It seems that LSF 2014 has come and gone in a flash!
As a third year 'veteran delegate' (as Chris Jones calls
us!) this year's festival really felt like coming home. It was great to catch
up with old friends and hear about the progress made in their careers - a testament
to hard work and perseverance!
As this year's delegate capacity was nearly 700 (!) I also
met a lot of new writers, directors and actors, all at different stages of
their careers but all eager and hungry to learn. It was lovely have so many of
them come up to me and say that listening to my LSF podcast had really helped
them to prepare for the festival :)
There were many great sessions on offer, and I found that I
learnt something new even at sessions I've attended in previous years - This is particularly true of Pilar
Alessandra's classes, that woman just had a natural talent of inspiring magic
in the writery brain!
I was lucky enough to be chosen for two of this year's LSF
initiatives:
Firstly, 'Blink!' was chosen for the 'Writing Fantastical
TV' Script Mentoring Lab with ex-NBC/Paramount executive Steve La Rue. Everyone
was extremely complementary about the project and Steve even said "it's
Buffy for the modern teen!" (He helped get Buffy on our screens) (Now I
need to watch Buffy!) I was very impressed by all the other projects and their
writers - Alex Kelaru, Amy Amani, David Young, Keith Storrier and Rachel Howard
- each show was a completely different and fresh take on the sci-fi genre. Well
done all!
My sitcom 'See You In Honolulu' was also chosen for the
Actors Table Read! This is a show that's written around the real-life character
of my Greek-Cypriot Granddad, so I was intrigued to see what poor unsuspecting
actor-dude would be tasked with playing him! Luckily I was given Ben
Gardner-Gray who gave an excellent portrayal. Actresses Moshana Kahn and Yonah
Odoom took on the roles of Elle and Charlie and the piece was directed by the
wonderful Leslie Manning. It was great to see everybody chuckling at my words
as they bought them to life! Thank you!
My favourite session this year? I have to pick two! Firstly
the script-to-screen of 'Silence of the Lambs' with writer Ted Tally. I was a
little embarrassed to admit I'd never seen the film before but now I'm really
glad I hadn't! It was wonderful to watch the film with 200 other writers, all
gasping a shrieking in the right places while hearing Ted's musings. The script-to-screen of 'Finding Nemo' with
its writer David Reynolds was a special experience for me. This is a movie that
gave me a warmth of comfort when I first went to University at the age of 18 -
A time where I felt completely lost much like little Nemo! I always hear Dory's
"Just Keep Swimming" in my head when I need to remind myself to keep
on going - especially in my screenwriting career. It was a pleasure to shake
Dave's hand and thank him for a movie that means so much...
Thanks again to Chris Jones and the LSF for another three
amazing days of inspiration! x
