Nancy Foley | 10.16.13
The 20th Anniversary Austin Film Festival will be Nan’s eighth: twice as an attendee, six as a volunteer. There is nowhere else she would rather be in October.
Numbers, it’s all about the numbers. A writer would argue, no, words; it’s all about the words. But let’s consider how significant numbers are to that same writer. Let’s start with the number one. One writer behind a computer finishes one script, then one more and so on. For this purpose, let’s take Susie Screenwriter. Susie reads books, takes courses and has a body of work. Our Susie believes she is ready to market herself. How should she go about it? She can enter one screenplay contest at a time, or, she can try to secure representation, one agent at a time. She can also query producers, production companies and so on, one at a time. But worst of all, Susie could be going about it all wrong.
She doesn’t really know. What she does know is no one will read her work. This learning curve will take Susie a very long time, probably years.
Or, our Susie can go to the Austin Film Festival and immerse herself in an accelerated learning environment that addresses all aspects of the creative and business sides of writing for the film and television industries. What will set her work apart, how can she market herself, but most of all, are you listening Susie, connect with hundreds, no thousands of other writers, filmmakers, A-list industry professionals, volunteers, popcorn loving, film obsessed, chip crunching television fanatics in one adrenal explosion of how it all works from those who really do know. When could she ever go to more than one film, every day, listen to the filmmaker live and party afterward with the same people? This one extended weekend will change Susie’s life. Nothing can stop her now, unless she doesn’t go.
Don’t stay home, Susie. Come to the One and Only Austin Film Festival! Yes, it’s all about the numbers… the sheer number of opportunities.
THANK YOU, AFF, for 20 memory making, life altering years!!