In 2021, the Screenwriting Research Network will gather the membership in an Online Seminar during August and September.

More information and the full programme can be accessed here.

FAO of the SRN Executive Council 

CURRENT SITUATION (up to date as of 19 April 2021) 

At the moment, in the UK we are riding out of the third wave of pandemic, which seems to be  subsiding quite substantially, with numbers down to 1500-2000/day, although now that some  restrictions have been lifted these are predicted to rise again in the forthcoming weeks. 

Last week saw the enforcement of Step 2 of the so-called Roadmap out of lockdown, which can  be summed up as per below: 

• Only outdoor activities/hospitality venues/attractions have re-opened 
• Working from home whenever possible still apply 
• No accommodation (e.g. hotels) 
• No catering services indoors 
• No unnecessary travelling 
• Universities have re-opened with limited activities (i.e. practice-based) and capacity • Gathering: 

o No indoor gatherings (fines of up to £10,000) 

o Only family/friends up to 6 outdoors 

• Usual guidelines still apply:  

o 2-metre social distancing 

o Face covering 

o Sanitising hands 

However, the situation worldwide is still quite challenging. 

In countries like Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Finland and Denmark, it seems to be fairly  under control as it’s been for most of the past year. 

There seems to be much improvement in other countries such as, for instance, Spain and Portugal. But it remains tough in the US and in most other European countries; and it is still dire in South America and quite a few other countries such as India (not all countries in the map supply up-to date data). 

As known, the rollout of vaccination programmes has been seriously delayed in many countries and even implemented in different ways: for example, in the UK about 50% of the population has  now received their first dose of the vaccine, but only about 15% have received the second dose as  well. Comparing current data from the WHO, Johns Hopkins University, and BBC, very few of  our delegates’ countries – e.g. the U.S., Chile, and the UAE – are doing fairly well with 23-29% of  the population now fully vaccinated; most others (especially in Europe and South America, where  80% of our delegates come from) are lagging much behind (2-9% on average). The most optimistic  predictions seem to converge towards the late Autumn/early Winter for vaccination programmes  to reach significant results both on a local and global scale. 

Travelling to England from outside the UK 

While several countries are beginning the rush to open their doors to tourists, at the moment the  “real” situation is as follows: 

• Travel ban/no entry to the UK from countries on “red list” (i.e. the whole of South  America, all countries in the Southern half of Africa, a few Asian countries, with India likely  to be added soon as well) 

o At the moment, this involves at least 13-15 delegates 

• Passengers from ALL other countries are subject to mandatory test-and-quarantine rules (i.e. applies to ALL other non-UK resident delegates): 

o Before you leave for the UK: 

Take a Covid-19 test and get a negative result during the 3 days before you  travel 

Book a test-and-quarantine package (£1750 per person), which includes: • Accommodation in a managed quarantine hotel (if you do not have  private accommodation)

o Throughout the whole duration of your quarantine, you  

CANNOT leave your hotel room 

• Two Covid-19 tests to be taken during quarantine 

o If you test positive, you will have to stay longer 

Complete the online passenger locator form (within 48 hours of departure) o On arrival in the UK: 

Provide proof of a negative coronavirus test (only accepted in either English,  French or Spanish) taken in your country 

Quarantine/self-isolate for 10 days, either:  

• In private accommodation (if you have one), or 
• In a managed quarantine hotel 

Take TWO Covid-19 tests on days 2 and 8 of quarantine (as per your booking) 

• You can book and take an “early” test (called Test and release) to  

end quarantining on Day 5, at extra cost (£220; rumoured to be reduced to £55 in the near future) via private providers 

• Infringement of any of the above is considered a serious criminal offense and carries fines  of up to £10,000 and imprisonment for up to 10 years  
• Upon returning to your country: 

o Most countries have enforced their own test-and-quarantine rules, which might  apply when returning home in some cases 

EXPECTED CHANGES IN MAY/JUNE 

Step 3 of Roadmap out of lockdown (not before 17 May) 

• Outdoor gathering and events of up to 30 people 
• Events with up to 30 (does not specify whether indoor events are allowed; and if  conferences are included in this category that so far includes weddings, funerals and  similar) 
• Indoor hospitality re-opens (e.g. hotels) 

Travelling to England from outside the UK 

• Rules will most likely switch to a “traffic light system”: 

o Green: free entry/no restrictions subject to negative pre-departure test and  subsequent negative PCR test (i.e. a swab of your mouth and nose) on Day 2 of  your stay in the UK 

At the moment, only a handful of countries are predicted to be given green  status – as concerns our delegates, these will include only USA and Portugal o Amber: equivalent to current test-and-quarantine system 

Most of our delegates’ other countries will be “amber”  

o Red: equivalent to current “red list”, i.e. total ban/no entry 

• In short, not much will actually change compared to the current situation Step 4 of Roadmap out of lockdown (not before 21 June)
• Plans to reopen all activities and events (including indoors) 
• Travel traffic light system to be reviewed on 28 June and 31 July; while many hope this will  mean even fewer restrictions, in fact predictions are for numbers to get worse in the weeks/months following re-opening of international travel and therefore said periodic  reviews could end up tightening restrictions instead

• Full review of restrictions/guidance (including how long social distancing and face masks will  remain in place) 

BUT 

• No specific dates are mentioned regarding the latter 
• All the above depends on the outcome of “a scientific Events Research Programme to test  the outcome of certain pilot events through the spring and summer, where we will trial the  use of testing and other techniques to cut the risk of infection” (source: UK.gov, no further  details available so far) 
• All the above applies to the UK population, on the assumption that most will be vaccinated  by the Summer 

o Visitors from abroad attending events will still be subject to the traffic light system,  and therefore test-and-quarantine where applicable unless restrictions are changed/lifted in June-July 

CONCLUSIONS 

To sum up, in the most optimistic scenario: 

• If all the above goes according to plan, and 
• If no new waves occur and/or no new variants emerge 

It might be possible for IRL events such as SRN2021 to be “legally” allowed from July onwards. 

A meeting with the Events Team at the conference venue (i.e. the Mathematical Institute) was held  to assess all the above and viability of the conference based on available information and on the  participation of many delegates from outside the UK. 

In practical terms the most likely scenario in case we ran SRN2021 as normal, is as follows: 

• Social distancing and face covering rules will still apply indoors at the venue and during the  conference, regardless of whether new regulations will allow for some more flexibility • Social distancing rules will mean severely reduced maximum room capacity. More  specifically: 

o Main Lecture Theatre (used for plenaries and panels): from 250 to 55 

o Other seminar rooms (used for panels): from 40 to 12-15 

• In turn, this means having to reduce the maximum number of delegates to 55 • However, the cost of hiring the venue will remain the same and therefore registration fees  are bound to be substantially higher than expected 
• Only formal sessions possible: no additional social/networking activities can be planned • Catering: 

o At the moment the venue’s supplier cannot guarantee service for large numbers o Assuming catering can be supplied, it will likely be in the form of individual pre packed parcels to be consumed and cost more 

o Regardless of the above, at the moment the caterer is unable to provide a quote

• A hybrid solution is not financially viable: the venue does not have in-house capability for  that and will have to hire an external company to handle the setup and live streaming – daily costs are from £1200+VAT and would add to existing running costs 

The above considers the situation in situ in Oxford. Unfortunately, we still need to factor in a few  more issues for delegates, especially those coming from abroad. 

• While this might change in the forthcoming months, as things stand now most international  delegates will very likely have to follow test-and-quarantine rules, with all the extra time  and cost that this entail. Luckier delegates coming from “green-listed” countries will still  have to take tests and if positive will have to quarantine as well. 
• Virtually all universities in all countries currently enforce a ban on international travel that  is likely to last till the end of the academic year – i.e. until August-October in the Northern Hemisphere, but until the end of 2021 in the Southern Hemisphere. 
• Linked to the above is the freeze on funding for international travel. Budgets for this work  according to deadlines of the academic year and therefore for most delegates this means  funding won’t be available before September/Autumn in the most optimistic scenario. 
• Also linked to the above ban, is travel and health insurance. Most delegates work for  academic institutions and when they travel to attend conferences overseas they are  covered by their work insurance. Until universities’ travel bans last, this means insurance  cover is void if delegates decide to travel and attend the conference anyway and therefore  they will have to purchase cover out of their pocket. 

In light of the above, I conclude that, unfortunately, the conditions to run/host SRN2021 in Oxford  safely as per plan are not met and, therefore, for the 2021 Annual Conference to be cancelled and  be replaced by an “alternative online event” TBD ASAP as per discussions so far. To this purpose,  pending the SRN Executive Council’s approval in today’s monthly meeting:  

1. I will announce the decision to the Membership on Tuesday 20 April;  
2. I will outline an “alternative online event” format to be presented to the Membership,  possibly by the end of April – this will include alternative format(s) for paper panels and  Q&As, keynote speakers and guests (where available and confirmed), virtual AGM, EC  Elections and SRN Awards and will take into account time zones and limitations and/or  advantages of available platforms (e.g. Zoom).  

On a final, positive note, I can confirm that the School of Arts at Oxford Brookes University is still  willing to provide minimum financial support (roughly £1300) to cover the cost of keynote  speakers’ fees, SRN Awards and website subscription/hosting. 

19 April 2021 

PAOLO RUSSO 

SRN2021 Conference Director

First episode of the new series – SRN Conversations: Memories from SRN Conferences (2008-11)

with

• Ian W. Macdonald
• Eva Novrup Redvall
• Kirsi Rinne
• Ronald Geertz
• and Carmen Sofia Brenes as Moderator

  remembering the origins of SRN and the first conferences.

  Follow us on Facebook (@screenwritingnetwork) and Twitter (@SRNConference)

17 March 2020

Dear SRN Members and SRN2020 Delegates

I hope this finds you well despite everything that is going on. I am aware that you were awaiting this with some understandable trepidation, and given that there is no way of sugar-coating this, I’ll cut straight to the chase. Here’s the tagline version:

SRN2020 WILL BE POSTPONED TO SEPTEMBER 2021

And here are the (rather) lengthier but important details.

Yesterday the Executive Council of the SRN discussed as a matter of urgency the current emergency caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. After careful evaluation of all possible scenarios, data and information available thus far, the EC has come to the conclusion that running SRN2020 in September 2020 as per plan is no longer a viable and safe option. 

Under no circumstance, even assuming the most optimistic outcome in the shortest period of time, we will put the safety and wellbeing of our members/colleagues/friends at risk; at the moment and for the foreseeable future, there is no way of guaranteeing that if we were to still run the conference next September.

The situation so far shows that:

• All 35 countries the SRN2020 delegates come from have been affected, some in a very significant way;
• Around 20 have now closed borders and/or banned flights from some/all countries, and this number is increasing daily;
• Almost all 35 countries have introduced some form of lockdown, plus quarantining for incoming visitors, and self-isolation;
• Universities from almost all 35 countries have suspended all travel abroad until at least end of April or indefinitely;
• Insurances (both via university or private) are not guaranteeing cover anymore or refusing flat out at the moment.
• According to most reliable data (which I have narrowed down to the WHO and the CSSE at Johns Hopkins University), the peak is yet to come in most countries and is to be expected between now and the early Summer, depending on the country. Other projections seem to indicate a risk in some countries (including the UK) for the outbreak to last until or have a double peak into the Autumn, or to subside by the Summer to then come back in the Winter;
• Adding to that, the official position of UK authorities so far has caused no little extra uncertainty and the situation is still escalating pretty much everywhere.

In light of the above, the EC has considered other options but none seemed viable or offer any certainty. Postponing would only be possible by moving the Oxford dates to January 2021, but this would most certainly have a rather negative impact on the Vienna conference and delegates would still have to start making plans in the middle of the crisis; furthermore, should the more negative projections prove true, we would still have to cancel or postpone again with even less time to do so.

We also considered whether we could save SRN2020 by the bell by turning it into a virtual conference and still run it this year, but the resources, time and infrastructure will simply not be there. Most colleagues and universities all over the world (including Oxford Brookes) will spend the next few months having to deal with very serious circumstances and work hard at all sort of backup plans, with added pressure on already heavy workloads, and with all the resources available prioritized to this purpose. 

The good news is that all colleagues who were set to organize the Annual Conference in the 2021-23 cycle came to my help and generously agreed to push their events forward by one year in order to free up 2021 for Oxford. I therefore wish to express my deep gratitude to (in chronological order) Claus Tieber, Rosanne Welch, and Rafael Leal. I owe you. This means, to sum up, that our conference agenda for the forthcoming years will be:

• September 2020 – No International conference (local conferences might still happen later in the year but will be discussed in their respective fora)
• September 2021 – Oxford (possible dates: either 1-4 or, more likely, 8-11 September)
• Early October 2022 – Vienna
• 2023 – Missouri, US
• 2024 – Rio de Janeiro

I also want to thank everyone for their patience and understanding, and for the many supportive messages and emails received in the past few days.

SO, WHAT NEXT?

• As of today, registration, on-campus accommodation booking and dinner booking are suspended
• Delegates who have already registered or booked their on-campus accommodation via Brookes’s online facilities will be reimbursed – I will send out instructions and contact details soon
• The conference theme (i.e. Pushing Boundaries) will remain the same – and, perhaps, now more than ever sounds appropriate
• Delegates already shortlisted for this year’s original dates are automatically confirmed but will have to confirm their intention to attend in 2021; should any delegates decline for whatever reason, a new CfP will be issued later in the year and we will accept new submissions accordingly to add to the current shortlist
• Delegates who qualified for the student rate this year will be automatically considered eligible next year too, regardless of whether their status will have changed by then
• Keynotes will be re-invited with the awareness that they might not be able to confirm availability until nearer the new date next year
• The SRN Awards 2020 will be pushed to 2021, which will cover a two-year time period with submissions extended until May 2021

New deadlines will be set up for all stages but I will have to rework and restart the whole planning machine all over again and this might take some time. My hope is to get everything geared up by the Summer so as to give everyone plenty of time to adjust their plans. So, please bear with me until then. I will be in touch every now and then anyway.

In the meantime, if you have queries or need any further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me either at info@srn2020.com or paolo.russo@brookes.ac.uk and I will do my best to help.

Finally, without a conference being held this year, it means that we don’t know yet whether the AGM (and therefore the EC elections) may take place anyway. The EC will discuss this next month and we will inform all Members once a decision has been made on this matter. One tough bite to swallow at a time!

So… I have managed to draft all this without a hint of irony and it’s been as tough as I had imagined it last night. Apologies for the unusually sombre tone of this announcement but given this is an unprecedented situation for everyone, clarity is paramount. You will allow me one last remark: for all the thinking, planning and energy I have been putting into this in the past few months, this is the one email I never thought I would have to send out.

May all of you be well and safe!

Paolo Russo

on behalf of

SRN Executive Council

SRN2020 Organizing Committee

We are glad to announce that the website of the 13^th SRN International Conference (SRN2020) to be held at Oxford Brookes University next September is now live and can be accessed at the following URL:

https://srn2020.com/

Although still work in progress, it already contains plenty of useful information that you can use to start planning and making arrangements: e.g. the Call for Papers and Submission details, campus location, travel and airport transfer information, suggested options for accommodation (including affordable rooms on-campus and guest houses near the university campus), and more.

We will keep adding content to other sections of the website (e.g. Registration, venues and facilities, Catering, Conference programme, abstracts and lots more) in the forthcoming months based on deadlines and availability. We will notify you of any relevant updates in due course.

We take this opportunity to remind everyone that the deadline for the submission of abstracts is approaching. Please send us your proposals by Sunday 15 DECEMBER 2019. Details of acceptable formats and submission guidelines are available in the Call for Papers section of the website.

13th SCREENWRITING RESEARCH NETWORK INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

“PUSHING BOUNDARIES”

Oxford Brookes University (UK), September 9–12, 2020

*** NOTE – This is a SHORT version of the CfP containing essential information only.

Please read the FULL CfP here: SRN2020 – Call for Papers  ***

 The 13th annual International Conference of the Screenwriting Research Network (SRN 2020) will be hosted by Oxford Brookes University in the UK, on Wednesday 9th through Saturday 12th September 2020.

The Conference is organized by the Film Studies Research Unit with the support of the School of Arts of Oxford Brookes University through Quality-Related (QR) research funding. The main location of the Conference will be the John Henry Brookes Building at the Headington Campus. Oxford is well known for its history, culture and academic tradition.

In order to ensure timely notification of shortlisted delegates and subsequent travel planning, please note the deadline for the submission of all proposals/abstracts by 15 December 2019.

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION

Calendar (summary of deadlines)

Submissions of abstracts by: 15 December 2019

Shortlisting/notification of acceptance by: End of January 2020

Early-bird registration: From early March until 31 May 2020

Regular registration by: 15 July 2020 

Late registration by: 25 August 2020

Conference: 9-12 September 2020

Keynotes speakers and special guests to be announced in early 2020.

Submission of abstracts/proposals

Proposals/Abstracts can be sent as either a Word or PDF document: please indicate “Yourname_PROPOSALTYPE” (i.e. PAPER, PANEL, ESSAY or POSTER; see details in Full CfP) clearly in the file title and in the subject heading of your submission email to info@srn2020.com

Deadline for submission of all proposals: 15 December 2019. 

Earlier submissions are much welcome.

All presentations, regardless of format, must be delivered in person (i.e. no pre-recorded presentations), in English, and be underpinned by original research work being conducted by the presenter (i.e. no recycling/repetitions from previous SRN or other conferences). Multiple presenters (max 2) for co-written papers are allowed. 

We aim to notify acceptance/rejection of proposals by the end of January 2020.

Website and registration

The SRN 2020 Website will go live within a few weeks from the posting of this CfP.

It will include a wealth of useful information (e.g. registration, travel arrangements, accommodation options), as well as all the updates and the programme leading up to the Conference. 

Registration will have the usual phased deadlines (early-bird, regular, late-premium, student concession); the early-bird fee is expected to be in the region of £100 (GBP).

Contacts

Please address any query regarding abstracts, registration, programme, etc. to info@srn2020.com

For any other informal query, do contact the Conference Director (Paolo Russo) directly at paolo.russo@brookes.ac.uk