This afternooon’s activities

Lunch ends at 2.30pm, and the next panel runs until 3.30pm. WRITERS RESPONSE I: Interventions on writers issues • Chuck Slocum, associate executive director of the WGA West will outline the American deal following the strike Robert Staats, managing director of VG Wort will examine the complex question of reciprocity and multi-territory licences • Cécile [...]

Participant profile: Lars Boom

We leave Greece temporarily to travel to the Netherlands to meet Lars Boom. Lars Boom has been writing since 1990 for television, film and theatre. In theatre he has written musical plays like the award-winning In the shadow of Brel (about Jacques Brel through the eyes of his driver and friend Jojo) and two libretti [...]

This morning’s agenda

The bus will leave at 9am in front of the Titania hotel. The first session will take place from 9.30am – 10.45am CONGLOMERATES AND OTHER PLAYERS I: Role of the multinational conglomerates in the digital future Will the multinational conglomerates continue to dominate production and distribution worldwide or will the telecoms, ISPs etc. step in [...]

Acropolis photos

I’ve added some photographs to the Conference’s Event page on Facebook, and I’ve also created a Picasa Album with some of my images. The low light comined with my average camera meant that they are good for viewing on the web only.I spotted a number of fancy gadgets among the conference members so I’m sure [...]

Tomorrow morning’s schedule

Tomorrow the bus leaves the Titania Hotel at 8.45am for the conference venue. The first session will begin at 9.30am and run until 10.30am Opening session: GLOBAL CHALLENGE Welcoming speeches and opening of the conference • Representatives of the Greek Government and Government Agencies • Michael Winship, chair of IAWG/president of WGA East • Christina [...]

Participant profile: Francesco Ranieri Martinotti

On the eve of the conference it’s time to meet Italian film director Francesco Ranieri Martinotti. Francesco is a film director, an independent producer and recently the director of Festivals such as France Odeon in Florence. He started in the industry in the ‘90s and with his production company Iterfilm, and its films quickly won [...]

Participant profile: Marcílio Moraes

We’re just in time to meet with Brazilian writer Marcílio Moraes. Marcílio was born in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and writes short stories, novels and screenplays for television. He has written for famous Brazilian soap operas (known as telenovels) like Roque Santeiro, Noivas de Copabacana, Mandala, and Roda de Fogo among others. Recently he [...]

Participant profile: Stefano Rulli

We jaunt over to Italy, to say ciao to Stefano Rulli. Stefano was born in Rome, and after graduating in Literature with a thesis on ‘Neorealism and the Cinema Critic’ in 1974, he organised the conference on Neorealism at the Mostra del Nuovo Cinema in Pesaro.  He wrote the book Polanski and began to contribute [...]

Participant profile: Eylem Kaftan

It’s over to Turkey now to meet screenwriter Eylem Kaftan. Eylem was born in Turkey, she completed a B.A. in Philosophy at Bogazici University in Istanbul and a Masters degree in Cinema at York University in 2002. At York University, she worked as a teaching assistant and wrote her thesis on the identity crisis in [...]

Participant profile: Anne Hogben

We alight in England this morning to meet Anne Hogben. Anne is the Deputy General Secretary of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, where she has worked for over ten years.  Every day she advises members on problems with  contracts, producers, broadcasters, agents, publishers and sometimes their fellow writers.  Addressing issues early on and having [...]

Participant profile: Tilman Scheel

In Germany we find out more about the Managing Director of Reelport GmbH, Tilman Scheel. Tilman was born in Hanover, and studied art history and law in Hamburg and Berlin. In 2001 Tilman became a lawyer with Arthur Andersen and Ernst&Young consultants, his areas of expertise being company and media law. In July 2004 he [...]

Participant profile: Sebastian Andrae

It’s over to German screenwriter Sebastian Andrae. Sebastian was born in Hamburg, and studied history, German studies and law in Göttingen. From 1992 on he studied at the HFF (University of Television and Film) in Munich, Germany. While studying he worked as a freelancer for a German newspaper and as a comedian and gag writer [...]

Participant profile: Arvind Ethan David

This morning we bid hello to Arvind Ethan David, CEO and a Producer at Slingshot. Arvind co-founded Slingshot, the next generation film company, in 2005. He leads both business and creative strategy for the company, and has served as a producer on all of the company’s films to date – Sugarhouse, Faintheart, French Film, Tormented [...]

Participant profile: Jochen Greve

In Germany, we meet screenwriter Jochen Greve. Jochen was born in Bielefeld, Germany, and studied Communication Studies, Theatre Studies and History at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (MA). He worked as an assistant director, cameraman, editor, location manager as well as a production manager and producer for various academic films and television movies. Since the mid 1980s [...]

Participant profile: Răzvan Rădulescu

Today we meet screenwriter Răzvan Rădulescu. Răzvan studied Literature and Opera Directing in Bucharest. Afterwards he wrote two novels and worked as an art director for magazines. In 1999 he started to write for films, among which are the award-winning Stuff and Dough (Cristi Puiu, 2001), Niki and Flo (Lucian Pintilie, 2003), The Paper will [...]

Participant profile: Philipp Weinges

We arrive back in Germany to meet screenwriter and producer Philipp Weinges. In the late 80s Philipp Weinges started writing German-dubbed versions of American sitcoms. After attending Robert McKee’s seminar ‘Story structure’ he sold his first script Alone among women (1991), which became a major German box office hit. In the 90s, together with Günter [...]

Participant profile: Leora Kamenetzky

We zip into Israel today, where we can meet screenwriter and director Leora Kamenetzky. Leora studied at the Tel Aviv University and at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. Since then she has  worked mainly in the field of television drama and has created  the following successful series: Alex (2008), Dog’s Life (2006), Adumot [...]

Participant profile: Michael Gubbins

We land in the UK and meet Micheal Gubbins. Michael is a consultant and journalist specialising in film and digital change in the media. He has been working with international business and organisations including BAFTA, the Swedish Film Institute, the International Film Festival Rotterdam, CineRegio, Europa Cinemas, UK Film Council, UK Industry Trust, Hogarth Pictures [...]

Participant profile: Henner Merle

It’s time to meet German legal expert Henner Merle Henner has studied German, European and International  law in Münster, Paris and Berlin. He was a Scientific Assistant at the Institute  for International and European Law at Berlin Humboldt University from 1993 – 1995, and founded his own law firm in 1998. From 2004 – 2009 [...]

Participant profile: Mark O’Halloran

We arrive in Ireland, early, to meet screenwriter and actor Mark O’Halloran. Mark was born in Ennis Co. Clare, Ireland. His first feature film screenplay, Adam & Paul (2004), won ten international awards, including the London Evening Standard award for Best Screenplay, and the European Film Award for Best Screenwriter. He followed it with the [...]