Delegate Guidebook

WELCOME
To the London Screenwriters’ Festival 2017
My name is Chris Jones,
founder and creative director of
the festival. And, just like you,
I love storytelling and writing
screenplays.
The LSF has fast become the most
exciting, prestigious and largest
event of its kind.
Over the three days of the festival
you can expect to gain a massive
amount of screenwriting
knowledge, make powerful new
industry contacts and connect with
a whole new group of like-minded
creatives.
This pack will help you get the most
from the festival. I urge you to read
it as soon as you can if you want to
get the most from your LSF
experience.
My hope and belief is that the
festival will change the way you
look at your writing, your career and
hopefully your life too.
So - open your mind and heart and
get ready for one hell of an
adventure. It’s going to be
awesome! Promise.
Chris Jones
Creative Director
www.LondonSWF.com
Follow me on Twitter
@LivingSpiritPix
We have an official Twitter hashtag for the festival which is #LondonSWF.
You can follow us on Twitter @londonswf
Join us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/londonswf - do drop by and like the page, we use it for
many announcements of upcoming stuff.
We have a blog too – check it out at www.londonscreenwritersfestival.com/blog
3

SHAPE OF THE FESTIVAL
The festival runs for three days from
September 15th to 17th (Friday to
Sunday).
late for our parties (on Thursday,
Friday and Saturday nights).
We recommend planning for both.
The days start at 9.00am and end
around 7.30pm (with networking drinks
running later).
The venue is Regent’s University
(which used to be called Regent’s
College, but it’s the same building).
On the first day of the festival there will
be a bottleneck as the 1,000 delegates
turn up to collect their passes, so arrive
early.
Plan to be present as much as
possible as you won’t want to be
dragged away from the festival to other
events over the three days.
We suggest no later than 8.30am on
Friday 15th September.
Each day you can arrive early for
breakfast (in the refectory) and stay
WiFi Access
The good news is that we SHOULD have free WiFi.
In past years this has been an issue but we have new
contractors at the venue, so fingers crossed! Your WiFi
code will be on the back of your pass when you collect it
at registration.
4

GETTING THERE
The London Screenwriters’ Festival
is hosted by Regent’s University, in
the heart of London and within the
beautiful grounds of Regent’s Park.
Regent’s University, Inner Circle,
Regent’s Park, London, NW1 4NS.
Baker Street is the closest Tube stop,
around ten minutes walk to the
university.
Exit Baker Street tube station, take the
Marylebone Road exit and turn left.
Walk past Madame Tussauds, before
taking the next left onto York Gate,
which continues onto York Bridge.
Follow the road into Regent’s Park
and the main entrance to Regent’s
University will be on your left-hand
side. Please note that Baker Street
Underground Station is not wheelchair
accessible.
It’s not advised to travel to the venue
by car as parking is expensive and
limited.
Allow time to get lost on your way on
the first day!
Do not lose your pass. Replacements
will cost £20. Schedule updates and
venue maps are available on-site and
festival updates will be shown on info
screens throughout the venue.
5

MAP OF THE VENUE
Don’t panic! The Venue is smaller than it looks and you will quickly get your
bearings. It’s essentially a large quad with rooms on all four sides.
6

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
During the festival there are five
separate strands of events – this
means that at any one time five
sessions are running concurrently.
We film many sessions to help you
choose. Some speakers decline to be
filmed, however. Some sessions will be
much more popular than others. Where
possible, we will flag this up so that
you can make your choices with the
most information.
Between sessions there is always a
half an hour break minimum, with a
longer one for lunch (around 90
minutes).
All sessions are one hour, with the
exception of mid-morning double
sessions which can last between an
hour and a half and two and a half
hours, depending on session and
speaker(s).
Friday will be our busiest day.
NO AUDIO OR VIDEO RECORDING
IS ALLOWED – WE FILM
EVERYTHING PERMITTED BY
SPEAKERS.
Enhanced Security
To ensure all our safety, we now operate bag checks
when entering the site. You should factor in a slight
delay when entering the venue, in order to carry out this
important check. And it goes without saying, even though
they are cute, no pets.
7

FRIDAY
8:00am
8.30am
9:00am
9.30am
10:00am
10.30am
11:00am
11.30am
12:00 NOON
12.30pm
1:00pm
1.30pm
Tuke Hall
Festival Opening
With CHRIS JONES
Not filmed
BREAK
The BIG Guns of TV
With JOHN YORKE
ALISON OWEN
BELINDA CAMPBELL
& JED MERCURIO
Moderated by GUB NEAL
LUNCH
Tuke Cinema
BREAK
Writing a Thriller that
producers want to make
and audiences want to
watch
With EMMANUEL OBERG
LUNCH
Herringham
Hall
BREAK
Brainstorming Through the
Block
With PILAR ALESSANDRA
Not filmed
LUNCH
Herringham
H243
BREAK
Coen Brothers: Unlocking
the Mystery of These
Master Storytellers
With SCOTT MYERS
Not filmed
LUNCH
Darwin D05
PitchFest Bootcamp with
Bob
With BOB SCHULTZ
Not filmed
BREAK
Write, Camera, Action!
Get Your Short Made
Immediately
With CHRIS JONES
BOB SCHULTZ
Not filmed
LUNCH

2:00pm
2.30pm
3:00pm
3.30pm
4:00pm
4.30pm
5:00pm
5.30pm
6:00pm
6.30pm
7:00pm
7.30pm
8:00pm
8.30pm
9:00pm
How to write familiar yet
fresh and compelling
characters
With CHRISTOPHER VOGLER
BREAK
The BIG Vision: How to
Attract Prolific Producers
to YOUR Screenplay
With RUTH CALEB &
TONY GARNETT
BREAK
How to write for the BBC
with Anne Edyvean | BBC
Writersroom
With ANNE EDYVEAN
BREAK
Killer Scene Descriptions:
Using Screenplay Style to
Express YOUR Writer's
Voice
With SCOTT MYERS
Not filmed
Writing Action with Jeb
Stuart
With JEB STUART & moderated
by EDDIE HAMILTON A.C.E
Ripping into Ripper Street
with creator, writer and
producer Richard Warlow
With RICHARD WARLOW,
WILL GOULD & moderated by
JEFF NORTON
Meet Stephen Woolley,
Celebrated UK Producer
With STEPHEN WOOLLEY
Sitcoms and other
nonsense
With PAUL KERENSA
BREAK
BREAK
BREAK
'Filthily Funny': In
Conversation with Paul
Abbott
With PAUL ABBOTT & moderated
by JOHN YORKE
Somewhere in time:
Writing Period Drama
With MICHAEL HIRST &
moderated by SARAH WILLIAMS
BREAK
BREAK BREAK
Sensitive Handling of
Sensitive Materials:
Writing True Crime
With NEIL MCKAY & moderated by
JACKIE MALTON
'Withnail and I' Script
to Screen with Bruce
Robinson
With BRUCE ROBINSON &
moderated by CHRIS HEWITT
Meet the Producers:
Impressing the Power
Players
With RORY AITKEN, STEVE
CLARK-HALL & ROBYN SLOVO
BREAK BREAK
BREAK
Manifesting Success
With CHRIS JONES & JONATHAN
NEWMAN
Not filmed
The Pitch Factor
With PILAR ALESSANDRA
NED DOWD
CHRISTOPHER VOGLER &
moderated by BOB SCHULTZ
Not filmed
Networking drinks in the
refectory till late
Motion without Pictures:
Writing for Radio
With JULIA MCKENZIE, JEREMY
HOWE, NEIL MCKAY & JACK
BERNHARDT & Moderated by
JONATHAN RUFFLE
BREAK
Script to Screen - Planet of
the Apes: The Last Frontier
With MARTIN ALLTIMES,
MATTHEW COSTELLO,
NEIL RICHARDS,
NEIL NEWBON & FRASER AYRES
BREAK
Producing your Passion
With KIM ZUBICK & moderated by
PILAR ALESSANDRA
BREAK
Make your documentary:
Writing, producing and
changing the world
With CRAIG MCCALL

SATURDAY
8:00am
8.30am
9:00am
9.30am
10:00am
10.30am
11:00am
11.30am
12:00 NOON
12.30pm
1:00pm
1.30pm
Tuke Hall
How to Find the Right
Producer for Your Film
With FARAH ABUSHWESHA
BREAK
How to create binge
TVwatchers: Constructing
and Interweaving multiple
protagonist stories
With LINDA ARONSON
Not filmed
SCRIPT CHAT
LUNCH
Tuke Cinema
BREAK
Pixar: The Secrets of Their
Storytelling Craft
With SCOTT MYERS
Not filmed
LUNCH
Herringham
Hall
Final Draft 10: Getting
the Most from the Most
Popular Software
With SHELLY MELLOTT &
CHRISTOPHER VOGLER
BREAK
Just Kidding: Writing
Cracking Comedy
Features and TV
With EMMANUEL OBERG
LUNCH
Herringham
H243
BREAK
The Infinite Character Arc:
Writing Continuing Drama
With LORETTA PREECE
BILL ARMSTRONG
ANDY BAYLISS
JOHN YORKE
LUCY RAFFETY
KATE HALL
JON SEN
& JUSTIN YOUNG
Moderated by BARBARA MACHIN
LUNCH
Darwin D05
PitchFest Bootcamp with Bob
With BOB SCHULTZ
Not filmed
Writing the Icon: How one
woman conquered the
Churchill Story
With ALEX VON TUNZELMANN
Moderated by SARAH WILLIAMS
SCRIPT CHAT
BREAK
'Whiplash' Script to Screen
Deconstruction with
Christopher Vogler
With CHRISTOPHER VOGLER
Not filmed
LUNCH

2:00pm
2.30pm
3:00pm
3.30pm
4:00pm
4.30pm
5:00pm
5.30pm
6:00pm
6.30pm
7:00pm
7.30pm
8:00pm
8.30pm
9:00pm
Gatekeepers: Building
relationships with key
influencers
With ZINA WEGRZYNSKI
& moderated by JULIAN
FRIEDMANN
BREAK
2B or not 2B! Make your
scripts water tight (even
the tricky bit in the middle)
With PILAR ALESSANDRA
Not filmed
SCRIPT CHAT
BREAK
Adaptations: How to write
and adapt existing works
or 'based on' true events
With JEB STUART, DANNY
BROCKLEHURST & TOM EDGE
BREAK
The 2017 British
Screenwriters' Awards
With DEBOARAH FRANCES-
WHITE
Not filmed
Strike: Writing JK Rowling's
New TV Crime Drama
With TOM EDGE
Fantastical Worlds and
Universal Themes: Game
of Thrones
With BOB SCHULTZ
Raising Your Profile:
Mastering Social Media
like the Pros
With JO BOOTH
Creating Paranormal Drama
for Film and TV
With STEPHEN VOLK
BREAK
BREAK
BREAK
BREAK
Writing for Young
Audiences
With EMMA REEVES, TOBI
WILSON, JUSTIN TREFGARNE &
moderated by MARK PALLIS
Producer's Notes: A
Necessary Evil
With ANGUS LAMONT,
ASHLEY PHAROAH, DANNY
BROCKLEHURST & ROLAND
MOORE & moderated by KAROL
GRIFFITHS
The Female Gaze II
With CHARLOTTE JOSEPHINE
& moderated by MAUREEN
HASCOET
Deconstructing 'Memento'
with Linda Aronson
With LINDA ARONSON
SCRIPT CHAT
BREAK
BREAK BREAK
New Frontiers: Writing for
the Chinese Market
With ROLAND MOORE, ANDY
BRIGGS, TOM KINNINMONT &
moderated by JULIAN FRIEDMANN
The Girl With All The Gifts:
Urban Modern Horror
Deconstruction
With MIKE CAREY
My Big Break
With VINAY PATEL, CHARLOTTE
JOSEPHINE, ALEX VON
TUNZELMANN, ANDEE RYDER,
IAN BONHOTE & moderated by
TOM KEREVAN | SCRIPT CHAT
BREAK BREAK
BREAK BREAK
Networking drinks in the
refectory till late
You Had Me at Page One
With PILAR ALESSANDRA
Not filmed
Writing Sci-Fi
Moderated by LOUIS SAVY
Hollywood for Beginners
With ANDREW ZINNES

SUNDAY
8:00am
8.30am
9:00am
9.30am
10:00am
10.30am
11:00am
11.30am
12:00 NOON
12.30pm
1:00pm
1.30pm
Tuke Hall
Dynamic Dialogue
With PILAR ALESSANDRA
Not filmed
SCRIPT CHAT
BREAK
LondonSWF Mini Film
Festival... Watch, meet
and celebrate
With KAT WOOD
VANESSA BAILEY
TOM KEREVAN
JESS O' BRIEN
Moderated by
JONATHAN NEWMAN
LUNCH
Tuke Cinema
BREAK
'71 Script to Screen LIVE
with Gregory Burke &
Angus Lamont
With GREGORY BURKE
ANGUS LAMONT
Moderated by GILES ALDERSON
SCRIPT CHAT
LUNCH
Herringham
Hall
Finding YOUR Path to a
Screenwriting Career with
Hayley McKenzie
With HAYLEY MCKENZIE
SCRIPT CHAT
BREAK
What will actually happen
to your finished script?
LIVE Script Edit
With LUCY V HAY
Not filmed
LUNCH
Herringham
H243
BREAK
Clash of the Titans: Vogler
and Aronson on stage
together
With CHRISTOPHER VOGLER
LINDA ARONSON
SCRIPT CHAT
LUNCH
Darwin D05
PitchFest Bootcamp with Bob
With BOB SCHULTZ
Not filmed
BREAK
The A-Z of Storytelling
With NIK POWELL
SCRIPT CHAT
LUNCH

2:00pm
2.30pm
3:00pm
3.30pm
4:00pm
4.30pm
5:00pm
5.30pm
6:00pm
6.30pm
7:00pm
7.30pm
8:00pm
8.30pm
9:00pm
Writing the Compelling
Nemesis that Elevates
Your Plot, Characters and
Stakes
With SCOTT MYERS
BREAK
Die Hard Script to
Screen LIVE with Jeb
Stuart
With JEB STUART
Moderated by CHRIS JONES
& BOB SCHULTZ
LondonSWF Close
With CHRIS JONES
Not filmed
Going from 'Pass' to 'YES!':
Actors and the Script
With MANUEL PURO, SANJEEV
BHASKAR & moderated by TOM
KEREVAN
SCRIPT CHAT
Doing Crime: In
Conversation with Jed
Mercurio
With JED MERCURIO, JOHN
STRICKLAND & moderated by
Barbara Machin | SCRIPT CHAT
How I Got My Agent
With KAT WOOD, JONATHAN
NEWMAN & moderated by GAIL
HACKSTON
SCRIPT CHAT
The Truth About a Writer's
Career
With JEAN KITSON
BREAK
BREAK
BREAK
BREAK
Cracking Crime:
Unforgotten Case Study
With CHRIS LANG, MARK DAVIS
& SANJEEV BHASKAR
Deep Characterisation
With KIRA-ANNE PELICAN
Director's Cut: Cultivating
the most important
collaboration of your
projects
SCRIPT CHAT
Everything you need to know
about Script Editing
With HAYLEY MCKENZIE,
CHARLOTTE ESSEX & moderated by
KAROL GRIFFITHS
SCRIPT CHAT
BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK
Writing strong, relatable
and authentic LGBT stories
and characters
With REBECCA ROOT
Not filmed
The Best Writing Gig in
Town: How big business is
making drama and paying
big money
With MATT COWAN

THE NETWORK
LSFConnect.com is our private
delegate network where you can
connect with other screenwriters,
producers and delegates attending
this year.
It’s also where we share all the past
video sessions – there are around 300
online now.
There are forums, groups and a chat
room where we congregate to discuss
anything related to the festival and
screenwriting.
and for about a month after the festival.
It’s available year round and you can
periodically log in for inspiration or
instruction from one of the past session
videos.
As we edit session videos from this
year they will be uploaded into the
network (it takes around three months
to complete them all).
If you missed your invite, drop us an
email and Vicky Tolidou will sign you
up – vicky@londonswf.com
There is a two-minute orientation video
in the network when you log in – try
and watch it. The network will get
VERY busy in the run up to the festival,
Where to eat
There is a refectory at the venue. We stagger events to
try and avoid long queues at lunch. Remember – you
are in for the long haul so bring supplies with you! There
is also a terrific small café across the road from the
University, on the inner circle, called the Garden Café.
14

SPEAKERS
LEGENDS
CHRISTOPHER VOGLER
Story Consultant
Credits include: The Writer’s
Journey: Mythic Structure for
Storytellers
Story consultant to the biggest
names in Hollywood.
JEB STUART
Screenwriter
Credits include: Die Hard, The
Fugitive
Jeb has been a motion picture
and television screenwriter,
director and producer for over
30 years and is considered one
of the great action screenwriters
in film history.
BRUCE ROBINSON
Screenwriter, Director
Credits include: Withnail & I,
The Killing Fields
Bruce Robinson is the director
and screenwriter of Withnail
and I, How to Get Ahead in
Advertising, Jennifer 8 and The
Rum Diary.
EILEEN ATKINS
Actress, Screenwriter
Credits: Equus, Gosford Park
Legendary British Actress
Eileen is also the
co-creator of the iconic
television dramas Upstairs,
Downstairs and The House of
Elliot with Jean Marsh.
15

HEADLINERS
ALISON OWEN
producer
Credits include: Suffragette, Saving
Mr Banks, Elizabeth
Alison is one of the UK’s leading film
and television producers.
PILAR ALESSANDRA
script consultant, educator
Credits include: The Coffee Break
Screenwriter
Pilar’s students and clients have
written for Lost, Prison Break, Nip
Tuck, House of Lies, CSI and Family
Guy.
PAUL ABBOTT
screenwriter, producer
Credits include: Shameless, State of
Play, Cracker
A BAFTA award-winning TV writer,
series creator and producer, Paul is
one of the UK’s most revered writers
working today.
SCOTT MYERS
screenwriter, producer, educator
Screenwriter of ‘K-9’ with Jim
Belushi and ‘Trojan War’ with
Jennifer Love Hewitt.
Screenwriter and producer, head
honcho at ‘Go Into The Story’ and
Black List offical blog scribe.
STEPHEN WOOLEY
producer
Credits include: Carol, Interview
with the Vampire
Academy Award-nominated and
Bafta-winning producer Stephen has
produced and executive produced
nearly sixty films in his storied career.
SCREENWRITERS
BILL ARMSTRONG
screenwriter
Credits include: Doctors, The Indian
Doctor
After a successful career as a stage
and film actor, Bill transitioned into
writing in 2003, began work on Doctors
in 2006 and has now become a core
writer on the show.
ANDY BRIGGS
screenwriter
He wrote on Judge Dredd, Freddy Vs
Jason and Aquaman and has worked
with Stan Lee, Robert Evans, Warner
Bros. and Disney XD.
JACK BERNHARDT
screenwriter
Credits include: The Lentil Sorters
Recipient of the BBC Radio Comedy
Writer's Bursary, Jack has written for
a wide range of shows and regularly
contributed to series such as The
News Quiz and Dead Ringers.
DANNY BROCKLEHURST
screenwriter
Credits include: The Five, Ordinary
Lies, Shameless, Clocking Off
Danny is a BAFTA and International
Emmy-winning screenwriter who has
written on some of the biggest UK
dramas of recent years.
16

GREGORY BURKE
screenwriter, playwright
Credits include: ‘71, One Night In
Emergency
An award-winning and prominent
Playwright and Screenwriter, Gregory’s
most recent work is the hard hitting ‘71
starring Jack O’Connell.
MATTHEW COSTELLO
screenwriter, novelist
Matt has written and designed dozens
of award-winning and best-selling
games including The 7th Guest, Doom
3 and Rage.
MIKE CAREY
screenwriter, novelist, comic writer
Credits include: The Girl with all
the Gifts
Mike adapted the 'Girl With All the
Gifts' from his own novel of the same
name.
TOM EDGE
screenwriter
Credits include: The Crown, Strike
Tom Edge is a twice BAFTA-nominated
writer; he created the Netflix original
comedy Lovesick and wrote on their epic
drama The Crown.
KATE HALL
producer
Credits include: Holby City,
Hollyoaks
Kate is the Series Producer of Holby
City, having previously spent over
four years as Story Producer on this
flagship, primetime BBC1 drama.
CHARLOTTE JOSEPHINE
writer, actress
Credits include: Blush, Bitch Boxer,
Blue
Bitch Boxer writer Charlotte recently
won the inaugural BBC Screenplay
First Award and is currently developing
a script with BBC Films.
RICHARD KURTI
screenwriter
Credits include: Wolfblood, Primeval
Richard and his writing partner Bev
Doyle broke into the business by
writing and selling a spec script,
Newton's Law, which led to 14 further
movie commissions.
MICHAEL HIRST
screenwriter
Credits include: The Tudors,
Vikings, Elizabeth
A master of Period Drama, Michael has
been a screenwriter for both film and
television drama for over thirty years.
TOM KEREVAN
screenwriter, producer
Credits include: Tear Me Apart
Tom’s feature debut ‘Tear Me Apart’
premiered at the Austin Film Festival
and he is currently working on his
second feature ‘Gun’.
CHRIS LANG
screenwriter
Credits include: Torn, Amnesia, A
Mother's Son
Chris is the writer of over 100 hours of
prime time British drama including the
award-winning 'Unforgotten'.
JOSEPH LIDSTER
screenwriter
Credits include: Torchwood,
Wizards Vs. Aliens
Joseph has written scripts for radio
and television, including episodes
of Torchwood, The Sarah Jane
Adventures, Wizards Vs Aliens and
Hetty Feather.
BARBARA MACHIN
screenwriter
Credits include: Waking The Dead,
The Bill
Barbara Machin is the BAFTA and
EMMY award-winning screenwriter
who created BBC1’s worldwide selling
hit series Waking The Dead.
17

NEIL MCKAY
screenwriter
Credits include: The Moorside, See No
Evil, Mo
Neil’s most recent drama ‘The Moorside’,
about the abduction of Shannon
Matthews in Dewsbury in 2008 was
broadcast on the BBC to widespread
critical acclaim earlier this year.
ROLAND MOORE
screenwriter
Credits include: Land Girls,
Rastamouse, Smack the Pony
Roland created the award-winning
returning drama series Land Girls for
BBC1 and has written for a range of
television series.
JESS O'BRIEN
screenwriter, actor, director
Credits include: Girl A, Dolls
In the last 2 years of filmmaking Jess
has staged three red carpet premieres
and has been named Into Film’s ‘One
to Watch’ 2016.
ASHLEY PHAROAH
writer
Credits include: Life on Mars, Ashes
to Ashes
Ashley is a veteran TV writer who has
created and written several longrunning
series for the BBC and ITV.
JED MERCURIO
screenwriter
Credits include: Line Of Duty,
Cardiac Arrest
Jed’s most recent credit, ‘Line of Duty’,
is the most watched BBC2 drama
series in the multichannel era.
EMMANUEL OBERG
screenwriter & consultant
Credits include: Double Game
Over the last few years, Emmanuel has
written and developed feature films for
Working Title, Film4 and Gold Circle.
VINAY PATEL
screenwriter, playwright
Credits include: Murdered By My
Father
BAFTA Breakthrough Brit, Screenwriter
and Playwright Vinay is currently under
commission to the Bush Theatre, as
well as developing projects for the BBC
and the BFI.
EMMA REEVES
screenwriter
Credits include: The Worst Witch,
The Dumping Ground
Emma is a versatile and experienced
writer working across adult and
children’s TV drama and the stage.
NEIL RICHARDS
screenwriter, novelist
Credits include: Starship Titanic,
Just Cause, The da Vince Code
Neil is a writer in TV, games, interactive
and, more recently, novels.
ROBERT THOROGOOD
screenwriter
Robert is the creator and lead writer
of the 8 x 60' BBC 1 television series
'Death in Paradise', his first broadcast
credit.
JONATHAN RUFFLE
writer, producer
Credits include: Tommies, Never
Mind The Buzzcocks
Jonathan created, writes and produces
a four-and-a-half year real-time drama
- Tommies which airs on BBC Radio
this autumn.
ALEX VON TUNZELMANN
screenwriter
Credits include: Churchill, Medici:
Masters of Florence
After an outstanding start with her
biopic feature debut ‘Churchill’, Alex is
definitely one to watch this year.
18

STEPHEN VOLK
screenwriter, playwright
Stephen Volk is a BAFTA-winning writer
best known for the controversial 1992
BBCTV "Hallowe’en hoax" Ghostwatch.
RICHARD WARLOW
screenwriter, showrunner
Credits include: Ripper Street,
Mistresses
Richard is the Lead Writer, Creator and
Executive Producer on all five series of
‘Ripper Street’.
TOBI WILSON
screenwriter
Credits include: The Amazing World
of Gumball, Dangermouse
Comedy writer Tobi is currently a
Senior Writer on Cartoon Network's
children's animated series The
Amazing World of Gumball, now in its
6th series.
KAT WOOD
screenwriter, director
Credits include: Home, Arthur &
Merlin
Kat’s directorial debut, the short film
'Home' starring Maggie Gyllenhaal,
makes her the first ever UK winner of
the Jameson First Shot Competition.
JUSTIN YOUNG
screenwriter, producer, playwright
Credits include: Dickensian, Ripper
Street
Justin is currently developing a range of
new shows with top independent drama
companies including Red Planet, Drama
Republic, Big Talk, and Red Productions.
PEOPLE WHO GET STUFF MADE
RORY AITKEN
producer
Credits include: Welcome to the
Punch, Shifty, The Autopsy of Jane
Doe
Rory Aitken is a producer and founding
partner of Management and Production
Company 42.
MARTIN ALLTIMES
ceo/founder | the imaginati studio
Martin and Imaginati Studios are
currently focused on creating games
based on ‘The Planet of Apes’
franchise on console and PC.
RUTH CALEB
producer
Credits include: Last Resort,
Tomorrow La Scala, A Poet in New
York
Ruth is a multi award-winning
producer. She was awarded the O.B.E.
in the 2004 Queen’s Birthday Honours
List for her services to Drama.
BELINDA CAMPBELL
red planet pictures
Credits include: Death in Paradise,
Dickensian
TV Producer Belinda oversees
all of Red Planet Pictures drama
development and productions.
19

STEVE CLARK-HALL
producer
Credits include: Sherlock Holmes -
A Game of Shadows
Steve is one of the UK's most
experienced Producers. His credits
include 'Calendar Girls', 'RocknRolla'
and Kenneth Branagh’s 'Magic Flute'.
NED DOWD
producer
Apocalypto, King Arthur, Ondine,
Shanghai Noon and Last Of The
Mohicans
Apocalypto, King Arthur, Shanghai
Noon and Last Of The Mohicans are
a handful of films on Ned's resume - it
reads more like our movie collection!
TONY GARNETT
producer
Credits include: Kes, Beautiful
Thing, This Life
Tony has had a prestigious and varied
career as an actor, script editor,
screenwriter, director and producer.
MATT COWAN
director
An award-winning TV producer and
former journalist, Matt is the Director of
MediaWorks.London, a tech focused
consultancy and content agency based
in Soho.
JULIAN FRIEDMANN
film, tv and literary agent
Agent and great supporter of
emerging talent.
Julian has years of experience as a
literary agent and was the founder of
ScriptWriter magazine.
CAMILLE GATIN
producer
The Girl with All the Gifts producer
Camille Gatin recently won the
British Independent Film Award for
Breakthrough Producer.
WILL GOULD
producer
Credits include: Peaky Blinders,
Ripper Street
Will is currently the Joint Managing
Director of Tiger Aspect Productions,
internationally recognised as one of
the UK’s most successful indie TV
production companies.
RUTH KENLEY LETTS
producer
Credits include: It’s a Wonderful Life
Ruth runs JK Rowling’s Bronte Film
and TV and won both an Oscar and
BAFTA for ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’
directed by Peter Capaldi
JEREMY HOWE
drama commissioning editor
Credits include: The Archers,
Bloomsday
Jeremy is responsible for
commissioning over 300 titles a year
for Radio 4.
TOM KINNINMONT
producer, screenwriter, director
Credits include: The Carer, Colonia,
Blind Revenge
Tom has been Writing, Producing
and Directing drama for more than 30
years, initially for the BBC and then
independently.
ANGUS LAMONT
producer
Credits include: ‘71, The Girl With
All the Gifts
‘71 Producer Angus has been an active
participant in the Scottish and UK
independent film production community
for more than 25 years.
20
JOHN LLOYD
screenwriter, producer
Credits include: Blackadder, Not The
Nine O'Clock News, To The Manor
Born
John is best known as the original
producer of Not The Nine O'Clock
News, Spitting Image, Blackadder
and QI.

JULIA MCKENZIE
head of bbc radio comedy
Credits include: The Jason Byrne
Show, French & Saunders
Julia produces comedies for Radio 2.
GUB NEAL
producer
Credits include: Prime Suspect,
Cracker, Queer As Folk
Gub is an award-winning producer who
has headed up the Drama departments
at both Channel 4 and Granada.
JEFF NORTON
writer, producer, author
Credits include: MetaWars,
Trucktown, Princess Ponies
Jeff is a writer-producer, and author
of the award-winning thriller series
MetaWars.
NIK POWELL
producer, director of nfts
Credits include: The Crying Game,
Mona Lisa
Virgin co-founder turned Producer, Nik
is the man behind some of the most
successful and acclaimed British films
of all time.
MICHAEL RYAN
founder, GFM Films
Credits include: The English Patient,
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
In 2000 Michael partnered with Guy
Collins. Between them they have
financed, sold and produced over 200
films.
ROBYN SLOVO
producer
Credits include: Tinker, Tailor,
Soldier, Spy
Former exec at BBC Films and head
of film at Company Pictures, Robyn is
now an independent producer.
DAVID NICHOLAS WILKINSON
producer
Credits Include: The First Film, How
To Change The World
David has been involved in the
production/ distribution of over 100
British feature films with budgets from
£20,000 to $16 million.
JOHN YORKE
md angel station
Credits include: Wolf Hall,
Shameless, Life On Mars
John Yorke is Managing Director of
Angel Station where he works as
a drama producer, consultant and
lecturer on all forms of storytelling.
ANDEE RYDER
producer
Credits include: Alleycats, McQueen
Producer Andee’s debut feature
Alleycats is distributed internationally
by a major international studio in over
20 countries.
JENNY VAN DER LANDE
producer
Credits include: Strike, Casualty,
London Spy
Recently Jenny worked closely with
Screenwriter Tom Edge as Story
Producer, developing Tom’s adaptation
of J.K Rowling (aka Robert Galbraith’s)
anticipated TV crime drama ‘Strike’
ANDREW ZINNES
screenwriter
Screenwriter and documentary
producer.
KIM ZUBICK
producer, Hartswood Films
Credits include: License to Wed,
Yours, Mine & Ours
Kim is a hands-on film and TV
producer. She most recently produced
The Zookeeper's Wife, starring Jessica
Chastain and directed by Niki Caro.
21

DIRECTORS
GILES ANDERSON
director
Credits include: The Dare, World of
Darkness
Award winning director Giles hosts the
'filmmakers podcast'.
CHRISTIAN JAMES
director
Christian is a Director, Writer,
Producer, Cinematographer and Editor.
And as if he weren’t busy enough, he
also hosts the ever popular filmmakers
podcast (link in bio).
COLM MCCARTHY
director
Credits include: Sherlock, Dr Who,
The Tudors
Most recently, Colm directed all six
hours of series two of Peaky Blinders,
starring Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy and
Sam Neil, and written by Steven Knight
(Dirty Pretty Things, Locke, Eastern
Promises).
JOHN STRICKLAND
director
Credits include: Line of Duty, Prime
Suspect 2, Clocking Off
John has been nominated for a BAFTA
three times and has won directing
awards for Rebel Heart and Bodies.
IAN BANHOTE
director & producer
Credits include: Alleycats, McQueen
Ian Bonhôte is an award-winning
film Director and Producer. His first
feature Alleycats was distributed in 20
countries.
CRAIG MCCALL
director
Credits include Cameraman: The life
and works of Jack Cardiff
Craig is a renowned documentary
filmmaker who has over 20 years
experience.
JONATHAN NEWMAN
writer & director
Credits include: Swinging With The
Finkels, Foster, Mariah Mundi and the
Midas Box
Jonathan most recently directed the
$25m movie Mariah Mundi and the
Midas Box.
JUSTIN TREFGARNE
producer, writer, director
Credits include: Narcopolis, Peter
Rabbit
Justin is a writer, director and sometimes
actor whose work straddles Film, TV,
Video Games and Comic Books.
ACTORS
FRASER AYRES
actor
Fraser is an award-winning actor, writer
and CEO of The TriForce Creative
Network
SANJEEV BHASKAR
actor
Credits include: Unforgotten, The
Kumars
Sanjeev gained notoriety as creator
and performer of the hit series
'Goodness Gracious Me'. Currently
he stars in ITV's 'Unforgotten' and will
soon be seen in 'Paddington 2'.
22

AHD KAMEL
actor, screenwriter, director
Credits include: Collateral, Wadjda
Best known for her role in 2012's
critically acclaimed, and BAFTA
nominee, 'Wadjda', which is Saudi
Arabia's first feature film.
NEIL NEWBORN
actor
Credits include: Planet of the Apes:
Last Frontier
Neil is an actor as well as high-profile
AAA Video Games in Full Performance
Capture artist.
REBECCA ROOT
actor
Credits incude: Boy Meets Girl, The
Danish Girl
Rebecca is best known for playing
Judy in BBC Two’s ground-breaking
comedy series 'Boy Meets Girl'.
PEOPLE WHO KNOW STUFF
FARAH ABUSHWESHA
producer & founder of rocliffe
Credits include: Irreplaceable You,
The Last Photograph
Farah is a BAFTA-nominated producer,
best selling author and founder of the
BAFTA Rocliffe New
LINDA ARONSON
practiotioner & screenwriter
Author of: The 21st-Century
Screenplay
Linda Aronson returns to dazzle LSF
delegates with her game-changing
explanations of how to construct nonlinear
and multiple storyline films.
SARAH BERGER
artistic director
Sarah is the Artistic Director and
Producer at the So and So arts club.
ANNE EDYVEAN
head of BBC Writerstoom
Credits include: The Break, Holby City,
Casualty
Anne is the head of the BBC
Writersroom, which finds and develops
new writers (and some directors) and
champions them across television radio
and online.
KAROL GRIFFITHS
script editor & supervisor
Credits include: How I Met Your
Mother, Friends
Karol Griffiths is a successful script editor
and development consultant with over
twenty years of experience.
23
MARK DAVIS
editor
Credits include: Taboo, Unforgotten,
Sherlock, Peaky Blinders
Mark is an experienced short-form
director with a successful background in
cutting long-form drama for BBC, ITV and
Channel Four.
CHARLOTTE ESSEX
script editor
Writer: Doctors, Script Editor:
EastEnders, The Runaway
Charlotte has extensive script editing
experience in development and
production.
EDDIE HAMILTON A.C.E.
editor
Eddie has over twenty features under
his belt, including 'Mission: Impossible
- Rogue Nation' and ’Kingsman: The
Secret Service’.

ROXANNE HARVEY
producer
Credits include: Casualty, The Bill,
Bad Girls
Roxanne has worked as the Story
Producer on Casualty for the past seven
years and has also produced several
episodes.
CHRIS HEWITT
news editor | empire magazine
Chris Hewitt is the News Editor at
the always OUTSTANDING Empire
Magazine.
LUCY V HAY
script editor
Bionic blogger, script editor and the
voice of new writers!
Legendary for her enthusiasm and
knowledge which she shares with her
community at Bang2Write. Core member
of the LSF team.
TIM HIGHSTEAD
senior editor, Channel 4
Prior to joining C4 Tim previously
worked in film distribution, the London
Film Festival and the San Francisco
International Film Festival.
CHRIS JONES
filmmaker & author
Credits include: Oscars shortlisted
Gone Fishing, the Guerilla Handbooks
and a bunch of feature films
Chris has spent his life making movies,
writing books and helping others make
their movies.
JACKIE MALTON
story consultant, writer
Credits: Prime Suspect, Waking The
Dead
Jackie is Ex Detective Chief Inspector
Metropolitan Police and the role model
for award-winning series Prime Suspect.
HAYLEY MCHENZIE
script editor
Credits include: Hollyoaks, Casualty,
Blue Murder
Hayley McKenzie is an experienced
Script Editor in UK television and feature
films and the founder of Script Angel.
KIRA ANNE PELICAN
script cosultant & researcher
Kira-Anne is an independent script
consultant, a PhD researcher in
Screenwriting, and visiting tutor at the
Met Film School, London.
JEAN KITSON
agent | kitson press associates
Founder: Kitson Press Associates
Jean Kitson is an agent representing
film, TV, theatre and radio writers and
directors.
MANUEL PURO
casting director
Credits include: Moon, The Machine,
Scar Tissue
Manuel has worked with industry heavy
hitters including Guillermo del Toro,
Richard Attenborough and Nic Roeg, Guy
Ritchie and Matthew Vaughn.
SHELLEY MELLOTT
VP sales & marketing, Final Draft
Shelly is vice president at Final Draft
overseeing the Big Break Contest, social
media, events, and customer relations for
the company.
LORETTA PREECE
producer, story producer, script editor
Loretta has been personally responsible
for storylining over 2000 episodes of
mainstream British television.
24

LUCY RAFFETY
producer & script editor
Credits include: Casualty, Eastenders
Lucy instigated a Writers’ Room system
at Casualty, which now commissions the
majority of its writers in that way.
REBECCA ROUGHAN
development
Rebecca Roughan is development
coordinator at the management and
production company 42. She is currently
story researcher on Channel 4’s recently
announced major six-part spy thriller
Jerusalem, written by Bathsheba Doran.
ZINA WEGRZYNSKI
script & development editor
Zina started off working in production,
on shows such as Critical (Sky) before
moving into the creative side of TV.
MODERATORS
GUY COCKER
broadcaster
Broadcasting credits: BBC 5 Live, Sky
News, CNN
Writes regularly for Wired, T3 and
Stuff, and is the resident video game
expert on BBC 5 live, Sky News and
CNN.
MAUREEN HASCOET
agent & director
Credits include: 50 Kisses (‘Enough’
segment)
Maureen is a veteran of the LSF
production team, now working for
Blueberry Creative Consultants. She
is also a talented director in her own
right.
LEWIS SAVY
Sci-Fi London founder
Louis founded and has been the
festival director and programmer for
the Sci-Fi London Film Festival for 17
years.
SARAH WILLIAMS
screenwriter
Professional singer and drummer,
Sarah also writes for the screen and
brings her impeccable moderating
skills back to the LSF this year.
GAIL HACKSTON
screenwriter & director
Credits include: 50 Kisses, Cancer
Hair
Gail’s short 'Cancer Hair' won ‘Best
Fiction’ and ‘Best of Fest’ at the Isle of
Man Film Festival and won IMDb New
Filmmaker of the Year at Bath Film
Festival.
MARK PALLIS
broadcaster
Credits include: Garrow’s Law, Iron
Monk, Tales of Peter Rabbit
Barrister turned writer Mark served as
story editor on Garrow’s Law and has
several TV and feature projects ready
to go.
BOB SCHULTZ
writer & producer
Credits include: Great American
Pitchfest
Bob has been the Executive Director
of the Great American Pitchfest &
Screenwriting Conference (GAPF) for
13 years.
25

MAIN SESSIONS
Over the three days of the London Screenwriters’ Festival we will run more
than one hundred seminars, workshops and networking events for professional
screenwriters. We film most sessions, so if you miss one, or two clash, you’ll be
able to catch up later online.
Main sessions take place in the five main rooms: Tuke Hall, Herringham Hall, Tuke
Cinema, Herringham 243 and the Darwin D05. At any one moment there will be
four sessions to choose from.
26

ADDITIONAL SESSIONS
Please note that not all speakers will
be available for Script Chats. Sessions
that will have a ‘Script Chat’ will be
marked accordingly in the schedule.
Script Chat
It’s one thing sitting in an audience
listening to that producer, agent or
writer… it’s an entirely different thing
getting real face-to-face time with them.
That’s why we set up ‘Script Chats’ –
special, intimate and informal chats with
speakers that take place directly after
their sessions.
After each session, many of our
speakers participate in our informal
“Script Chats.” Ranging in length
from 30-90 minutes, this is a great
opportunity to get to know our
speakers in depth. You do not need
to book a place at the Script Chat
sessions, just turn up (be aware that
sometimes it can get a little busy).
Final Draft Genius Table
Got a Final Draft question you need
answering? Need a bit of help getting
to grips with the features? The lovely
people from Final Draft will be at the
festival and you can drop in at any time
to get some world class expert help
from them. Located in the Refectory.
27

Script to screen LIVE!
Our Script To Screen LIVE events are
where we play the film and discuss it
with the writers on stage, in real time.
We suggest you print the script and bring
it with you for these AMAZING sessions.
All scripts can be downloaded via the
Submissions, Booking and Info Page.
The Pitch Factor
Feel the fear and do it anyway! Pitch in
front of a live audience and win CASH!
Put £5 in a hat and pitch your script in
front of a panel of industry professionals
at our annual Pitch Factor, a relaxed and
friendly environment where delegates
pitch their project in two minutes or less.
You do not need to book for the Pitch
Factor, just turn up.
The Elevator Pitch
The idea is simple - the elevator doors
open, you step inside only to find
yourself alone with a top executive…
You have 90 seconds to get them to
accept your business card! This micro
workshop, based on the popular myth of
writers meeting execs in elevators, is a
great opportunity to try out your fabulous
90-second pitch. You might get an invite
to submit your work, you might not… but
you will certainly get an experience you
won’t forget! The session runs on a first
come, first served basis and you will only
find out who is in the elevator when you
step inside. Feel the fear…. And do it
anyway!
The Elevator Pitch will take place on
Saturday & Sunday at 1:15pm in the
Tuke Elevator on the Ground Floor.
Speed Networking
Make new relationships FAST in our
structured Speed Networking event.
It’s tough to work an entire room at one
event, there are just too many people to
28

meet, and social convention dictates that
you’re more likely to spend more time
spent stuck in a polite conversation with
someone you know you’ll never work
with rather than working the room to find
the people you will. The answer for us is
our organised Speed Networking.
Advanced Mentoring and
Script Labs
At the festival we run a number of
intensive ‘closed door’ labs with experts
and writers in hyper focused fields.
The Actors’ Table Read
The actors’ table read is an opportunity
for you to get your screenplay worked
on by professional actors and a
director. This has proven to be our most
successful initiative to date with 99.8%
positive feedback from the 200 people
involved last year. If you submit a script
to the process and you are selected you
will attend a one hour session where the
director and the actors will work on one
sequence (between 3 and five pages) of
your script. These are closed sessions
and they run throughout all three days of
the festival.
Script Doctor drop in desk
Get one-to-one script feedback on your screenplay from
an experienced Script Doctor. Slots are now all taken
but there is a drop-in desk during the festival next to
registration. So if you want to just rock up with your script,
get some feedback or ask for career advice, head over
there and see one of the lovely Euroscript Doctors.
29

SCREENWRITERS’ AWARDS
The 2017 British
Screenwriters’ Awards
This year at the London Screenwriters’
Festival we will run the fourth British
Screenwriters' Awards, honouring
outstanding writing from newcomers and
established screenwriters in both film and
television.
And we will be expanding categories this
year too, championing even more great
British screenwriting.
Hosted by screenwriter, writer and
comedian Deborah Frances-White and
Emmy Winning producer John Yorke,
who is also the former boss of Ch4 and
BBC drama departments.
You can be sure it will be a star-studded
night to remember.
The Nominations...
Outstanding Newcomer for British
Feature Film Writing
• 100 Streets by Leon Butler
• Eddie The Eagle by Sean Macaulay
• The Girl with All the Gifts by Mike
Carey
• The Pass by John Donnelly
• Prevenge by Alice Lowe
• Under The Shadow by Babak Anvari
Best British Children’s Television
• The Amazing World of Gumball by
The Writing Team
• Class Dismissed by The Writing
Team
• Counterfeit Cat by The Writing Team
• Eve by the The Writing Team
• The Worst Witch by The Writing
Team
Don’t dehydrate!
Bottled water can become expensive over the three
days, so plan to bring a bottle and refill at one of the
three filtered and chilled water fountains onsite. You
can see their locations on the venue plan.
30

Outstanding Newcomer for British
Television Writing
• Apple Tree Yard by Amanda Coe
and Louise Doughty
• Damilola, Our Beloved Boy by Levi
David Addai
• Fleabag by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
• The Hollow Crown by Ben Power
• NW by Rachel Bennette (Based on
novel by Zadie Smith)
Best British TV Drama Writing
• Three Girls by Nicole Taylor
• The Crown by Peter Morgan
• Little Boy Blue by Jeff Pope
• The Moorside by Neil McKay
• National Treasure by Jack Thorne
Best Crime Writing on Television
(Series/Single Drama)
• Broadchurch by Chris Chibnall
• Born to Kill by Kate Ashfield,
Tracey Malone and Kate Gartside
• Broken by Jimmy McGovern,
Shaun Duggan, Colette Kane and
Nick Leather
• Line of Duty by Jed Mercurio
• The Missing by Harry Williams and
Jack Williams
• Unforgotten by Chris Lang
Best Comedy Writing on
Television
• Camping by Julia Davis
• This Country by Charlie Cooper
and Daisy May Cooper
• The Durrells by Simon Nye and
Gerald Durrell
• Flowers by Will Sharpe
• People Just Do Nothing by Asim
Chaudhry, Steve Stamp and Allan
Mustafa
• Upstart Crow by Ben Elton
Best British Feature Film Writing
• Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
by Jennifer Saunders
• American Honey by Andrea Arnold
• Free Fire by Amy Jump and Ben
Wheatley
• T2 by John Hodge (Based on the
novel by Irvine Welsh)
• A United Kingdom by Guy Hibbert
(Based on the novel by Susan
Williams)
Lifetime Achievement Award To
Be Announced On The Evening
31

BOOK SIGNINGS
Many of our speakers have a book that they have written, and will be available
for signings in the bookstore. These signings will be indicated in the schedule.
Turn up early as often a long queue forms.
Check the app, online schedule and info screens for when and where book
signings will take place.
MA
serial
storytelling
International Master’s Program
ifs internationale lmschule köln
Start: Sep 2019 | Application from autumn 2018
www.lmschule.de/ma-serialstorytelling
Photo: pixabay.com/pixel2013

SCRIPT TO SCREEN
Die Hard
Watch the movie while reading the
screenplay… DIE HARD!
For a decade, every successful action
movie was pitched as “DIE HARD in
a ______”
And now you can appreciate and
analyse the one that started it all
when LSF’s Script To Screen series
brings you DIE HARD. Screenwriter
Jeb Stuart – the man who launched
an entire genre – will be on hand to
discuss the creation of his classic.
Have you ever wondered about
seeing your script turned into a worldchanging
movie? Writers, bubbies,
we are your white knights.
Come to the session having read the
script, then enjoy Jeb’s commentary
as the film unfolds. He will address
the most incisive “Die Hard”
questions: How did he create one of
the greatest villains of all time? What
is it that makes John McLane the
ultimate reluctant hero? Are those
the actual ingredients in a Twinkie?
And of course, the question that the
whole world is asking… Is “Die Hard”
a Christmas movie?
This will be LSF’s most explosive
Script To Screen yet. You may enter
with questions, but you will leave
yelling, “Yippee-Ka-Yay, Em-Effer!”
PS – If you want to go deeper, why
not read ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ by
Roderick Thorpe, the book Die Hard
was based on?
33

PITCHFEST 2017
What is it?
An opportunity to meet and chat
with influential agents and active
producers. The people who have the
power to make your projects happen.
If you are successful in booking you
have the opportunity to pitch your project
to agents, producers and commissioners
in ONE of our 90 minute, limited pitching
sessions. This means face-to-face time
with the very people who could launch
your career, option your script or offer
insight into how to improve your pitching
techniques.
Who can you expect to be
present?
The Great British PitchFest features
the cream of the British film industry, as
well as hungry and emerging producers
looking for new relationships. You can
find a full list of execs, producers and
agents on the website.
On the day of your pitch...
• Turn up ON TIME to your pitching
session.
• There will be around 10-14 execs,
producers or agents present for you to
pitch to.
• There will be around 30 delegates
pitching.
• The session lasts 90 minutes.
• Pitches rotate every five minutes, so
make those minutes matter.
• There will be a queue for each pitchee,
so choose who you want to pitch to
and get in line.
• Once you have pitched, choose who
you want to pitch next and get in line.
• Do the maths, you will get between
3 and 8 pitches depending on which
queues you join. Be tactical.
• Get there early to be first in line!
• After each session, if a pitchee wants
to discuss your project further, it’s up to
you to get contact details and follow
up. We will not supply their contact
details later – so please don’t ask!
34

Some notes to manage
your expectations
• The execs, producers and agents may
shift around or even drop out.
• We will continue to add new execs,
producers and agents in the run up to
the festival.
• Sessions last 90 minutes and as a
delegate you may choose JUST ONE.
• We try and have a ‘delegate-to-exec’
ratio of three-to-one in every session.
Please note this is dependent on their
availability. We do our best to make it
even but it is not always possible.
• Thursday and Friday will be intense
and busy, Saturday less so, Sunday
even less so.
• If this is your first pitching experience,
consider Saturday or Sunday as they
will be less intense and you can get
tips from other delegates.
Hollywood Pitchfest via Skype
Get to pitch – face to face over Skype – with
Hollywood producers and execs. Sessions are 90
minutes and you should get around 7 or 8 pitches
in during that time. It’s the same rules as the
Great British Pitchfest, only it will take place over
Skype in the evenings of the festival.
35

The Pitchfest will take place on the top floor of the Acland Building in room
A201 (opposite the Actor’s Table Read rooms). Queuing will take place
outside the room and leading down the stairs.
Running out of Juice?
Throughout the venue, on sponsor tables, you will
see smartphone charging stations where you can
recharge your devices. There are around 50 USB
slots available, so hunt one down and get your self
back to 100%! You will need your own device cable to
recharge.
36

A FINAL WORD...
Holy cow! You can see there is a
TON of stuff to do to get the most
from the festival. It’s going to be
an intense three days, so plan for
the marathon.
Being prepared is the best way to
get the most from the festival, so
get working on your pitches now.
At any given time there are five
sessions running along with other
events like the PitchFest, Labs,
Actor’s Table read etc., so there is
a LOT happening. We do film many
sessions and those will be marked
in the schedule.
Above all, remember to relax
and have fun. Talent is great, but
relationships get you hired. Making
friends is often more valuable than
delivering killer pitches or getting
business cards from heavy hitters.
Screenwriting is a lifelong pursuit
and a creative marathon, not a 100
yard dash.
Good luck and I look forward to
seeing you there!
Chris Jones and on behalf of the
whole team
www.LondonSWF.com
Follow me on Twitter
@LivingSpiritPix
So what next?
You will see at the end of this book we have more
amazing seminars coming up. But in the meantime,
jump into LSFConnect and look out for the sessions
we filmed coming online in the coming weeks and
months.
37

MAXIMISE YOUR FESTIVAL
By Lucy V Hay
So, you’re coming to LSF! Congrats.
This event is put on by writers FOR
writers. We want you to be able to
harness the expertise and resources
available and propel your writing career
forward. Every year, delegates ask how
to get the most out of LondonSWF, so
we asked blogger, script editor and
networker extraordinaire Lucy V to give
us her top 7 tips for grabbing LSF by the
horns.… strap yourself in!
Plan ahead
Make sure you study the schedule.
When deciding which sessions to watch
“live”, consider what’s going on at the
same time – remember, most sessions
are filmed, so it’s not “either/or” and you
needn’t miss out altogether.
What’s more, some of the VERY
popular sessions (especially those
with headliners) will be packed out. In
contrast, some smaller sessions may
bring more value to you “in the flesh”
because less people will be there,
meaning you may get some individual
attention from the speaker/s, especially
via Q&As.
In addition, consider the value of
networking within small groups when
others are in sessions. I’ve lost count of
the number of people who’ve told me,
“If I’d gone to see X, I’d never have met
Y and now we’re working together on a
project!” More on networking, next.
Networking
Lots of writers worry about approaching
people at events, or believe erroneously
that their fellow writers are not useful to
them.
Remember, everyone is in the same
boat. Do not huddle together with the
people you know, or sit on your own. Try
and mingle wherever possible. If you’re
not sure how to start conversations, here
are 10 easy questions to break the ice:
1. What are you working on at the
moment?
2. Have you travelled far / what’s your
hotel like?
38

3. Who are you hoping to meet during
the festival?
4. Which sessions did you see today /
which did you get the most out of?
5. What do you want to get out of the
festival?
6. Do you have any pitching tips?
7. What genres are your favourites?
8. Do you prefer movies, or television?
9. Who’s your favourite actor?
10. What do you think of transmedia/
multiple platform writing?
Your writer colleagues are your greatest
allies – never forget this. Don’t ignore
everyone in the hope of catching Jim
Uhls at the bar, or harangue your
colleagues into hearing your practice
pitch either.
The more conversations you have, the
more likely you will be remembered for
the RIGHT reasons… For example: I
went to a party, years and years ago.
I was writing a horror screenplay and
whilst networking, told my logline to
about 5 people. By the end of the night,
a young producer (whose path I had
NOT crossed that night), came over to
me and said:
“I hear you have a horror screenplay?”
That horror feature led to one of my first
paid writing assignments. Now, let’s
rewind and imagine I’d said to other
writers, “Oh this and that” when they’d
asked what I was working on. That’s
right: that producer, who’d been going
round asking who had horror scripts,
would never have been told by those
writers that I had one. Talk about a nobrainer.
Business cards
Have some. Do not even THINK of
attending LondonSWF without any.
Lots of people ask what should go on
their business cards. I recommend a
minimal approach: Name, Job Title,
mobile number, website, email address.
Social media handles/links to CVs,
showreels etc are optional. I always
include my Twitter.
Avoid funky fonts, overly flashy or shiny
cards – remember people will have
trouble remembering who is who, so will
probably want to write reminders on the
back of cards, so make sure there is a
blank bit where they can do this.
39

DO NOT have those itty bitty cards,
oversized ones or round ones or
whatever. These get lost far too easily.
IN AN EMERGENCY: if you have no
business cards or run out during the
festival, whip out your phone and ask the
person in front of you who they are on
Twitter. Follow them immediately. Create
a list of people you meet at LondonSWF
this way. Not on Twitter? SIGN UP NOW.
Pitching
Let’s face it: for a lot of LSF delegates,
it’s all about the pitching. And why not:
LSF opens up a plethora of potential
opportunities for writers, all in one place.
What’s not to like about that!
So, a few things to remember when
pitching, especially in the Pitchfest:
Make sure you’ve got your thoughts
together.
Sit down. Smile. Shake your pitchee’s
hand if it’s offered.
DON’T PANIC. No one expects you to
be perfect.
Introduce yourself. Tell them: 1) what
you’re pitching 2) what genre it is 3) what
the audience is 4) the logline [NOTE: If
you trip over your words, take a deep
breath. Start again.]
Don’t babble. If the pitchee does not
seem interested, don’t try and force it.
Ask them if they’d like to hear another
logline. If they say yes, rinse and repeat
the steps above.
If you don’t have another logline, don’t
sit there like a lemon. Ask your pitchee
something. Have a conversation. I find a
great icebreaker is, “What would you like
to see more of in the slush pile?” Make
a mental note of any recurring themes,
genres, or characters etc that crop up if
you ask more than one industry pro this
question.
And another thing, lieutenant: Give one
pagers to your pitchees only if they
ASK for them and never, ever foist an
entire script on them – or anything else
like USB sticks, CDs or photos/props
and especially gifts, even if you mean
well: it can get really weird. If you have
something you want to give someone
– my Bang2writers have brought me
40

chocolate in previous festivals, for
example – give it to them in the refectory
or similar, not a pitching situation!
Also, make sure you know your
logline INSIDE OUT and can deliver it
CONVERSATIONALLY and deliver it
to all who ask, whether you’re pitching
it formally or not. Remember, a logline
is a short description of the plot of your
story. Whatever you do, do NOT confuse
a logline with a tagline, which is the
strapline on the front of a poster or DVD
box, ie. “In Space No One Can Hear You
Scream.”
Taking meetings
Want to meet someone specific at
LondonSWF? The advice is simple:
Email him/her before the festival and
arrange IN ADVANCE.
This advice applies whether it’s a fellow
tweeter or an industry pro, btw. What’s
the worst that can happen? S/he says
no, too busy. You’ve lost nothing.
If that person emails back and says
yes, they’d be delighted to accept your
invitation for coffee, be sure to pick a
SPECIFIC TIME AND DATE. I’ve lost
count of the number of times writers
have said, “Let’s have coffee at LSF!”
and I’ve said yes, only to not see them
ONCE, despite sitting in communal
areas for ages (as I always do). FYI - If
you don’t make an appointment with me,
that’s fine – tweet me at @Bang2write,
and I’ll try and make it to see you. DON’T
email, DM or PM me please, these don’t
always come through in time.
If you’re not on Twitter, check out the
tweet board. I and other speakers will
be using the #LondonSWF hashtag too
and mentioning where we are at various
intervals, which will flash up on screen.
Getting there and back
Leave your home or hotel in plenty of
time. Each day of the festival starts
around 9am, so be sure to arrive before
this; lots of LSF delegates like to have
breakfast or coffee together in the
refectory around 8am. Each day finishes
around 7.30pm officially, though there’s
opportunity to network in the bar ‘til late
into the night.
Some delegates have to leave earlier
than others on the Sunday (especially
41

those with childcare duties, like me), but
if you can, try and stay for Chris Jones’
closing speech which is usually around
6pm and lasts half an hour, it’s a great,
positive way to round off the event.
And last but by no means least…
So if there is a session you are
DESPERATE to see firsthand, make
sure you get there as early as possible.
Be sociable. Live tweeting is a thing
and we encourage delegates to use the
#LondonSWF hashtag and share their
new-found knowledge and insights from
the event itself in real time. But do make
sure your mobiles are on silent so if they
ring, it doesn’t disrupt anything. Equally,
those on either side of live tweeters?
Don’t accuse them of not listening, or
typing too loudly! ;)
Do note volunteers and LSF staff will
come in and out of sessions as we try
and ensure the smooth running of the
event for you behind the scenes. This
will be done with the least amount of
disruption possible, so please bear with
us, thank you.
It can be very tempting to have a few
jars of Dutch Courage, but try not to get
drunk at the festival. You’ll probably be
OK and not offend anyone, spew on
anybody or make anyone think you’re
odd, but is it worth the risk?
Remember, it’s a small pond. Try not to
slag anyone off. You never know who
knows who. This includes various TV
programmes, movies, etc. It’s just not
worth it. No one says you have to tell
lies about how much you loved a piece
of work if you didn’t, but be positive or
risk looking like an amateur.
Concluding
Decide what you want … and go get it,
tiger! Just remember your loglines, your
business cards and don’t be a div. It’s all
about making connections and forging
those all-important relationships. Good
luck!
42

NETWORKING: A BLUFFER’S GUIDE
By Chris Jones
Talent is great, but relationships get you
hired. It’s not about collecting business
cards and convincing yourself that those
cards equal a relationship – it’s about
REALLY connecting with other people in
a meaningful way.
That’s why we network. To make new
friends within our professional sphere.
So the real secret to networking is
to just hang out like you would with
friends, but move around the group(s)
more systematically. You are looking for
people with whom you click, with shared
values and vision, people who YOU can
help, and lastly, people who can help
you too.
The best thing about networking at the
London Screenwriters’ Festival is that
you are already amongst friends. So
don’t be shy.
Networking Events
These events work because we all agree
to get together in one space at the same
time with an implicit agreement that
it’s OK to just walk up and start talking.
Booze, a darkened room and a bit of
music makes it easier.
Don’t be afraid
The most important thing to remember
is that the person you are approaching
is as nervous as you. They have
insecurities too. In fact, the real irony is
that they will probably be thankful that
you came to them, and secretly wish
that they were as good at networking as
you! Yes, I get it, you don’t want to do it.
None of us really enjoy it. But films don’t
get made in a vacuum and we all need
friends. So take the plunge. You will be
pleasantly surprised.
Look people in the eye and
shake hands confidently
When approaching, make eye contact,
smile, introduce yourself, shake hands
(not limply) and speak up. When
someone shakes hands with that ‘limp’
handshake, you are sending a very
direct message – I don’t want to touch
43

you. If you mumble when talking, you
are simply projecting: What I am saying
is not worth listening to. There are
plenty other people in the room, why
would anyone waste time with someone
who won’t shake your hand or speak
up? Get out of your comfort zone and
COMMUNICATE with confidence and
clarity.
Ask a question to start the relationship.
An easy way in is to ask a question…
‘How are you feeling?’, ‘Did you see
that last session?’, ‘How did you get
on in your pitches?’ Keep opening
questions lighter, more personal and
conversational. There will be time after
you have made friends to ask about how
to send them a script.
Ask questions and listen
Don’t launch into how cool you are and
how amazing your script is. Doing this
could just get you into the competitive
cycle of mine is better than yours,
and that’s NOT a good way to make
powerful new friends and allies. Ask
questions. Interesting questions. Even
personal questions. Be genuine in
your conversation and listen. You’d be
amazed how much more likeable most
of us become if we just keep our mouths
shut for more of the time. When you
have something genuinely relevant,
illuminating or valuable, of course get
involved. Remember, experienced
people talk about the industry all the time
and most of us can’t compete on that
level, we just don’t have the knowledge,
peer group and relationships. But talking
about ‘the kids’, assuming you both have
children, IS somewhere that you will both
share expertise, opinion and rapport.
Don’t Stay In One Place
Every conversation has a natural life
– when that’s over, move on. Don’t
linger awkwardly. It’s totally fine to say
‘It was great to meet, and there are
so many others I want to meet here
too, so I am going say to goodbye for
now…’ Shake hands, smile and move
on. And if someone says that to you,
don’t get upset. It’s part of the unwritten
agreement we make with each other at
these professional events and parties.
Your need to be ‘right’…
The need to be ‘right’ is toxic - we
44

can all see it in others, but so rarely in
ourselves. Being ‘right’ will shut down
conversations, even when you are, in
fact, ‘right’! So give it up and choose to
listen instead. I found out a long time ago
that ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ are opinions and
not facts.
Compliment honestly, but
don’t go overboard
Everyone likes to be complimented,
so offer compliments. But don’t go
overboard, you will come across
as a bit desperate. Equally, don’t
be disingenuous; we can all spot a
bullshitter. And no-one wants to be
friends with a desperate bullshitter.
Be with that person
When you are with a person, BE with
that person. There is a temptation to
look over shoulders, eyeing up the next
person to network with, but try to avoid
it. Listen, connect and communicate.
Ninety percent of people cannot or do
not do this.
Be a facilitator
Think like a producer and introduce
45
others who you know could benefit from
the relationship. Facilitating success in
others will always pay you dividends
in the long run. It also helps you move
around the room with great agility.
Be credible
You may not know everything about the
business and that’s OK.
Being credible is about learning and
applying that knowledge. It’s about
humility and courage. It’s not just about
connections and credits. And we all
have something to offer. Bottom line, do
not bullshit the bullshitters. Anyone with
experience has heard every line before,
so don’t try and appear more important
than you really are. You are you, and
you have a huge amount to offer. Don’t
sell yourself short by pretending to be
someone you are not.
Give and take cards (and
follow up)
Take business cards and exchange them
– but understand that most will end up in
the bin. You don’t want to leave with 300
business cards from people you met,

you want to leave empowered with FIVE
new and meaningful relationships.
Understand What People
Want (and that’s you too)
We are all human animals and basically
want the same thing. When we enter
a new relationship (networking) we
will ask… What can this person do for
me? Can they entertain me? Can they
help me get done what I want to get
done? Do I feel at home and attracted to
them? Can I get some kind of intimacy?
It’s what they are looking for. It’s what
you are looking for too. Don’t take it
personally if people don’t respond to
your overtures – not everyone likes the
same kind of music, Star Trek quotes,
arthouse movies, strong cheese etc…
Don’t take it too seriously
Smile and make friends. It’s not a
competition. Successful and powerful
networking is just about are chatting,
meeting new friends and having you fun.
If someone is rude, they are probably
insecure, bluffing it, tired and just
generally being human. Let it go.
Finally, remember we are
all in this game together
The industry grows the more we
collaborate and help each other. Offer
help and you will receive it. Be humble
and you will be rewarded with genuine
relationships. Be bold and courageous
and you will find success.
See you at the bar!
Networking is not right or wrong, it’s just
about people connecting. Often we are
a tad insecure and a little tipsy too. If you
don’t find what you are looking for, smile
and move on with effortless grace. There
are plenty more people to meet.
46

PITCHFEST: 20 EASY STEPS
by Bob Schultz
What you can do now
1. Finish your script. If you get a
script request, you’re going to want to be
able to send it right away. Plus, a tight,
effective script makes it easier to…
2. Develop a logline. Title, genre,
protagonist, goal, obstacles, ending.
Tight and engaging, and reflective of
your script: If the script is funny, make
the logline funny. If your script is a thriller,
make the logline thrilling.
3. Follow our blog. In the months
leading up to the Great American
PitchFest, we will continue to run blogs
and articles from pitching experts,
interviews with working writers, and links
to other valuable resources to develop
your screenwriting career.
4. Check out the execs. Executives
are already committing to the event, and
have begun submitting their profiles. As
executives join us, we will continue to
update the Great American PitchFest
page. Visit often to develop your list of
target companies.
Go The Extra Mile! Design a onesheet.
It should look as professional
as possible – spend money on a
professional graphic designer. You can
find some good deals on sites like www.
peopleperhour.com. If you can’t afford
one, do the best you can. Include an
eye-catching image (like you might find
on a movie poster), a logline, and your
contact info.
What you can do in the
weeks before the event
5. Print business cards. These will
47

e valuable throughout ScriptFest
and your whole trip to LA. Remember,
networking must happen all the time, not
just at structured events like the Great
American PitchFest. Always have cards
on you.
6. Research all of the companies
who will be attending. Even the ones
you think you might not be interested
in. Know what they’ve done before,
what they have in the pipeline, and
what they are seeking at the PitchFest.
Google is your friend. So is IMDb Pro
and Deadline.com. Pitching isn’t a
performance, it’s a business meeting.
Sometimes it’s a spontaneous meeting
in an elevator, at the hotel bar, or in the
hall. Be prepared. Do your homework.
You never know what contacts will
advance your career.
your name. Engage with cahiers at
the supermarket. Get accustomed to
listening closely and engaging strangers
on their terms.
Go The Extra Mile! Print your onesheets
on nice glossy paper. Make them
look as professional as possible. If execs
are unsure about the script, they will
check out the one-sheet the next day.
Wow them.
What you can do the day
before
8. Re-read your script. Proofread,
yes, but familiarize yourself with your
character and story arcs, act breaks,
A and B stories, themes, story beats,
structure, and every other aspect of the
7. Practice, practice, practice.
Note that practicing is different from
rehearsing. Don’t recite your pitch.
Instead, develop pitching SKILLS.
Convince your friends to see movies
and shows you’ve already seen. Try
to convince the barista to draw a
dinosaur on your cup instead of writing
48

craft. Have an idea of other projects it is
similar to (financially successful ones),
who would be good to star in it, and any
elements outside of the script you have
access to (locations, cars, money, etc.)
You never know what questions the
executive might have.
9. Upload your script and one-sheet
onto your phone. Nobody accepts hard
copies anymore, and even memory
sticks are passé. Be ready to email your
script at a moment’s notice. It’s the 21st
century, act like it.
10. Choose your outfit. Professional
and comfortable. If you have a costume
you’d like to wear, now is a great time to
put it in the closet and never, ever take it
out again.
Go The Extra Mile! Meet with other
ScriptFest attendees and work on
your pitches together. Don’t wait for
opportunities to arise. Create them
yourself. You are the master of your
destiny. Screenwriting success comes to
those who take the initiative.
What you can do a minute
before
You’ve been let into the Waiting Area,
and the bell is about to ring to launch
your pitch. Here’s what you can do:
11. Relax. This pitch isn’t the whole
world. The worst that can happen is the
executive says no. You have no deal
now, so you have nothing to lose.
12. Pop a mint in your mouth. Obvious
reasons.
13. Body language. Does the exec look
bored? Anxious? Tired? When it’s your
turn to pitch, adjust your energy level to
engage with her.
Go The Extra Mile! Don’t fixate on
49

your pitch. The goal of your five-minute
meeting is to build a relationship with the
executive. The road to a script sale is
a marathon, not a sprint. Whether your
script is a good match for the executive
or not, your personality, professionalism,
demeanor, and confidence will impact
your ability to build a professional
relationship as much as your talent.
14. Don’t overestimate the exec.
Remember, that exec across from you
is just a person who has made a career
telling stories. You have a story. Tell it.
15. Be concise. You have five minutes
for your meeting, but there needs to
be room for questions and small talk.
If you can start your conversation with
a 1-minute pitch, that’s good. With a
30-second pitch, even better. Try to get
it down to 10 words. If those ten words
result in the exec saying, “Tell me more,”
they’ve done their job.
Go The Extra Mile! Ask the executive
about herself. What does she want
to produce? Why did she get into the
business in the first place? Favorite
movies/TV shows? Taking interest in the
executive is a much more effective way
to build a relationship than a wall-to-wall
hard sell on your script.
What you can do after your
pitch
17. Send the script to everyone who
requested it. You would be surprised
how many writers chicken out, plagued
by self-doubt. If you pitched a script
that’s ready to go, then let it go. If not,
then get it ready and send it when it is.
But don’t let a script request evaporate.
18. Follow up six weeks later. If you
haven’t heard back, a polite follow-up
is appropriate, but don’t act entitled or
angry.
16. Once she says yes, all she can do
is say no. Thank her, shake her hand,
remember to get contact info, and head
to your next queue. If it’s a long one, take
the time to email your script right then
and there.
50
19. Be open to notes. Writing is
solitary, but filmmaking is collaborative.
A producer must juggle a long list of
conflicting priorities. If she makes a
suggestion you disagree with, politely

ask the motivation for the change and
suggest an alternate solution to achieve
the same goal.
20. Keep on writing. You don’t want
to be a one-and-done writer. Agents
will want to represent a writer who
can earn them more than just the one
commission. Producers, if they like your
material, will want more as you become
less of a risk. A writer writes. Don’t just sit
around waiting for your ship to come in.
You go get some lumber and build your
own ship.
Above all, be professional and
courteous, always. A producer isn’t
just looking for quality writing, she
will be looking for a quality person
who writes. Becoming a professional
screenwriter is akin to entering a
culture you may not be familiar
with. The best way to be welcomed
is to be welcoming, and the best
way to receive favors is to do them.
Good luck, and we’ll see you at the
ScriptFest!
Go The Extra Mile! Stay in contact. For
everyone you met, every business card
you collected, create a Google Alert.
Google will send you updates on each
of your contacts: When they have sold
a script, appeared at a charity function,
gotten an agent, changed jobs…
the list goes on. Every update gives
you an opportunity to strengthen the
relationship. Congratulate them on their
marriage. Cheer along with them when
their favorite team wins a championship.
Chat about the latest Star Wars movie,
whether the exec is involved with the
project or not.
51

THE IMPACT OF #IMPACT50FILM
By Dee Chilton
How one screenwriter turned
filmmaker in 2017.
Anyone who submitted stories to
the ‘Impact50Film’ already knows
the immense value of, and superb
underlying premise behind, this
Create50 initiative: to get writers
collaborating with filmmakers and/or
making stuff themselves, in other words
get us to take ACTION and not wait for
anyone else’s permission.
For me, it’s been an amazing playground
in which to write, feedback, enhance
my writing skills, expand my filmmaking
knowledge and collaborate to produce
something tangible. I’ve seen all my
initial two page scripts develop and
mature, two of which have been
beautifully brought to life now. I’ve
enjoyed collaborations on two very
different scripts, been heavily involved
in two very different shoot days and
advised a little from afar on one other. All
of which have been awe inspiring to be a
part of. How often is a writer thanked by
an actor for being ‘allowed’ to bring their
52
However it’s not just my own two short
films (three if you count the other
fabulous version of one script another
talented team has shot), it’s all the
other Impact stories and films I’ve been
privileged to read and watch during the
whole process.
Regardless of whether my films, or films
made by others from my scripts, make it
into the final edit, I feel very much part of
the overall film and can’t wait to see the
resulting feature up on the big screen.
So what have I learned (or been
reminded of) during this process? So
much I couldn’t possibly fit it all in this
article (or book even), so here are the
highlights.

• In the process of rewriting with a
producer/director/filmmaker, be
prepared to ‘defend’ your words, but
not precious or intransigent about
them.
• Always be prepared to listen and
be open to changes to make things
clearer/better/stronger for the good
of the story/characters/film (this
goes for the edit too).
• Once the time comes to lift the
finalised words from the page, they
are not ‘my’ films, they are ‘our’
films.
• Be a team player - stay flexible,
adaptable and open to your team’s
suggestions and ideas, but support
the director’s vision; they must have
the final say.
• Do what you can to make the shoot
a fun place to be and ensure all
involved know how valued their
contribution is.
• Everyone being a supportive
collaborator creates a tight knit
‘family’ of like-minded people striving
to produce the best film they can.
• This all led to us having great
atmospheres on set. This allowed
‘happy accidents’ on the day of
character to life and be in a film?
Having seen the edits of all three
versions, I’m overwhelmed with pride,
not for myself, but for our films and for
everyone who has contributed to their
creation throughout this whole process.
To know that my little ink blobs have
translated to those beautiful images on
screen.
To see characters brought alive and
speaking my words, making them work
far better than they were written is a
sublime experience, one that spurs me
on to do more and do even better.
53

DIALOGUE WITH ROBERT MCKEE
What makes some dialogue sparkle
and jump off the page and into an
actor’s mouth, where other dialogue
is leaden, perhaps even true or
authentic, but also dull?
Dialogue that jumps off the page is
dialogue that calls attention to itself as
dialogue. Dialogue that “sparkles” is sort
of like “The Terminator” and the line “I’ll
be back” or in “Sudden Impact” when
Dirty Harry says “Go ahead. Make my
day.” Bits of dialogue that stick in the
mind and become repeatable outside
of the context of the story. I don’t think
that’s a good idea. Dialogue should not
“jump off the page.” On the other hand,
it should get into the actor’s mouth in the
most natural character-specific way.
Where dialogue is leaden, when the
reader or an audience has a reaction
against dialogue and feels the sensation
in the scene is leaden, it simply means
they are not involved in the scene
anymore and therefore time is passing
excruciatingly slow. The dialogue is
not interesting to them, they are not
involved in the scene. The scene itself
and anything being said is boring. That
becomes the experience of “leaden.”
54
There could be a disconnect between
truth and authenticity in a scene you
find leaden because you’re not involved.
You don’t believe whatever it is the
characters are doing through what
they are saying. Even though it may be
colloquial or typical of whatever such a
character might say, it’s not authentic
or true to what that character should be
saying in that scene at that moment.
When you lose interest in a scene and
the dialogue calls attention to itself as
just a bunch of words you don’t believe,
the problem is in the subtext. It’s not
necessarily in what the characters are
saying. It’s what the characters are
doing. When characters speak, they
are taking an action and/or reacting to
the action of another character in the
scene. Underneath what’s being said
outwardly, there are actions characters
are taking and reactions characters are
having. The action-reaction that’s going
on underneath the dialogue is where the
interest is for the audience. The dialogue
is simply the tactic the character is taking
outwardly to carry out that inner action.
The cure to leaden dialogue is not
necessarily in the words themselves at

all, but rather in making certain that by
action-reaction, action-reaction, what
the characters are doing in a struggle
to get what each of them wants out
of the scene captures interest. The
dialogue becomes tactics characters
are using in their struggle to get what
they want. When the audience is
involved in the give-and-take of the
tactics of the characters as they say
and do outwardly what they say and do,
when the audience is involved in the
inner struggles of these characters one
against the other, then the dialogue, as
you put it, will sparkle.
Writing for subtext sounds easy to
the beginner, where the expert knows
both how important it can be and how
challenging it is. What help can you
offer writers who want to write with
more resonant subtext?
I’m not certain writing subtext sounds
easy to anybody, beginner or not. In
fact, I know from experience when I talk
about writing for subtext, young writers
are paralyzed, they have no idea what
I’m talking about and don’t have the first
idea about going about doing it.
In my book, DIALOGUE: THE ART OF
VERBAL ACTION FOR THE PAGE,
STAGE, AND SCREEN, there are six
chapters or more where I take various
scenes apart to show how the actions in
the subtext build a scene progressively
as the dialogue is the outer expression
of that. The way to create subtext
underneath what is being said is to pay
attention to what the characters are
actually doing and actually thinking and
feeling in their desires while they go
about doing it.
What the character wants and how the
character goes about trying to get it is
the inner life of the scene. This includes
the motivations that drive that intention,
even down to the subconscious mind.
The secret, so to speak, of subtext is to
just pay attention to it. To realize what’s
really going on inside of a character
consciously and subconsciously and
what they really want at this moment and
to identify that with a scene intention.
You have to ask “What does this
character want at this point in their life?”
“What do they want to get in this scene
as a step toward their object of desire
(i.e. what they want overall in the life of
their story)?”
By identifying the desire in the scene,
the source of conflict and antagonism
against that character’s desire, and stepby-step
thinking of what that character
would do inwardly that they express
outwardly in the dialogue, connecting
to the inner actions of the characters in
their struggle to get what they want in the
scene, creates subtext.
And then, common sense says the
characters have tactics, they have
strategies. They don’t say out loud fully
and completely what they are thinking
and feeling. They don’t turn around and
say “Look, what I really want from you is
that you will show me a sign of love and
commitment in our relationship.” Nobody
says things like that. Or, if they do, it’s
not actually what they want (laughs). It’s
just a tactic to get something else.
You have to figure out what the character
really wants, why they want it, what’s
stopping them from getting it and then
what would they outwardly do to cause a
reaction in the world that would get them
what they inwardly want.
55

How can we avoid writing clunky
dialogue?
You would have to analyze what exactly
is “clunkiness.” There are going to be
some very simple steps—dialogue is
clunky if just has too many words. If
it’s taking more words than necessary
for the character to express outwardly
in dialogue what they are trying to do
inwardly in action. It can become clunky
because they are using multi-syllabic or
poly-syllabic words when a one or twosyllable
world will do the same.
For example, I have a pet peeve with
people who use the word “utilize.”
“Utilize” is a three-syllable word when
the one-syllable word “use” will always
substitute. There is no case in which
someone uses the word “utilize” in
which you couldn’t substitute the word
“use.” So they use three syllables when
one would do. But I know why they do
that, because “utilize’ sounds important.
When people want to sound intelligent
they add syllables to words and words to
sentences and sentences to speeches,
they just talk more.
The cure for clunkiness is just a matter
of economy and brevity in terms of the
number of words you use and the quality
of the words you use.
Are there any strategies to rewrite
dialogue that is on the nose?
That goes back to what we were talking
about before. On the nose dialogue is
dialogue without a subtext.
Of course people try to say out loud
what they are fully thinking or talking.
Of course they make an effort to speak
on the nose. You can write dialogue in
which people are trying to say exactly
what they are thinking and feeling.
I gave that example of somebody
with their psychiatrist—the patient
does everything they can to say on
the nose what they are thinking and
feeling to try to help the psychiatrist to
understand them. They are not holding
anything back; they are paying the
psychologist very good money to help
them understand themselves. They are
being as outwardly honest and frank as
they possibly can be. And what’s the
psychologist doing? Taking notes. And
what’s in those notes? What the patient
is not saying. A psychologist is not a
stenographer. A psychologist is someone
who is trained to look through the on
the nose expression of their patients
to realize what’s really going on in their
subconscious mind and why there is a
disconnect between what they think they
do in life and what they really do in life.
It’s not as if you can’t write on the nose.
If it’s appropriate for the character to say
out loud what they are really thinking
and feeling, then fine. But there always
is a subtext underneath that. And that’s
what keeps on the nose writing from
seeming on the nose. The ideal of all
dialogue is that it is a transparency, that
no matter how long a character tries
to say out loud what they are exactly
thinking and feeling, the audience’s eye
travels through the surface of the scene
to the real thoughts, even subconscious
thoughts and feelings that are going
on underneath what the character is
saying. That’s what’s the audience finds
captivating—they know what’s really
going on inside the character better than
the character.
56

From November 9th - 12th,
Robert McKee returns to his favourite city
to deliver the legendary STORY Seminar
and acclaimed LOVE STORY Day.
LONDON - REGENT’S UNIVERSITY
INNER CIRCLE, REGENT’S PARK NW1 4NS
Learn More at
MCKEESTORY.COM
“Presented with such urgency and
power, Robert McKee teaches us
about life, death and the human heart.”
“The most innuential storytelling
theorist since Aristotle.”
“The Ultimate Master.”
“McKee teaches what is not yet taught.
He shines his unwavering analytical light
on the structure and invisible substructure
of dialogue. He takes a craft that is often
considered instinctual or magical and
reveals its chemical secrets.”
TERRY JOHNSON
Writer/Director
Winner of the Tony Award, Olivier Award,
Critics’ Circle Theater Award, and Writers Guild Award.
Available on

It’s not a question of whether or not
somebody will say out loud the truth
that they deeply believe in, it’s just that it
becomes on the nose when there is no
subtext. The only time, generally, when
we write on the nose dialogue without
subtext is in fantasy writing or sci-fi,
where characters are allegorical types-
-hero, villain, etc., allegorical types not
to be mistaken for realistic characters.
In various forms of symbolic writing
we do write on the nose. We eliminate
the subconscious mind, because the
subconscious, or even the unsaid
conscious mind, makes people realistic.
In fantasy, you don’t want realism, you
want symbolism. In those cases you do
write on the nose without a subtext. That
is the exception. The strategy to answer
that question is to put underneath
an awareness, a life underneath the
dialogue, conscious/subconscious drives
the audience can become aware of that
contradicts or contrasts with what the
character is actually saying.
Writers often write in their own
voice. Are there any tricks writers
can use to create more pronounced
and contrasting voices for their
characters?
The goal of any beautiful cast design or
any well-told story is that every character
is distinctively different from every other
character. How great these differences
are between characters depends. But,
obviously you do not want redundancy.
You do not want two people speaking
exactly the same. And you certainly don’t
necessarily want them talking in the
writer’s voice. You want to distinguish
each character and give them an
individual speech style.
The reason we create character specific
voices, even within the same culture, is
to differentiate those characters one from
the other in order to tell the story all the
better, because you avoid redundancy.
If characters react the same, speak
the same, do the same things, if two
characters are repeating each other,
one of them has to be removed from
the story to avoid repetitiousness. Fine
writing is specific writing.
You have to find not your voice as a
writer, but character specific voices and
the key to character specific voices is
vocabulary. You go into the character’s
mind and you look for all of those
objects, all of those actions that are
unique to this character’s experience that
express themself in word choices. There
is grammar and sentence constructions
that could also be character specific.
The place to start is vocabulary. People
differentiate themselves by the choice of
words and they find their choice of words
in their vocabulary, and their vocabulary
is the result of the sum total of their
cultural experience. Every sporting
event they’ve ever attended, every book
they’ve ever read, every concert they’ve
ever been to, every department store
they’ve ever shopped. How they have
lived and interacted with their culture in
every possible way has given them their
specific vocabulary and vocabulary is
the most critical step in making dialogue
character-specific.
Do you have any tips on editing
dialogue so that it lands on the
listener with greater weight?
The famous “omit needless words”
from Strunk and White’s “The Elements
58

of Style” (Note for readers: an
American English writing style guide)
is the guiding principle here. You edit
dialogue by eliminating all unnecessary
words short of turning dialogue into
a telegram (laughs). One of the most
important steps is not only economy,
but the placement of the key word.
Every sentence, generally, has a word
or phrase within it that completes its
meaning. It could be the verb, it could
be the noun, but it’s a word or phrase
that if you took it out of that line of
dialogue it wouldn’t make any sense.
The key then is where you do you place
that key word—at the beginning, in the
middle or toward the end? I urge people
to use the periodic sentence. It’s the
suspense sentence. It’s the sentence
you cannot know the meaning of until
you hear the very last word. By delaying
the meaning until the end of the line the
audience then has to listen with curiosity
wondering “What is this character
saying?” When the last word or phrase
lands at the end of the sentence,
suddenly the sentence has greater
impact. If you do it the other way, if you
start the sentence with the key word,
then everything after it is a modifier. It
risks losing interest.
Now, you can’t have every single line of
dialogue end on its key word because
that becomes repetitious and it doesn’t
sound like conversation. You always
mix periodic sentence with cumulative
sentences in order to create a
conversational tone. Generally speaking,
withholding the meaning until the end of
the line gives greater weight or impact to
every single speech.
Does character determine dialogue or
the other way around?
Yes, character determines dialogue.
On the other hand, suppose you found
a wonderful style of speech that really
fascinates you and then it leads you to
ask the question, “What kind of person
would talk like that?” As a result the
inspiration you found in the dialogue
urges you to create a character who
actually would use that kind of dialogue.
In those cases the dialogue creates the
character, but they are rare. When you
write from the inside out, as I advocate
in my teachings, dialogue is the final
step, it’s the frosting on the cake. You
create characters, you bring them into
conflict, out of that you create story and
then ultimately you have to find ways
for them to speak. Ninety-nine percent
of the time as you create the character
the character then has to have a true
speech style. There are exceptions
when dialogue or speech style actually
becomes the inspiration for a character,
but those are the exceptions.
What advice would you offer a writer
starting a redraft, with particular
emphasis on dialogue?
First and foremost, eliminate all
unnecessary dialogue. Write as lean as
you can. At the same time you have to
think about the nature of the particular
characters and some characters
are loquacious, but they have to be
loquacious in the most economical
way possible. If there’s a fault in writing
dialogue that needs to be addressed as
you rewrite, it tends to be overwriting.
Say the absolute maximum with the
fewest possible words and yet retain the
59

specific nature of the characters.
Exactly how much is too much or how
little is too little nobody can say. The
economy of language is the first piece of
advice you give to any writer in a rewrite.
The second is—even if the dialogue
is very economical—is it character
specific? Do the characters tend to
sound alike, or worse, do they all sound
like you? If so, then you have to go
back into the story of these characters
and imagine the past lives of these
characters and create a vocabulary for
them. What has their life experience
been like that would add words and
particular images in language that these
characters would tend to use to get what
they want.
The two pieces of advice are economy
and specificity: as little as necessary
but unique and true to the character
by drawing upon their life history and
drawing on the world around them and
their culture.
Download the App
We have an App for the festival. You can download
it at http://my.yapp.us/LONDONSWF. With the app
you can browse delegates, speakers, pitch execs,
build your own schedule and more. Perhaps most
importantly though, you can get Push Notifications
from us throughout the festivals with important
updates. You may need to enable notifications for
the App in your smartphone settings.
60

THE LONDON BREAKFAST CLUB
The Breakfast Club is monthly initiative
to connect creative and business
professionals in film and TV. We do
this by creating a safe place to network
whilst listening to thought leaders,
industry gurus and entrepreneurs.
The London Screenwriters’ Festival
set it up as a monthly way to get
screenwriters away from their
screens, to inspire them through great
information and speakers stories,
and to help connect them with other
creatives and strengthen their peer
groups.
‘A very inspiring morning with lots of
valuable information... Looking forward
to the next one!’
Nicholas Burman-Vince,
Screenwriter
There is usually one Breakfast club per
month as well as an archive of some
of the past events that were filmed or
audio recorded.
There are two kinds that we run, early
breakfast with speakers on at nine,
meaning you can still get to work
61
afterward. And afternoon ones that we
tend to host on Fridays.
Our home is the eclectic Phoenix
Artists Club on the edge of Soho in
central London.
Come along and get a shot of
inspiration as well as cracking
information, and the opportunity to
expand your peer group.
‘The atmosphere at these events
is always uplifting. It reminds you
why you love writing so much. You
go home renewed, ready to face the
blank page again.’
Caroline Slocock, Screenwriter
www.LondonBreakfastClub.com

TALENT CAMPUS 3.0
By Lucy Van Smit
I loved Talent Campus 3.0. It went
stratospheric from the get go. A full
on 10 day immersive experience
with awesome talent from diverse
backgrounds, every age and
experience; playwrights and actors,
comedians, crime writers and writer/
directors. Everyone was keen,
supportive and wickedly funny.
Filmmaker and festival director, Chris
Jones launched Talent Campus with
ideas and exercises to take us beyond
our comfort zone and to fire up our
courage. His ambition, talent and
passion is second to none. When Chris
said we would walk on burning coals by
the end of weekend - we walked on fire.
As the biggest chicken, he made me
go first. I thought my feet would melt,
but once I got the courage to step on
the embers, I barely felt a thing. My fear
was far bigger than any pain. I felt dead
proud afterwards. It set the tone for our
spirit. We could, and would, attempt
anything.
In no time two 'Talent Campers', Ben
62
Hyland and actor Mary Lowe, had
made a classy short JUNIOR, and their
mentors immediately scheduled it into
the Festival. Make it happen is their
mantra.
A standout moment for me was getting
a place in the Crime Writer’s Room with
Barbara Machin of Waking The Dead
fame. Six writers win the experience
of working with a top showrunner. I
was thrilled. What other course could
deliver that kind of experience? Nervewracking?
Yes, but I already knew two of
the writers from Talent Campus and that
makes the Writer’s Room more exciting
than daunting.
As a novelist, the idea of pitching
my work to industry professionals is
terrifying, but we were broken into
smaller groups, and legendary Bob
Schultz makes pitching conversational
and nails the heart of our stories. I wasn’t
brave enough to apply for the Actors'
Table Read myself, but that opportunity
is a given on Talent Campus. You are
pushed, almost kicked, through the
goalposts. Every hour, filmmakers
and industry experts, like John Yorke
crash in to show us what sells and how

perseverance pays off. How Shorts
become the calling card to make
feature films. Everything is designed to
challenge and inspire and I came away
remembering long forgotten skills. Other
mentors included Karol Griffiths and
Lucy V Hay and the support team are
brilliant: Judy, Jenn, Vicky, Emma - their
warmth creates complete trust.
If you want to be stretched and aim
higher than you thought possible, then
Talent Campus is a great place to hang
out with fellow writers, directors and
actors. It unleashes your creativity by
taming your fears. Its intention is to
make us industry ready. You leave Talent
Campus with a toolbox of skills, great
ideas and confidence, and best of all,
a bunch of new writing mates cheering
you on.
Lucy van Smit is a writer, artist and
former TV producer/director. THE
HURTING, her Nordic YA thriller is
published by Chicken House Books
in July 2018. Agented by Sallyanne
Sweeney.
Another view… From Leia
Vogelle
(Thirty) Five go off to Campus...
Talent Campus was astonishing, scary,
transformative, fear-banishing and
hugely exhilarating! Also lots of fun,
yet challenging en-route. I'm amazed
how resistant I was to some things, and
how freeing it is, to stop being afraid
of them. Highlights? I was first up for
the hottest Firewalk; and I NEVER go
first. That was amazing; Talent Campus
has changed me and that’s good. It's
reminded me of who I am, and pushed
me to be more of who I can be!
What to do now? Write like a monster;
pitch like a Boss!
63

SCREENWRITING
CRAFT CRASH COURSE
With Lucy V Hay
11 th & 12 th November 2017
Where: Ealing Studios
How much: £139
www.screenwritingcrashcourse.com
The Screenwriters’ Craft Crash is a
must for any writer who needs to get
laser focus on their actual pages and
elevate it from ‘good’ to ‘recommend’.
Bring your laptops, pens, highlighters,
print-outs and game-faces! Expect to
write and rewrite.
Be it structure, theme, plot, characters,
scene descriptions, dialogue… Each
area will be addressed and you will
learn how to refine, reduce and write
with significantly greater impact.
GET £40
OFF WITH
CODE
LSF17
What happens over the
two days?
In this highly practical event, you will
learn how to create screenplays that
stand out from the tsunami of good
(but not killer) scripts out there… Key
elements covered include:
• HOW to write MORE visually to
create powerful images in the
readers mind
• HOW to craft your characters
so they become even more
unforgettable
• HOW to write dialogue that
sparkles, giving unique voices to
each character
• HOW to avoid dialogue taking over
your scenes
• WHICH structural methods will
keep you on track and how to
avoid overthinking
• HOW to spot and avoid your ‘static
scenes’ and ‘false movement’ and
remove forever
• WHY ‘good craft’ is NOT just
screenplay formatting!
www.screenwritingcrashcourse.com
64

GET £40
OFF WITH
CODE
LSF17
WRITING TV
With Pilar Alessandra
March 24 th & 25 th 2018
Where: Regents University
How much: £159
www.writingtv.co.uk
In an exciting atmosphere with around
200 screenwriters, you will learn
‘through doing’…
• How to develop a “hook” for your
series that reels in audiences and
commissioners
• Getting the form, genre and tone
that’s right for your series
• How to pitch your series and pilot
episode so you go from “maybe”
to “yes”
• How to create your series ‘bible’
• How to create a rich spectrum of
characters that will ensure your
series runs and runs
• Fast and powerful tips for writing
comedy and drama so you can
write effectively and quickly
• How to mine your concept and
universe for numerous killer
episodes
• How to create compelling
relationships within your series
that grab the hearts and minds of
readers and audiences alike
• The unique rules of structuring and
outlining episode one.
• How to build a world and draw
from it’s unique “rules”.
Guest speakers from leading UK
TV Production companies will be
joining Pilar across the weekend to
discuss what they’re looking for on
their slate in 2018 and beyond, their
relationships with the commissioners
and broadcasters, what they look for
in a writer and how you can go about
getting your projects onto theirs (and
their peers) read piles.
www.writingtv.co.uk
65

GET £40
OFF WITH
CODE
LSF17
BREAKING INTO SCRIPT READING
With Lucy V Hay
February 3 rd & 4 th 2018
Where: Ealing Studios
How much: £139
www.firstdraftwithpilar.com
Learn how to produce industry
standard analysis for agents,
producers, production companies
and broadcasters – all of whom have
mountainous ‘read’ piles. The ability to
distinguish a ‘Pass’ from a ‘Consider’,
or even a ‘Recommend’ will make you
a valuable asset to the biggest and
most prolific production companies.
Key elements covered include:
• WHO uses script readers
• WHAT the key components of a
script report are
• WHERE to source those elusive
script reading jobs (even ones not
advertised)
• WHEN to walk away and avoid
conflict with writers
• WHY reading as a job can improve
your writing AND most importantly,
your understanding of the
business.
What is included?
• Writing a fully professional report
• How to negotiate pay for your work
and where to find it
• Techniques for constructive
criticism and avoiding conflict
• What constitutes “marketability”
• Identifying strong concepts
• Why context matters: how sample
scripts and sold scripts differ
• Tips for helping writers improve
their craft
• Understanding how logistics affect
filmmaking
• How to write positive script reports
that get results for writers and
execs and gets you re-hired for the
next job
66

TWISTED50 VOL.1
Get A Little Bit Twisted...
50 stories from 50 disturbed voices
of modern horror…
Twisted 50 volume 1 is a deliciously
dark slice of contemporary horror
literature. Reading it is like attending
a late night secret banquet where
you know each course will serve up
something unexpected, forbidden and
unforgettably chilling. Take your private
seat now for 50 luscious courses of
terror, from 50 of the strongest voices
in modern horror. It was the first
book to come out of the LondonSWF
Create50 initiative and a resounding
success, knocking Stephen King from
the horror top spot on Amazon on the
day of release.
We also created an Audiobook which is
now on Audible.
To celebrate, we hosted a fabulously
terrifying book launch and the
Twisted50 Awards in February – you
can watch the video of what happened
on the App.
Twisted50 vol 2 is now in judging
and we should have the final book
out for Christmas.
The journey was at times very
bumpy and some of the lessons
and personalities involved are quite
startling. We learned huge
amounts about writers,
book publishing and
marketing during the
process of bringing the
book to bookshelves,
and will be sharing this
journey on the blog.
There is also a very active website for
the book at www.Twisted50.com.
67

LondonSWF senior team member Vanessa Bailey (usually found running
between sessions locating Speakers, or making sure the bins are being
emptied) wrote, creatively produced and stars in ‘Seeing Him’, a short
film exploring the depths and impact of an unconventional love affair.
Vanessa had never written or produced before but had been around enough
expertise, motivation and inspiration at the festival to realise that there's no
time like the present and no person like yourself to bring an idea to fruition.
Teaming up with Chris Jones to direct, Judy Goldberg to produce the shoot
and a host of other LSF-ers, ‘Seeing Him’ was brought to life across an intense
shoot and a challenging period of post-production. Screenwriting, crowdfunding,
networking, filmmaking - all the elements that various members of the team had
taught at LondonSWF were now being practically put to the test. On set and on the
screen for all to see!
Currently enjoying a successful festival run, you can see the film and hera from
Vanessa on Sunday morning of the festival in the LondonSWF mini film festival.
You can also follow our continuing journey on twitter @SeeingHimFilm on FB
Seeing Him short film and at www.seeinghimfilm.com