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About Us
FILM FESTIVAL EVENTS
The Script Factory has long had a tradition of staging live interview events in partnership with premier film festivals in the UK (including Edinburgh and London), as well as internationally at Rio, Berlin, Gothenburg, Warsaw and Cannes. Previously known as The Script Factory: SCENE, these sessions have seen us on stage with some of the greatest names in contemporary cinema.
From 2006, we added a Training strand to SCENE, SCENE insiders - funded by the MEDIA programme and designed to get European film professionals thinking about better script development through workshops and masterclasses.
Gwyneth Paltrow is our SCENE Patron To have a look at previous SCENE programmes, scroll down to the foot of this page. And if you're curious about what the filmmakers had to say on stage you can read extracts from transcripts of many of the sessions we stage at SCENE in London and beyond by looking at our page.
In addition to international Festival audiences, SCENE was joined by a new supporter in 2004 - Gwyneth Paltrow became our SCENE Patron. Read what Gwyneth said about her decision to join us here.
SCENE - the history!
Photo: Andreas Boehmig
Anthony Minghella relaxes on stage for The Script Factory in Berlin 2003We've staged SCENE programmes since 2000 and our previous programmes have attracted an incredible range of speakers including writers and directors from Anthony Minghella to Robert Altman, from Francois Ozon to Alfonso Cuaron, and from Mira
Nair to Spike Lee.
SCENE and Festival Events in 2008
Our final SCENE Insiders programme was in Gothenburg in 2008 – where we scooped events with Istvan Szabo (Colonel Redl, Meeting Venus, Mephisto, Being Julia) and Hou Hsiao-Hsien (Café Lumière, Three Times, Le Voyage du Ballon Rouge).
SCENE in 2007
In Gothenburg we took the stage with Stellan Skarsgård talking about his roles in films as varied as Pirates of the Caribbean and Breaking The Waves. Legendary producer Saul Zaentz joined us for a masterclass about his back catalogue from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and Amadeus to The English Patient.
In Edinburgh we interviewed Roger Goldby and Sarah Sulick who wrote/directed and produced The Waiting Room; had an exclusive session with Mike White (The Good Girl, Year of the Dog), and Christopher Hampton (Atonement).
In London we staged masterclassses with Harmony Korine, Todd Haynes, Steve Buscemi, and Andrew Dominik (plus a preview of The Assassination of Jesse James).
SCENE in 2006
In Gothenburg we put Bent Hamer (Factotum), and Jean-Marc Vallée (C.R.A.Z.Y) on stage.
At Edinburgh we were joined by Tony Grisoni (Brothers of the Head, Lives of the Saints, In This World); Lynda Myles (The Commitments, Killing Me Softly); and Brian W Cook (Colour Me Kubrick).
Back in London, we staged two major masterclasses with John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Shortbus) and Paul Verhoeven (RoboCop, Total Recall, Black Book).
We ended the year in Warsaw with Hans-Christian Schmid (Distant Lights, Requiem) and Lukasz Karwowski (South by North aka Poludnie – Polnoc)
SCENE in 2005
In Gothenburg, we had the pleasure of staging events with actor/director Charles Dance and the inspirational combo of Jim Taylor and Alexander Payne (Election, Sideways).
At Cannes we put Tim Bevan, Gurinder Chadha and Stephen Frears through their paces.
In Edinburgh we staged a range of public and industry events with the teams behind Battle In Heaven and On A Clear Day, and the Oscar-winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker.
Finally in 2005 we headed for Warsaw with help from producer Tanya Seghatchian, screenwriter Paul Fraser and the legendary Wim Wenders - then came home to stage our flagship SCENE programme as part of The Times BFI London Film Festival, including sessions from musician-turned-screenwriter, Nick Cave, Oscar-winning writer-turned-director Julian Fellowes; focusses on Festival films ranging from Factotum and Stoned to Unknown White Male and Lemming; and masterclasses from Stephen Daldry and Michael Caton Jones.
SCENE IN 2004
We kicked off at Gothenburg with workshops and masterclasses with Roger Michell (The Mother, Notting Hill)and Christoffer Boe (Reconstruction).
We were in Berlin in February for the 2004 Berlinale where we took part in the Talent Campus - a week of events for international filmmaking talent – with a Script Clinic, an international development forum, and a focus on Daniel Burman - the acclaimed Argentine writer/director whose latest venture was to co-produce Walter Salles' Motorcycle Diaries.
Summer 2004 saw us in Edinburgh where we staged events with the team behind Brit drama Yasmin, and Paul Laverty, acclaimed for his work screenwriting for Ken Loach.
SCENE continued in October with a programme in Warsaw featuring Andrzej Wajda, Emily Young and Nick Broomfield, before we hit London with a pre-SCENE event featuring Zach Braff talking about Garden State, before we launched into our week of filmmaking activity. Festival speakers ranging from Mike Leigh and Margaret Atwood to David O Russell, joined Annette K. Olesen (In Your Hands), Danny Boyle Millions, and Khlebnikov and Popogrebsky (Koktebel).
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Photo: Peter Ross EIFF
Robyn Slovo (right) with Lianna Dognini, Sam Morton & Lynne Ramsay after a sneak preview of Morvern Callar, then a work in progress
Since its inception in 2000 our SCENE sessions have focussed on screenwriting but have included onstage gems from actors like Charlotte Rampling and Kerry Fox, to Ed Norton and Samantha Morton. SCENE has also championed producers including Saul Zaentz, Tim Bevan and Duncan Kenworthy.
Photo: Fiona Fouhy
Suzanne Bier and Mads Mikkelsen talk about the Dogme Open Hearts during SCENE London 2002
SCENE has prided itself on an international outlook with contributions from the cream of international filmmaking talent from Dominik Moll and Tom Tykwer, to Thomas Vinterberg, Fernando Meirelles and Suzanne Bier. Alongside all this, SCENE has also celebrated the best of British talent with sessions from Frank Cottrell Boyce, John Madden, Oliver Parker, Julian Fellowes, Gurinder Chadha, Julien Temple, Richard Curtis, Jonathan Glazer, Roger Michell, David Hare,Lee Hall, and Graham Swift among many others.
As well as focussing on creative individuals, SCENE has explored general topics (from creative producing to partnerships), and catered for diverse audiences from experienced writers to young wannabes.
Photo: Fiona Fouhy
Young writers enjoy SCENE London 2002
Have a look at The Script Factory's early SCENE Programmes (These documents require Adobe Acrobat Reader):
2006
The Times BFI 50th London Film Festival London 2006
2005
The Times bfi London Film Festival London 2005
Edinburgh International Fim FestivalEdinburgh 2005.
2004
Gothenburg Film Festival Goteborg 2004
Berlinale Talent Campus Berlin 2004
Edinburgh International Fim Festival Edinburgh 2004
The Times bfi London Film Festival London 2004
2003
The Times bfi London Film Festival Scene London 2003
Edinburgh International Film Festival 1 2
Cannes Film Festival 1
Berlinale Talent Campus 1 2
Gothenburg Film Festival 1 2
2002
Regus London Film Festival 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Festival Do Rio, Brasil 1
Edinburgh International Film Festival 1 2
International Filmfestspiele Berlin 1 2 3 4 5
Festival Do Rio, Brasil 1 2 3
Edinburgh International Film Festival 1 2
2000
Regus London Film Festival 1 2
Edinburgh International Film Festival 1 2 3
Photo: Fiona Fouhy
Tim Bevan & Eric Fellner talk about their winning partnership for SCENE London 2002
Photo: Angela Bergling
Legendary producer Saul Zaentz in conversation with Peter Cowie during a 2002 Script Factory masterclass in Berlin