1801 SALINA STREET

AUSTIN, TEXAS 78702

512.478.4795

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A u s t i n F i l m F e s t i v a l . c o mRegister to attend512.478.4795

O c t o b e r 1 3 t o O C T O B E R 2 0 two thousand and sixteen

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Refund requests for the upcoming Austin Film Festival must be in writing and sent by U.S. first class mail, postmarked by July 8, 2016, and all refunds will incur a $75 processing fee. After July 8, 2016, all payments are nonrefundable for any reason, including, but not limited to illness, acts of God, or travel-related problems. Badges are non-transferable and are the property of Austin Film Festival, Inc. (“AFF”). Refunds will be issued either via the original method of payment or other method approved by AFF, if such original method is not available. Registrants paying by check will be contacted for valid credit card information to enable their refunds. Unused registrations cannot be credited for future year’s attendance.

Austin Film Festival has the right to refuse a sale or admission for any AFF product or event at its sole discretion. Please visit www.austinfilmfestival.com for the full refund policy before purchase.

All Badges can add-on a Pitch Competition Ticket for $20 or a Film & Food Party Ticket for $85. Conference and Producers Badges can purchase an Awards Luncheon ticket for $60.

Before June 1st, 2016 $50 $125 $250 $350 $575

Before September 1st, 2016 $65 $150 $275 $400 $625

Walk Up $75 $175 $300 $450 $675

All Eight Days of Film 3 3 3 3 3

Script Readings at the State Theatre 3 3 3 3 3

Priority Access to Films(Admitted before Film Passes & GA)

Exhibit Hall 3 3 3 3

All Panels on Thursday, October 13th 3 3

All Panels on Friday, October 14th 3 3

All Panels on Saturday, October 15th 3 3 3 3

All Panels on Sunday, October 16th 3 3 3

Access to Advance Sign-Up Panels 3

Access to Producer Roundtable Sign-Ups 3

Austin Film Commission Opening Night Party 3

WGA West Late Night Welcome Party 3 3

Film Texas BBQ Supper 3

Filmmakers Happy Hour 3

Awards Luncheon (Additional ticket required)

Wine Reception 3 3 3 3

Pitch Finale Party presented by Virtual Pitch Fest

Heart of Film Conference Party 3 3 3

“Hair of the Dog” Brunch 3

On Story Party (New!) 3 3 3

Film Pass Party 3 3 3 3 3

Closing Night Party 3

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2016 Registration Information

LET US HELP YOU MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR STAY IN AUSTIN, TEXAS!

EXT. AUSTIN, TX – OCTOBER 2016

“There is no city like Austin and no people like those who live there. Both are as warm and welcoming as they are youthful in spirit and endlessly entertaining.”

Norman Lear, 2015 Outstanding Television Writer Honoree

Home to the world’s best barbecue, best music, and best hospitality, Austin offers an enchanting escape from normal life and a joyful backdrop to the Film Festival and Conference. Filled with an eclectic array of theaters, historic venues, and ebullient watering holes, the Festival’s host city is an ode to art and celebration of life. Mere steps outside the haunted Driskill Hotel and century-old Paramount Theatre lies a freewheeling and frenetic energy, yet inside, the Conference can best be described as a relaxed atmosphere, where friendships are forged, deals are signed, and a love of storytelling permeates all.

Did you know all Badge holders also receive Texas-sized discounts on partner hotels? While the trip to Austin can be invaluable in a multitude of ways, let us help in planning your trip; we have packages for a variety of budgets that showcase all our city has to offer.

In the Center of it All The Driskill Hotel $330/night InterContinental Stephen F. Austin $297 or $354 (Club Rate) A Hop, Skip and Jump AwayCourtyard Marriott Austin Downtown $259 or $269 (Queen/Queen) Residence Inn Marriott Austin Downtown $279 (Kitchenette style room)Sheraton Austin at the Capitol $209/nightHampton Inn & Suites Austin Downtown $229 or $279/ (Suite)Hilton Austin Downtown $239 or $289 (Suite)Radisson Austin Downtown $192/night or $252 (Suite)

The Best Bang for your BuckLa Quinta Inn Austin Capitol $199/night Crowne Plaza Austin $135/night Holiday Inn Town Lake $155/night

Book NOW for the BEST prices and MOST CONVENIENT locations! Please contact the Office Management department at (512) 478-4795 or hotels@austinfilmfestival.com to book your stay, or check out the “Travel and Lodging” page of the AFF website. We look forward to assisting you!

Live entertainment at the 2015 Austin Film Commission Opening Reception

2015 Film & Food Party

THE FILM & FOOD FUNDRAISING PARTYKick off your Festival experience by attending the 14th annual Film & Food Fundraising Party, an evening dedicated to honoring the city as both a thriving film industry and renowned culinary hotbed. Get to know two of the most thriving scenes in Austin the evening of Wednesday, October 12 in the beautiful mezzanine of the Driskill Hotel. All proceeds from Film & Food benefit the Young Filmmakers Program, which offers year-round filmmaking and screenwriting activities to improve literacy and communication skills to students ages 9-18 in the Austin community.

Tickets purchased separately; discounts offered to AFF Badge Holders.

$85 Badgeholders/Members | $100 GA | $125 Walk-up

“Let me cut to the chase. Is the Austin Screenwriting Conference worth the price of admission?No. It’s worth more. Mix and mingle and wine and dine and learn and grow with everyone from new writers to the biggest names in the business. There’s nothing like it on the planet. It’s basically screenwriter Christmas. You’re a fool to miss it.”

Craig Mazin, Writer Identity Thief

From the beginning, AFF has been committed to championing the work of the writer and now, over two decades later, the Festival is unwavering in its support of those who first type the immortal words: Fade In.

23rd Annual &Austin Film FestivalScreenwriters ConferenceFADE IN

“AFF is hands down my favorite festival. Not only do I get to be around approachable, down-to-earth writers I deeply admire, but the panels and films never fail to leave me inspired.”

Issa Rae, Creator The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl

Before I ever attended the Austin Film Festival, I marveled at how virtually every professional screenwriter I knew joined the pilgrimage from LA to Texas each October. At first I assumed it was because Austin is a great tourist destination, and the only thing writers like better than procrastination disguised as work, is a vacation disguised as work. AFF appeared to be both. So three years ago I bowed to peer pressure and joined the exodus East.

As quickly as you can say “IRS please don’t audit my research trip to Maui” I learned that this festival wasn’t just an excuse to eat barbecue and party with Richard Linklater while catching some interesting films in between.

While it is all those things, it is also an unpretentious, professional-level screenwriters conference where writers from all over the world come to learn from other writers. It is serious business (ahem, IRS) as well as chance for all of us to come together to kvetch, swap notes, and inspire each other to something greater.

The fact that AFF attracts top-notch speakers and films should come as no surprise. But what I found refreshing was the quality of the audience. AFF’s attendees span multiple generations, each in varying stages of their careers, but united in their desire to hone their craft. Where else can you listen to Norman Lear describe his future writing ambitions (at 93!) while you sit flanked by Oscar® winning writers on one side, and film-obsessed high school students on the other?

…And possibly, to see how Shane Black handles a nine a.m. lecture the morning after opening night festivities. (Answer: flawlessly. The man is a machine.)

One of my favorite things about Austin is that, unlike other world-class film festivals where filmmakers are separated from the audience by velvet ropes, AFF encourages their attendees and speakers to mingle and get to know each other. The festival’s social gatherings are how I’ve come to meet so many of the writers who have gone on to become close friends, mentees, and mentors.

Lastly, everyone knows that the bar at the Driskill Hotel is where you go to slake your thirst after speaking on back-to-back panels, or to shake out your hand-cramps from taking copious notes. But what I love most about AFF is that I get to enjoy both sides of the festival experience in a single day — for even the speakers are there to learn.

…And eat barbecue.

Nicole Perlman, Writer Guardians of the Galaxy

Pamela Ribon asksIssa Rae about writingweb series at the 2015 Conference

Nicole Perlman during 2015 Chicks Who Write

“Boy” Flicks Panel

AFF is thrilled to announce the newest addition to the Festival experience, The On Story® Party. Held at the close of the Screenwriters Conference on Sunday, October 16th, don’t miss this chance to toast to four days of inspirational panels, many of which will be featured in the 2017 Season of On Story®. Unwind from the weekend and recharge for another four days of exciting films and events ahead. For more information check out www.onstory.tv.

Subscribe to the On Story® podcast on iTunes or listen to the weekly radio program nationwide through Public Radio International (PRI) to hear from the creative minds behind some of this era’s best film and television programs.ISTENL

The weekly, 30-minute television series On Story® features interviews with filmmaking greats culled from more than two decades of exceptional AFF programming paired with a short film previously screened at Austin Film Festival.ATCHW

This year, On Story: Screenwriters and Filmmakers on Their Iconic Films will debut as the second book in the series during the 23rd Annual Austin Film Festival. EADR

Take a seat in one of our On Story® sponsored rooms for an up-close-and-personal experience with our 2016 Panelists, Filmmakers, and Awardees.TTENDA

INTRODUCING:THE ON STORY PARTY For Capital Badges and Up

“AFF never fails to inspire. I always come away fulfilled by the experience and reinvigorated about the work waiting for me at home. Panelists, attendees and organizers are all part of a big, eclectic family of writers that meet for a reunion once a year in Austin, Texas.”

John Lee Hancock, Director Saving Mr. Banks

A FAMILIAL REUNION… WITHOUT THE DRUNK UNCLE

A LETTER FROM NICOLE PERLMAN

At Austin Film Festival, the conversations at a panel spill over to that evening’s party and conclude for the night among new friends and old writing heroes. If most conferences are carefully crafted Truman Show experiences, AFF is a handheld POV, where everyone is a simple introduction away.

Kelly Marcel and John Lee Hancock at the 2015 Script-to-Screen of Saving Mr. Banks

A WRITER AND A PRODUCER WALK INTO A BAR…Austin Film Festival is first and foremost an unrivaled idea exchange but it never takes itself too seriously or forgoes the fun in favor of formality. Filmmaking is a collaborative medium and the parties are emblematic of that ideal; from the Austin Film Commission Opening Night Reception to the annual Film Texas BBQ Supper, AFF delivers entertainment to be seen, and more importantly, to be lived. Whatever you do, don’t forget to bring your business cards!

“The Mingle. Everyone talks about it. Everyone knows it’s AFF’s Super Power: for the entire time you are there, you are “on the Mingle.” Everyone is encouraged, cajoled, urged to mix it up. Panelists and attendees; an Oscar®-winning scribe and a housewife from Ohio who has just completed the first twenty pages of her maiden feature, ME AND LAWRENCE KASDAN! In the bars and the lobbies. At the barbecues and the panels and the parties. We all get to meet, mull, and marinate over our love of writing for the screen. It is sublime. Writers are, by their very nature, an odd, wary, truculent bunch. Yet after a few days in Austin, the “weary” and “truculent” parts seem to recede, allowing the “odd” to flourish, leaving all of us with the most important parting gift of all: the inspiration to write our asses off once we get back home!”

Scott Rosenberg, Writer High Fidelity

2015 Script Reading of Norman Lear’sunproduced teleplay Guess Who Died?

John Singleton at the 2015 Wine Reception, presented by Chloe Wine Collection

READY,SET,

PITCH.

Have the greatest idea you know would sell, if you could only meet that one gatekeeper? Enter the 14th Annual Pitch Competition and set your gaze on dropping the mic at the Pitch Finale party presented by Virtual Pitch Fest, held in downtown Austin on Saturday, October 15th. An extension of AFF’s brand, the pitch competition is a safe, supportive, and constructive feedback loop, determined to improve the skill sets of all writers and entrants.

“Never have I attended a more extraordinary event that champions the writer. Not only have I had three TV pilots place as Second Rounders, but winning the 2013 Festival’s Pitch Contest proved incredibly beneficial to me. Thanks to the entire staff at the Austin Film Festival for your continued support and acknowledgement of growing writers! No matter where you are in your career, you can always come to Austin and find yourself having a total Renaissance in your creative life.”

Deborah Swisher, 2013 Pitch Competition Winner

STARS, SPOTLIGHTS, AND STORIES: ON AND OFF THE BIG SCREENGroundbreaking films made by today’s foremost storytellers populate an extensive array of historical, offbeat, and memorable venues. Offerings range from anticipated sneak peeks to television premieres, independent shorts to competition films.

And for the aspiring filmmakers themselves, the Conference boasts a crash course into independent filmmaking offering a four-day film school comprised of structured panels and in-depth conversations. Led by panelists with the battle scars to prove it, this track is an unvarnished look at the life of an independent artist.

“If ever you needed a testament to the hard work and dedication of independent filmmakers, it was Austin Film Festival during a flood. Filmmakers still turned out in droves to learn from one another, watch each other’s films, connect and grow the community. Austin’s programming was that valuable to them!”

Emily Best, Founder Seed&Spark

2015 Opening Night Film Legend with writer/director

Brian Helgeland

Q&A with executive producer James Franco and writer/director Nina Ljeti during 2015

World Premiere of Memoria

Emily Best leads a Crowdfunding seminar during 2015 Indie Film Track panel

SILVER SCREENS, BLACK & WHITE PAGES, BRONZE TYPEWRITERS, AND YOU!

“Having our world premiere at Austin Film Festival was an incredible experience. The staff and festival-goers welcomed us and our film with open arms. We had amazing exposure, screened at huge venues, participated in engaging Q&As, and found a supportive, film-loving home away from Hollywood.”

Jason Kaminsky, Producer 2015 Narrative Short Best Wishes from Millwood

Film CompetitionCategories: Narrative Feature presented by Seed&Spark, POV Documentary Feature, IDA Documentary Short*, Narrative Short*, Narrative Student Short, Animated Short*, Dark Matters Feature, and Comedy Vanguard FeatureRegular Deadline: May 20 | Late Deadline: July 6

Screenplay & Teleplay CompetitionAccepting feature scripts, teleplay pilots and specs, and short scripts. By simply entering, all entrants receive $50 off the current price for a Producers or Conference Badge and FREE “Reader Comments” for their script. Don’t have a script to enter? Attend the Conference and it’s guaranteed you’ll leave with the inspiration to get your words down on the page.Late Deadline: May 20

Scripted Digital Series Competition Presented by New Form DigitalThis competition accepts both filmed and written submissions in an effort to find talented voices who can adapt their vision to emerging digital platforms. AFF will select one written series winner and one filmed series winner that display the strongest voices and greatest potential for establishing a successful and unique series.Late Deadline: May 20

YOU CAN’T WIN IF YOU DON’T ENTER!Submit your project at austinfilmfestival.com/submit

All speakers and events are based on permitting schedules and subject to change and/or cancellation without notice. Panelists are being added on a weekly basis; please check www.austinfilmfestival.com for the full list and latest confirmations.

ANNOUNCING 2016 AWARDEES!

“Austin Film Festival has the temerity, nay the chutzpah, to celebrate the screenwriter. I met more of them there in one weekend than in the last twenty years in Los Angeles. Go figure. I’ll be back to meet some more.”

Brian Helgeland, 2015 Distinguished Screenwriter Honoree

2016 Extraordinary Contribution to Film Award Recipient: Paul Feig, creator Freaks and Geeks; writer/director Ghostbusters (2016), Spy, I Am David; director Bridesmaids, The Heat

2016 Distinguished Screenwriter Award Recipient: Nancy Meyers, writer Private Benjamin, Father of the Bride; writer/director

The Parent Trap (1998), The Holiday, It’s Complicated, The Intern

THE 2016 AWARDS LUNCHEONDon’t miss the opportunity to attend AFF’s Awards Luncheon on Saturday, October 15th, where you can dine with the panelists and hear inspiring speeches from this year’s winners and honorees. Hosted in one of Austin’s most historic buildings, the Luncheon is a distinctive gathering, celebrating a slate of iconic and vital storytellers.

Must have a Conference or Producers Badge to purchase tickets 2015 Awardees John Singleton, Norman Lear, Chris Cooper &

Brian Helgeland

Alan YangTim HerlihyLindsey DoranMichelle Ashford

2016 CONFIRMED PANELISTS

Photo credit: Larry Horricks

*The Jury Award winners for the Narrative Short, Animated Short and IDA Documentary Short categories are eligible to be nominated for an Academy Award®.

Michelle Ashford Creator/executive producer Masters of Sex; writer The Pacific, John Adams, 21 Jump Street (television show)

Max Borenstein Creator Minority Report (television show); writer Godzilla (2014)

Michael Botti Manager at Industry Entertainment

Evan Bregman Head of Original Content, Portal A

Jack Burditt Creator Last Man Standing; writer/executive producer Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Mindy Project, 30 Rock; writer/co-producer Fraiser

Stephen Clark Partner at Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler & Feldman

Lindsay Doran Producer Stranger Than Fiction, Sense and Sensibility, Nanny McPhee, Dead Again; executive producer The Firm, Sabrina; former president and COO of United Artists

Matthew Gross President, EuropaCorp TV Studios; producer Sons of Liberty, Body of Proof, Dirty Sexy Money, Across the Universe, Fired Up!, Joe Somebody, Day Break

Tim Herlihy Writer Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, The Wedding Singer, Big Daddy, Little Nicky, Mr. Deeds, Pixels, The Ridiculous Six; head writer/producer Saturday Night Live (1993-1999)

Mark Johnson Gran Via Productions; executive producer Breaking Bad, Rectify, Halt & Catch Fire; producer Rain Man, The Little Princess, Galaxy Quest, A Perfect World, The Notebook, The Chronicles of Narnia franchise

Jessica Julius Creative Executive of Development at Disney Animation

Aaron Kaplan Manager at Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment

Adam Kolbrenner Co-founder Madhouse Entertainment

David Mandel Showrunner/executive producer/director Veep; writer Saturday Night Live, Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Simp-sons, Eurotrip, The Dictator

Justin Marks Writer The Jungle Book (2016); creator/executive producer Counterpart (upcoming)

Melanie Marnich Writer/co-executive producer The Affair; writer/co-producer The Big C, Big Love; writer Low Winter Sun

Craig Mazin Co-host ScriptNotes; writer Identity Thief, The Hangover Parts II & III, Scary Movie 3 & 4, Rocketman

Mark Medoff Writer Children of a Lesser God, City of Joy, Homage, Clara’s Heart

Elizabeth Meriwether Creator/executive producer New Girl; writer No Strings Attached

Tess Morris Writer Man Up

Nicole Perlman Writer Guardians of the Galaxy

Pamela Ribon Screenwriter at Walt Disney Animation Studios, Sony Animation Productions (upcoming); writer Romantically Challenged, Samantha Who?, Hot Properties

Anne Cofell Saunders Writer/producer Chuck, Smallville, Revolution; writer Battlestar Galactica

Mark Smith Writer The Revenant, Vacancy

Barbara Twist Conference Manager, Art House Convergence

Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber

Writers The Fault in Our Stars, (500) Days of Summer, The Spectacular Now, Paper Towns

Gary Whitta Writer After Earth, The Book of Eli, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Alan Yang Co-creator/executive producer Master of None; writer/co-executive producer Parks and Recreation