Archive for the 'Film' Category

Short Story Film Festival: ‘Enemy Lines’ in New York

Published by
Fiona Veitch Smith
at 18 November 2009 in Announcements, Film, film festivals, screenwriting, short films and short stories. 4 Comments

My short film Enemy Lines is about to cross the Atlantic. Director Mike Steel and I are honoured to have been chosen to showcase our film at the Short Short Story Film Festival in New York,  this Saturday 21 November 2009, then the following Saturday on the 28th.

Short short story film festival

Festival organisers, Merging Art Productions, ask: 

How do filmmakers tell a story in less than five minutes? Not just trailers, music videos, or experimental projects, but honest-to-goodness beginning-middle-end stories?

The Short Short Story Film Festival celebrates brevity in filmmaking, featuring films from across the globe. For more information visit the festival website

Screenwriting: Writing for the Camera

Published by
Fiona Veitch Smith
at 3 August 2009 in Film, Filmmaker interviews and screenwriting. 5 Comments

It’s an oft-quoted maxim in screenwriting that one should never write camera directions into a script. On the other hand, writers are encouraged to write as if viewing the scene through the camera lens. How does one achieve this apparently contradictory feat? The Crafty Writer asked writer / director John Allen to give us some tips.

Writer/director John Allen
Continue reading ‘Screenwriting: Writing for the Camera’

SoCal Film Festival – semi-finalist

Published by
Fiona Veitch Smith
at 31 July 2009 in Announcements, Film and screenwriting. 2 Comments

My feature screenplay Another Man’s Shoes has just been announced as a semi-finalist in the SoCal Independent Film Festival in California. Finalists to be announced on 7 August. If I get selected I’ll be heading over there to meet agents and producers :)

And all of this on the back of a very successful festival run for Enemy Lines at the Rushes Soho Shorts Festival. We didn’t win, but certainly held our own.

Rushes Soho Short Film Festival

Published by
Fiona Veitch Smith
at 13 July 2009 in Announcements, Competitions, Film, Scriptwriting and screenwriting. 11 Comments

My film, Enemy Lines, has been selected in the short film category at this year’s Rushes Soho Shorts Festival:

soho shorts film festival

140 new films from 18 countries will be competing in 8 categories:  Long Form, International, Newcomer, Short Film, Documentary, Animation, Music Video and Broadcast Design. The Official Competition Screenings will be held at The Institute of Contemporary Arts in central London.  The Awards Ceremony will be held on Thursday 30th July 2009.

enemy lines short film

Enemy Lines will be screened on Thursday 23 July (6.30pm , Cinema 1; Saturday 25 July (9pm, Cinema 2) and Wednesday 29 July (9pm, Cinema 1). 

Other films to be screened at the festival include Sadie Frost’s Directorial Debut, Danny Boyles End Credit Sequence for Slumdog Millionaire, actors such as Michael Bryne (Gangs of New York), Juliet Stevenson (Bend It Like Beckham), Nick Nolte (Hotel Rwanda, 48 Hours), Connie Fischer (Sound Of Music), Russel Tovey (Being Human), Chris Hehir (Green Street), Danny Cunningham (24 Hour Party People), Jack O’Connell (This is England), comedians such as Adam Buxton Lulu McClatchy and Alexei Sayle, and music videos from McFly to Royskopp, Will Young to Goldfrapp, Coldplay and U2 and many more.

Having grown dramatically every year since its inauguration in 1998, this year’s festival runs over 10 days and offers a wide range of events including the Opening Night Premiere ‘The Calling’, BAFTA Short Filmmakers Market, seminars, panel discussions, guest screening programmes, receptions and exhibitions held in 15 different venues in Soho district.

All events and full booking details can be found on their website:  www.sohoshorts.com.

I’ll be going down for the Wednesday screening and will be meeting up with my director, Michael Steel. Please let me know if you’re going to any of the screenings.

How to get your short film onto the festival circuit

Published by
Fiona Veitch Smith
at 29 June 2009 in Business of Writing, Film and screenwriting. 0 Comments

If like me you’ve written a screenplay and been lucky enough to have had it made, you’ll be wondering what to do next. Does your film have a life beyond the first screening? Yes, on the festival circuit. But some producers and / or directors may not seem too keen to do the legwork involved in getting it onto the circuit (fortunately my director is, and ‘Enemy Lines’ has just been nominated for the Best Short Film at this year’s Rushes Soho Short Film Festival - but more of that in another post). If that’s the case with you, perhaps you should consider distributing your film yourself (check with your producer first that you have the right to do so). And of course, if you’re an independent who has written, directed and produced your film, you’ll need to do it anyway.  Screenwriter Keith Jewitt gives us some advice on how to go about it.
Continue reading ‘How to get your short film onto the festival circuit’