NewEnglandFilm.com

While the importance of the screenplay or scriptwriter is often overlooked in an industry that bestows wealth and fame on young directors and picture-perfect actors, for three days and nights in August, the written word will be the talk of the town.

The Third Annual New England Screenwriters Conference is being held this month in Providence, RI. This year marks the first time the event is being held in conjunction with the Providence/ Rhode Island International Film Festival. "And rightly so," says conference director Rob Hoffman. "It all begins with the written word," he says, referring to the importance of screenwriters. "The screenwriter," says Hoffman, "is the genesis of the feature film."

The three-day conference, held August 6, 7, and 8, is hosted by Providence mayor Vincent A. Cianci, Jr., and the Providence Film Commission and Community Writers Association. Modeled after other successful conferences of its kind, such as the Austin Heart Screenwriters Conference, the New England conference features a screenplay competition in addition to a series of workshops, panel discussions, and one-on-one script consultations.

To set this conference, and in particular its screenplay competition, apart from the others, a scene from this year’s winning screenplay will be produced in master classes and screened at the end of the Providence/Rhode Island Film Festival.

Organizers have brought together an impressive group of professionals from film and television to guide writers through a wide range of topics, genres, and formats. Topics range from writing for the sitcom or the feature film, the documentary or the soaps to knowing when your screenplay is ready to be seen to the best way to get it seen by the right person. Some of the panelists scheduled to attend are Rhode Island-based filmmaker Don Mays; "On Golden Pond" writer Ernest Thompson; Anne Marie Gillen of Revelations Entertainment, Morgan Freeman’s production company; producer and writer Steve Feinberg; Thomas Pope; David Kleiler; John Ives; Steve Fassler; Gary Glassman; D.C. Fontana and David Gerrold of "Bonanza" and "Star Trek" fame; Michael Russnow; and Brian Meehl.

Before the Academy comes calling, there are many hurdles and bumps along the way for a screenwriter. The NESC is committed to paving the way for talented screenwriters to gain the competitive advantage and showcase their work to industry professionals. "The New England Screenwriters conference," says conference director Hoffman, "realizes that the very core of the film industry is the story itself; its well-crafted explorations of human relations inspires, motivates, and possibly brings us all a little closer together."