About

Currently in our 31st year, we are best known for our annual Film Festival held each October in Austin, Texas. This event plays host to the largest screenwriters conference in the world, featuring over 200 panelists and panels that, along with film and television, now also explore storytelling mediums such as plays, podcasts, and digital series. Partnered with a film program that has welcomed artists on the frontlines of shaping culture, we are proud not only of our festival’s ability to celebrate story at such a scale, but the opportunities it provides for story development and career advancement. We were the first festival and conference to highlight the artistic achievements and contributions of the television writer. Starting by awarding David Chase in 2000 (Creator, The Sopranos), we have since continued to acknowledge the medium’s writers and their importance in shaping the landscape of storytelling as a whole.

Past participants of the Festival & Conference include Robert Altman, Robert Duvall, Greta Gerwig, Susannah Grant, Buck Henry, Walter Hill, Barry Josephson, Lawrence Kasdan, Sydney Pollack, Natalie Portman, Harold Ramis, Susan Sarandon, Gary Shandling, Caroline Thompson, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Larry Wilmore, to name just a few.