Walk-ups for The Pitch Workshop and Party are welcome up to capacity! All Pitch Contest slots are full, we will have a wait list on site. Seating for The Pitch Party will be on a first come, first serve basis once all paid ticket purchasers have been seated. Guest can arrive at 1:30pm
Join AFF for a day of pitching fun! Fine tune your pitch before you take on the big leagues at AFF 2018 with AFF’s Pitch day on Sunday, July 22nd. This workshop is great to practice an elevator-style pitch and can help writers to conquer their fears of public speaking and selling themselves.
Start your day off with an intimate Pitch Workshop with industry script consultant Jill Chamberlain, founder of The Screenplay Workshop. She’ll give feedback and workshop a few pitches to make sure they’re ready to go! Not ready to pitch?
Next, enjoy a generous break – plenty of time to practice your pitch with other workshop attendees and grab a drink or two before… The Pitch Party! Be sure to invite your friends because there is also going to be an audience award-winner! Guests can arrive at 2:30 pm for drinks and mingling.
In our final event of the day, pitch contest participants will have 90 seconds to pitch to a live audience and a panel of judges. One winner will be crowned Pitcher Extraordinaire and win a Lone Star Badge and Pitch Ticket for the 2018 Austin Film Festival for a chance to do it all again!
Slots for the Pitch Contest have been filled, we will have a wait list on site!
What's the schedule?
12:00pm – 12:30pm | Check In/Networking
12:30pm – 1:30pm | Pitch Workshop
1:30pm – 2:00pm | Break/Practice – Guests can arrive at 1:30pm
2:00pm – 3:40pm | Pitch Party & Contest
3:40pm – 4:00pm | Deliberation
4:00pm | Winner Announcement/Happy Hour Begins
Step 1: Take the Pitch Workshop
Meet Jill Chamberlain
Jill Chamberlain is the founder of The Screenplay Workshop where she has helped thousands of writers with their screenplays. Her book, The Nutshell Technique: Crack the Secret to Successful Screenwriting (University of Texas Press), is one of the highest rated screenwriting books on Amazon, out of over 3,000 books on the subject. It’s considered the go-to manual many professionals swear by and is on the syllabus for film schools across the U.S. including the acclaimed screenwriting program at Columbia University. Producer Callum Greene (Star Wars Episode 9, Crimson Peak, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) said “Chamberlain’s Nutshell Technique cracks the code behind why we love the movies that we love. It will guide you to organically write the story you want to tell.” Chamberlain has fixed and fine-tuned scripts for major Hollywood studios, A-list writers, television showrunners, award-winning independent filmmakers and many spec script writers. Many of her clients have achieved success in Hollywood, having had their scripts optioned, sold and made into award-winning feature films and television series. In addition to teaching through The Screenplay Workshop, Chamberlain is on the adjunct faculty at University of Houston and Maryland Institute College of Art.
Step 2: Participate in the Pitch Contest
Meet the Judges
Elizabeth Avellán - Judge
Avellán began her producing career when she co-founded Los Hooligans Productions in 1991 with Robert Rodriguez as the two began their feature film project “El Mariachi.” Made for just $7,000, “El Mariachi,” was the winner of the 1993 Audience Awards at the Sundance and Deauville Film Festivals. In 2000, Avellán and Rodriguez founded Troublemaker Studios, their Austin, Texas-based production company. Over the past twenty years, she has produced such films as the “Spy Kids” franchise, “Frank Miller’s Sin City,” “Predators,” “Machete,” “Desperado,” “From Dusk Till Dawn,” “Once Upon a Time in Mexico,” “The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D,” and “Grindhouse.” Through her EYA Productions banner, she produced the holiday feature film, “Angels Sing,” starring Harry Connick Jr., Willie Nelson and Connie Britton. Avellán also executive produced several projects including “Blacktino,” that world premiered at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival. She also executive produced “Secuestro Express,” a topical Venezuelan narrative about the dangerous trend of “express” kidnappings in her home country. Passionate about her adopted hometown of Austin, education and children’s welfare, she is on the board and supports several organizations. Those boards include Capital Area Statues, which commissions unique statues for the capital city; ConnectHer and the Girls Impact the World Film Festival, whose mission is to elevate the status of women and girls everywhere; and The Austin Film Society.
Avellán was born in Caracas, Venezuela, where her grandfather, Gonzalo Veloz Mancera, was the pioneer of commercial television. At the age of thirteen, she moved to Houston, Texas with her family and later graduated from Rice University. The mother of six children, Avellán resides in Austin, Texas.
Cathleen Sutherland - Judge
Cathleen Sutherland is the Oscar® nominated and award winning producer of Boyhood. She has been involved in independent filmmaking in Texas since she was a youth and is proud to still call Austin home.
Step 3: Party!
Walk ups for The Pitch Party are welcome but entry will be on a first come, first serve basis (until we hit capacity). Guests can arrive starting at 1:30pm and the party will begin at 2pm