CinemaSpoke
Cinema St. Louis, the presenters of the St. Louis International Film Festival, has announced the five finalists in its annual CinemaSpoke screenplay competition and workshop. The five screenplays will receive partial readings, one a month from April through August, with the winning script receiving a full reading on Monday, Sept. 15.
Selection and Reading Process
A committee of three selection judges (CinemaSpoke selection judges are St. Louis Post-Dispatch film critics Harper Barnes and Calvin Wilson, former St. Louis Community College at Meramec film professor Diane Carson, and Missouri Film Commission assistant director Andrea Sporcic) read the first 30 pages of each submitted screenplay. Based on these 30 pages, the judges selected five scripts. The first 30 pages of each selected script will be given a public reading, one evening a month, from April through August. Writers will be allowed to play a role in casting the actors who will do the live readings of the competition scripts.
Readings
April 7: Aaron Coffman's "The Drowning"
May 5: Vanessa Revard Roman's "The Importance of Doubting Tom"
June 2: Blair Dalton's "The Alien Dude"
July 7: Jean Whatley's "The Love You Need"
Aug. 4: Paddy Callahan's "The Valedictorian"
A panel of five film professionals (TV writer/producer Paul Guyot ("Judging Amy," "Felicity"), screenwriter Richard Chapman ("Live From Baghdad"), St. Louis Post-Dispatch film critic Joe Williams, film producer Buzz Hirsch ("Silkwood"), and St. Louis writer/producer Bobbie Lautenschlager)will offer criticism and feedback based on these readings. The writer then has the option to rewrite the script based on feedback from the panel or to allow the panel to read the script, as it exists in its entirety. If the writer chooses to revise the script, the writer has two weeks following the CinemaSpoke reading to complete and submit this rewrite. Once the panel has read all five scripts in their entirety, a winning script will be selected from the five.
All readings will be held on a Monday at 7 p.m. in the Rialto Room on the fourth floor of the Centene Center for Arts & Education, 3547 Olive St. in Grand Center. The readings are free and open to the public.
Cinema St. Louis
3547 Olive Street
St. Louis, MO 63103-1014
mailroom @cinemastlouis.org