New Year New Look

We’re well into 2010 at this point, so it’s time to open up the windows on the Conference site, and change the linen. I’ve updated the site to different look, and the new banner is courtesy of the lovely Amélie Clement, who continues to work for the Federation of Screenwriters in Europe with dedication. There [...]

Joint Activity Programme – IAWG/FSE

The Board of the FSE and the PRG of the IAWG have discussed the strengthening working relationships between the two organisations, which have grown quickly following the solidarity campaigns of guilds around the world with their colleagues in the writers’ strike in the United States which ended in February 2008, and which will be further [...]

World Screenwriters Declaration

In the new digitised and globalised world, we screenwriters have today come together, in Athens Greece, to discuss our central role in the creation of the stories that are carried with such impact to the world’s myriad screens and to people’s minds and hearts. Stories influence our behaviour and shape our culture. They help us [...]

Cocktail farewell

Participants of the conference are invited to a Cocktail reception on the 10th floor of the Titania Hotel at 8pm. Enjoy a drink with your colleagues before you say goodbye.

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 [...]

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 [...]

Day one: overview

Day one of the conference is now over. It’s been a long day, with lively debates about the state of the film and television industries, the advent of new media, and prognostications about their future(s). At times people became passionate about the subject, which is a good reaction, because this is something in which we [...]

This afternoon’s session

After lunch, the first discussion will kick off at 2.30pm, and end at 3.30pm. FIRST DEBATE: Working with directors (the first of two debates on issues of particular interest to writers) Whose film is it anyway and what does it matter? • Stanislav Semerdjiev, FSE board member (chair) • Srdjan Koljevic, Peter Hedges, Scott Alexander, [...]

Conference is underway

Due to the traffic in Athens the conference is running approximately half an hour late. We’re only a hour into the event, and already many serious issues facing screenwriters across the globe are being delved into. Christina Kallas, president of the FSE, and Michael Winship, President of the WGA (East), introduced the event and welcomed [...]

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 [...]

Tour schedule reminder

Just a reminder to participants of the World Conference of Screenwriters to meet outside the Titania Hotel today at 4.30pm sharp. Buses will take you to a short excursion at the Acropolis and the Parthenon, followed by a special tour and reception at the New Acropolis Museum. Further details are available on the social events [...]

Information on social events

If you check out the conference menu page you’ll see I’ve added a page on the social events that will be organised around the conference. There will be an exciting trip to and reception at the fantastic New Acropolis Museum on Thursday evening, and a farewell reception on the Saturday evening, where a cocktail or [...]

More conference information

There’s been a slight re-organisation of the main menu on the conference blog as more information is added for the benefit of our participants. There’s a new conference tab, which drops down a list of other pages of information on the following subjects: Contact – Food – Hotel – Registration – Travel – Venue. More [...]

Final agenda for the conference online

The final Agenda for the World Conference of Screenwriters has been released. It includes the programme of discussions, and the speakers assigned to them. You can read the Agenda on our site, download it, or download and/or embed it into your blogs from Scribd or .docstoc.

A note from Vicenzo Cerami

Unfortunately, Italian screenwriter Vicenzo Cerami will not be able to attend the conference. However, he has sent us a message about his experiences with screenwriting, along with some advice, and we hope you will find it inspiring. I’m a creature of the set. I discovered cinema with Pier Paolo Pasolini, working with him first as [...]

Weather watch

As we get closer to the conference I’m sure many of our attendees are beginning to wonder what the weather might be like in Athens in early November. My research indicates that the average high is 18.1°C (65°F) and the average low is 9.8°C (50°F), with the average monthly precipitation being 58.3 mm (2.3 inches). [...]

social media networking

The first World Conference of Screenwriters will not only provide delegates with the opportunity to physically meet and discuss issues that affect them directly, it also offers them the chance to network and create a global community of screenwriters. To facilitate this the Conference has an event page on two of the most popular social [...]

An online calendar

I’ve created a public Google Calendar for the World Conference of Screenwriters, which should be of use to those of you who use Gmail for your electronic communication. You will need to own a Gmail account to use it. To add it to your personal Google Calendar just click on this link for the World [...]

Press page

There is a new menu tab above for Press, which brings all our relevant documents and material together in one handy page. It includes download links for the draft agenda, as well as our press releases. It also has a sub-menu that allows you to view the first and second press release in a more [...]

Translation and wifi

Since the World Conference of Screenwriters is an international event I’ve added handy shortcuts on the right-hand side of the blog to translate the entries: click on the flag that best represents your language. Hopefully the crude translations by machines will render these words legible! We’ve been advised by our Greek colleagues that there will [...]