First episode of the new series – SRN Conversations: Memories from SRN Conferences (2008-11)
with
remembering the origins of SRN and the first conferences.
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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:
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:
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:
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.
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 13th SRN International Conference (SRN2020) to be held at Oxford Brookes University next September is now live and can be accessed at the following URL:
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
Find below the proposed SRN Action Plan for 2019-2020. Other actions may be proposed prior to, and at, the AGM which will take place at the Porto conference. Please contact the Chairperson or Secretary if you have any comments or suggestions.
Screenwriting Research Network: Call for Conferences
The Screenwriting Research Network is looking for proposals to host its International Conferences in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
The Screenwriting Research Network (www.screenwritingresearch.com) is an international research network of scholars, reflective practitioners and practice-based researchers, interested in the conceptualisation of film, TV and other media narratives; or Screenwriting Studies, as it has become known. Membership is currently drawn from 48 countries worldwide and still growing, with strong representation from the USA, Europe and Australasia, and recent members from several other countries, including Latin America, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa.
The SRN began as a study group at the University of Leeds, UK, in 2006, and started its programme of international conferences in 2008, also at Leeds. Since then annual conferences have been held in Helsinki (2009), Copenhagen (2010), Brussels (2011), Sydney (2012), Madison-Wisconsin (2013), Potsdam-Babelsberg (2014), London (2015), Leeds (2016), Otago-Dunedin in New Zealand (2017) and Milan (2018). A special international conference was also held in Santiago, Chile in May 2015. In 2019 we will meet at the Catholic University of Portugal in Porto, whereas the 2020 conference will be held in Oxford.
Over the years, the programme has attracted eminent scholars and Oscar-winning screenwriters amongst the keynote speakers, and includes: David Bordwell, Janet Staiger, Kristin Thompson, Torben Grodal, Adrian Martin, Brian Winston, Jonathan Powell, Milcho Manchevski, Larry Gross, Jean-Claude Carrière, Ronald Harwood, Hossein Amini and Neil Landau among many others. Key papers are often published in the Journal of Screenwriting (Intellect).
The SRN conferences usually take place in September/October each year. Recent conferences have attracted 150-175 participants and around 100 papers and presentations. We expect further growth. Our conferences are usually hosted by university departments or film schools, often as a partnership between such institutions; for example, our 2015 London conference was a collaboration between Royal Holloway University of London, University of Greenwich, University of East London and Bangor University, and the 2020 Oxford conference will be co-hosted by Oxford Brookes University and Canterbury Christchurch University. Collaborations with archives or festivals,
writers’ associations or guilds, and other public bodies are welcomed.
Each conference is financially self-supporting with actual costs borne or raised by the host institutions. Sources range from public bodies and institutions to sponsorship of some events, to conference fees from participants. The SRN supports each conference with advice and contacts, but not finance. This is not a profit-making enterprise, and commercial proposals are not accepted.
If you are interested in organizing an SRN annual international conference, please contact the SRN Chairman, Prof. Carmen Sofia Brenes (Universidad de los Andes, Santiago, Chile) at the address below, for further information or for an informal chat. Formal proposals should be received by 30thApril 2019, via email. The proposal should be no longer than four pages, outlining the location and institution, facilities, ease of travel and communication, appropriate organising staff, and an indication of how institutional and financial commitment will be forthcoming. A simple budget should be appended.
For further information or an informal chat (preferably via Skype), contact Prof. Brenes at csbrenes@miuandes.cl.
The SRN Executive Council will consider all proposals through Spring/Summer 2019, and may require further information, before making decisions. We hope to complete the process by the end of June 2019 and announce the next Conference in Porto.
The SRN exists to encourage networking among screenwriting scholars and will support and disseminate information about appropriate events. Besides our annual conferences, therefore, there is also the possibility of regional conferences, one-day workshops and other forms of smaller events. If you are planning to organize such an event and want the help and support of the network, please contact us, and the SRN Executive Council will consider how we might help.
Dear colleagues,
We invite you to submit abstracts for the SRN Conference 2019 “Screen Narratives: Chaos and Order”, that will take place between 12th and 14th of September, at School of Arts, Catholic University of Portugal, Porto (Portugal). You can present an individual submission of traditional paper presentations, practice-based presentation, audiovisual essays or a panel submission (traditional presentation or discussion panel). For details and submissions, please see http://artes.porto.ucp.pt/en/SRN2019
As usual, we will also have pre-conference activities in 11th September. We will send you the pre-conference program as well as the keynotes information in a further e-mail.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
All the best,
The Organization Committee
Please find below some general information on the SRN Conference 2018 – Writing for Cinema, Writing for Television:
1. The Conference will take place at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Fra Agostino Gemelli 1, 20123 Milan, from September 13th to 15th , 2018 (9am – around 6pm).
2. The main building of the University, in Largo Gemelli, is just a 5 minutes walk from Sant’Ambrogio Metro station and 10 minutes walk from Cadorna Metro station. Getting around the city by public transportation is very easy and comfortable.
3. Registration is now open (since February 15th), with early bird rate until March 31st and the possibility to book seats for the September 14th social dinner. We strongly encourage to register as soon as possible: the rates after March 31st increase significantly. You will find the link to register on the Conference web page: http://www.unicatt.it/srnconference2018
4. On Wednesday September 12th, in the afternoon, a pre-conference workshop for Ph.D students will take place. It will be an occasion to present their works and the opportunities of practice-based screenwriting PhD. For more details, and for the open call to participate, we will provide updated information in the internet site of the conference before the end of February.
5. Also, we are planning to dedicate a specific panel with some special speakers/guests to screenwriting for animation: more details soon.
Some practical information
6. Please, note: Milan will be hosting the fashion week from September 19, but accommodation can be tight also for the previous days as well as prices could increase. For this reason, we recommend to book your hotel as soon as you can.
7. For delegates arriving the day before the Conference, we are planning a Milanese aperitivo (very light dinner), on the evening of the 12th, from 6.30 to 9 pm. Additional details about menu, prices and location will be updated on the internet site of the conference.
8. If you are planning to do some tourism in Milan in your free time, we suggest some touristic landmarks like Duomo, Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio (which is very close to the University), La Scala, Pinacoteca di Brera. Furthermore, very close to the University, near the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, you can visit The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci: we strongly suggest, if you are interested, to book your visit as soon as you can. Entrances are limited to a small number of people per day. At the moment, you can book only until June, but from today to May it is all booked: so you have to check when they open booking for September.
You can find further information for your booking here: https://www.vivaticket.it/index.php?nvpg[tour]&id=744&wms_op=cenacoloVinciano&Language=ENG (please note that on other internet sites different from the official one, prices rise significantly; the normal and official ticket is 10 euro).
9. From the area where the University is located, it is also very easy to go to the Como Lake: there are many trains (more than two per hour) which leave from Cadorna station and arrive exactly in the Lake shores in one hour.
10. More details about the dinner of September 14th will be given soon. We have the possibility to be at the Orti di Leonardo Restaurant, which is very close to the University, in a wonderful location, but we are considering also other possibilities.
Keynote speakers
Last, but not least, we are very happy (and very proud) to announce our confirmed keynote speakers (more details about their bios and publications on the dedicated page on the site of the conference):
Eleonora Andreatta, Director of Rai Fiction (the area of Tv drama and Tv series of the Italian public broadcaster Rai: 500 hours per year of Tv series)
Paolo Braga, Ph.D., assistant professor at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, where he teaches Writing for Cinema and Television; member of the board of the Master in International Screenwriting and Production at UCSC.
Warren Buckland, Reader in Film Studies at Oxford Brookes University.
Daniele Cesarano, Head of Drama RTI-Mediaset group, and screenwriter (Romanzo criminale/Crime Novel, Suburra).
Luisa Cotta Ramosino, Ph.D., creative producer (Medici, Masters of Florence) and screenwriter (Un passo dal cielo, Distretto di polizia).
Neil Landau, Director of the MFA Writing for Television Program at UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television, and screenwriter (Tad: The Lost Explorer , Capture the Flag, Sheep & Wolves).
Contacts
For any question or enquiry regarding payments, accommodations, etc.
Formazione.permanente-mi@unicatt.it
Phone (+39) 02 7234.5834 (or 7234. 5701)
For any question or enquiry regarding the academic program:
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