If you’d like to get more details of five internationally acclaimed writers who’ll be discussing the art and craft of screenwriting, then you’re certainly in the correct place as BAFTA and the BFI have announced this prestigious series of events from 23-30 September. The event is now in its fourth year, the Screenwriters’ Lecture Series exists to celebrate screenwriters’ authorial contribution to film. It is funded by JJ charitable Trust, one of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts.
It’s unquestionable that these talented souls are some of the best screenwriters currently working in international cinema and television, with 17 BAFTA and Oscar nominations between them. This year’s series will feature five events at BAFTA’s headquarters, 195 Piccadilly, and BFI Southbank:
David S. Goyer (Man of Steel, The Dark Knight trilogy, Da Vinci’s Demons, Call of Duty: Black Ops games series) kicks off the season on Monday 23 September at BFI Southbank; Hossein Amini (Drive, Wings of the Dove, Snow White and the Huntsman) follows on Wednesday 25 September at BAFTA; Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich, Pocahontas, A Gifted Man) will speak at BFI Southbank on Saturday 28 September; and Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton, the Bourne series, Armageddon) is at BFI Southbank on Sunday 29 September. The series will close with BAFTA-winner and BAFTA Fellowship recipient Richard Curtis (Love Actually,Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral, the forthcoming About Time) on Monday 30 September at BAFTA.
We told you it was special! The season is programmed by screenwriter and BAFTA member Jeremy Brock (Mrs. Brown, Last King of Scotland, Eagle of the Ninth) and he had this to say:
“These lectures are now a firm fixture in the international calendar, boasting the very finest writers working in film. Our series is all about the voices that craft those blank pages into light. We proudly celebrate the ghosts in the machine, invisible in every frame of the finished film: the screenwriters.”
John Willis, Chairman of BAFTA said:
“We’re thrilled to be able to share the insights of such a varied and well-respected range of screenwriters with the public. The starting point for these lectures is film, but it’s exciting to note the significant contribution that these writers have also made to the world of television and, in at least one case, to games.”
As part of both organisation’s commitment to learning, webcasts of all the lectures, including exclusive video content, will be available to all on BAFTA Guru, BAFTA’s online learning channel, and the BFI website, later in the year. Lectures from previous years of the series are available now at http://guru.bafta.org/craft/screenwriting.
Booking information:
Tickets for Hossein Amini and Richard Curtis are on sale now via www.bafta.org/whats-on.
Tickets for David S. Goyer, Susannah Grant and Tony Gilroy are on sale through the BFI Southbank Box Office (www.bfi.org.uk/whatson) now for BFI members and from Tuesday 13 August for the public.
Event dates and venues:
23 September David S. Goyer BFI Southbank
25 September Hossein Amini BAFTA
28 September Susannah Grant BFI Southbank
29 September Tony Gilroy BFI Southbank
30 September Richard Curtis BAFTA
