She was head of development at Film Four for 5 years where she was part of the small commissioning team responsible for films including Four Weddings and a Funeral, Orphans, East is East and Girl with a Pearl Earring. She has worked in all sectors of the film industry including production, distribution, exhibition, festival programming, press and sales agenting.

About Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey:
Together, Finola and Amanda most recently produced the Oscar-nominated An Education, written by best-selling author and screenwriter Nick Hornby, directed by Lone Scherfig and starring Carey Mulligan. An Education was nominated for 3 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, 8 BAFTAs including Best Film and Best British Film, winning Best Actress for Carey Mulligan, and won Best Foreign Film at the Independent Spirit Awards. Finola’s producing credits include Backbeat; Welcome to Woop Woop; The Lost Son; Me Without You; The Hamburg Cell; Tsunami: The Aftermath; and she made her theatre producing debut with the West End hit ‘Elling’, with a Broadway production planned for 2010. Finola is also producing Quartet, which will be Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut, from a script by Oscar-winner Ronald Harwood. Finola is the Chair of the BAFTA Film Committee and a BATFA board member. Amanda’s producing credits include Fever Pitch starring Colin Firth, as well as the US remake directed by the Farrelly Brothers and starring Drew Barrymore. Amanda previously worked on the Oscar-winning The Crying Game and Interview With The Vampire, as well as heading up development for Scala Productions. Amanda and Finola are jointly developing several films, including Nick Hornby’s best-selling novel A Long Way Down.

About the Edinburgh International Film Festival:
Since 1947, the Edinburgh International Film Festival has devoted itself to discovering and promoting the very best in international cinema - and to embracing, celebrating and debating changes and developments in the global film industry. Intimate in its scale, ambitious in its scope, and fuelled by pure passion for cinema in all its manifestations, EIFF seeks to expose the cutting edge of new film talent, in a setting steeped in history.

Notable films premiered in recent years have included: THE HURT LOCKER, MOON, FISHTANK, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, SOMERS TOWN, MAN ON WIRE, WALL-E, CONTROL, KNOCKED UP, RATATOUILLE, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, TSOTSI, BILLY ELLIOT, AMORES PERROS and AMÉLIE.

Due to demand, online delegate registration has been extended until noon on Saturday 12th June. Registration is available at: www.edfilmfest.org.uk/industry/register


www.edfilmfest.org.uk

The EIFF is supported by:
The UK Film Council through its Lottery supported Film Festival Fund.
The UK Film Council is the Government backed lead agency for film in the UK. They aim to make sure that the UK has a dynamic film industry fit for the digital age and to help UK audiences enjoy the best of British and world cinema.
Scottish Screen is the national agency responsible for the development and promotion of Scotland’s screen industries and culture focusing on talent, audiences, businesses and stories. The EIFF continues to be one of Scottish Screen’s key investments and recently became a Scottish Screen Foundation Organisation in recognition of its place as the UK‚s leading centre for exhibition.
EventScotland - the national events agency, working to make Scotland one of the world’s leading event destinations. www.eventscotland.org
City of Edinburgh Council
Cineworld is proud to be a sponsor of the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Standard Life is delighted to continue their partner sponsorship of Edinburgh International Film Festival.