Conferences

The SRN 2017 International Screenwriting Conference is the first New Zealand conference dedicated to screenwriting and the first to place equal emphasis upon practical and academic approaches to screenwriting.  Participants included a number of New Zealand’s top screenwriters and this link between the worlds of practitioners and scholars led to wide-ranging and informative discussions.   The conference built on the work of the growing SRN global screenwriting research network, using New Zealand’s unique place in the international screen industry to investigate the challenges the transnational nature of the screen industry poses to local identity and practice. This followed up on discussions opened at the 2015 Chilean SRN conference.

SRN2017 examined how we approach and frame our storytelling, within and from different contexts, and the impacts that screen industry conventions and frameworks have on the nature of stories that are told. It explored cultural and industry conventions, orthodoxies, and claims about what is real and what is truth, as well as the influence of these contexts on storytelling practice(s).

The diverse conference papers and speakers recognised how we justify telling our stories in a particular way and how these parameters affect our work as practitioners and scholars, as well as perceptions of the finished work: for example, why it is important to understand different cultural perspectives which shape the very nature of storytelling in a country such as in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Bringing together visitors and presenters from around New Zealand and abroad allowed for the development and exchange of ideas and perspectives in a unique atmosphere of generosity and creativity, kicked off by the moving welcome from the Māori students from a local high school and the charming farewell from members of the Pasifika community.  From the local point of view, it was heartening that so many were willing to travel so far to attend, and the conference is seen as a great success, providing engaging and productive outcomes for all involved.  Photos from the conference can be accessed at:   https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.1936354696689458&type=3​

The final keynote speaker for the 2016 SRN conference is Liz Rosenthal. She is founder and CEO of Power to the Pixel, an organisation that supports the film and media industries in their transition to a digital age.

For more information on Liz Rosenthal and Power to the Pixel use the following link:

http://www.powertothepixel.com.

Two additional updates for the conference in Leeds.

In addition to the current schedule, we will be holding an informal get together on the evening of the 7th for delegates arriving the day before the conference. The venue will be the Cuthbert Broderick pub which is on Millennium Square in the centre of Leeds. This is a Wetherspoons where delegates will be able to purchase food if they wish. Members of the organising team will be in the pub from 7.00pm onwards to meet with you.

Campus maps showing the location of the main University buildings at Beckett used for the conference are available here.

Regards,

The Conference Organising Team

Here you can find the conference schedule and information on the panel sessions.

SRN Leeds Conference 2016 schedule

SRN Leeds Conference 2016 Panel sessions as at 1 August 2016(1)

Call for papers

The 9th Screenwriting Research Network (SRN) International Conference will take place in Stockholm, Sweden on Thursday 8th to Saturday 10th September 2016.

The conference will focus on Screenwriting between Artistic Freedom and Norms. The conference wants to examine these rules, norms and conventions – the frameworks in which screenwriters work. We want to discuss the history as well as the ongoing discourse about manuals, the role and function of rules within teaching screenwriting, as well as the rules of certain genres and media.

We invite discussion about screenwriting as an art between artistic freedom and norms.

Read more9th Screenwriting Research Network Conference: Screenwriting between Artistic Freedom and Norms