Austin Film Festival Returns With In-Person Event In October

Austin TX

01 April, 2021

2:00 PM

Description

AUSTIN, TX — The Austin Film Festival & Writers Conference will return with an in-person event in October, officials said. Festival organizers announced Thursday the film festival will celebrate its 28th year on October 21 and will continue through Oct. 28. The film festival will feature four full days of panel conversations and discussions on the art, craft, and business of screenwriting with some of the industry's biggest names and eight days of film screenings highlighting some of the best emerging talent as well as premieres of studio films as part of its marquee programming. Conference guests include Peter Craig ("The Batman"), Javier Grillo-Marxuach ("Lost"), Meg LeFauve ("Inside Out") and Nicole Perlman ("Guardians of the Galaxy"). More panelists are expected to be announced later this year. The festival will also offer a virtual badge, which will include a selection of panels and films recorded at the festival for those who cannot attend the in-person event, organizers said. Screenwriter Scott Frank, best known for his hit Netflix series "The Queen's Gambit," will receive the 2021 Bill Wittliff Award. Past honorees include Tony Gilroy, Lawrence Kasdan, Callie Khouri, and Nancy Meyers. Frank is an Oscar- and Emmy nominated writer and director whose screenplay credits include "Little Man Tate", "Minority Report", "The Interpreter", "The Lookout" (writer/director), "Marley & Me", "The Wolverine", "Walk Among the Tombstones" (writer/director), "Logan" the Netflix limited series "Godless (writer/director)" and "The Queen's Gambit" (writer/director). "The Queen's Gambit" is Netflix's most watched scripted miniseries and won a Golden Globe for Best Television Limited Series, officials said. Festival organizers said Frank will be recognized at the 2021 Awards Luncheon on Saturday, October 23 at the Austin Club and will participate in festival and conference programming. Austin Film Festival is a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the art, craft and business of writers, creators, and filmmakers and recognizing their contributions to film, television, theater, and new media, officials said. For more information about the upcoming film festival, visit www.austinfilmfestival.com