Call for submissions: Adapt This! screenwriting conference

STUDIO, the year-round TIFF Industry programming for professional development, is now accepting applications for Adapt This!, a three-day professional development conference on adaptation. Fifteen writers and fifteen producers will take part in engaging seminars and workshops, followed by an opportunity to pitch and acquire adapted products. Applying and/or participating in the conference is free of charge.

The conference will be open to fifteen mid-career producers who are actively looking to option a property, and fifteen writers who have written adaptation(s) and are looking for a literary agent and/or a producer. Both authors looking to adapt their novels into a feature film or documentary, and screenwriters with completed or adapted scripts nearing completion, are encouraged to apply. Producers and writers must have a minimum of one feature film and/or two short film credits. Novelists should have a minimum of one published work to their name.

The conference takes place at TIFF Bell Lightbox during TIFF Kids Industry programming to take advantage of increased industry presence and networking opportunities, but the content will not be exclusively about children and youth.

During the conference, filmmakers, producers, screenwriters, publishers and lawyers will talk about the collaborative process that goes into adapting a book or a play, and the creative choices required to create a true “adaptation.” The discussion will cover: relationships between publisher, scriptwriter, producer and the director; adaptations based on true stories, biographies and fiction; legal: the US vs. Europe.

Offering an in-depth look into the business and at the challenges of adapting literature, Adapt This! provides Ontario's top writing talent and media creators with the professional development skills and networking opportunities they require to adapt books to screen.

The conference takes place Monday, April 15, Tuesday, April 16 and Saturday April 20. The deadline to apply is Friday, March 22nd at 5pm.


ADAPT THIS! SCHEDULE

Section 1: Professional Development

Monday, April 15: An in-depth exploration of all aspects of book adaptations across different mediums. Topics discussed will range from the evolution of literary adaptations, the adaptation process from optioning to the screen to case studies on multiplatform adaptations.

9:00pm–10:00pm - Breakfast Meet and Greet
10:00am–11:00am - Panel: the Evolution of Literary Adaptations for the Screen
11:00am–12:00pm - Case Study: Book to film
12:00pm–1:00pm - Networking Lunch
1:00pm–2:00pm - Case Study: Television Adaptation Case Study
2:00pm–3:00pm - Case Study: Documentary Adaptation

Section 2: Pitch Preparation

Tuesday, April 16: In separate sessions, writers will learn to pitch to literary agents and producers, while producers uncover all aspects of the legal process behind adaptation. Participants will have the opportunity to put these skills to use in our Pitch and Acquisitions sessions on Saturday.

10:00am–11:00am - Pitching for Writers
11:00am–12:00pm - Legal for Writers
12:00pm–1:00pm - Networking Lunch
1:00pm–2:00pm - Legal for Producers
4:00pm–5:30pm - Panel: Adventures in Adaptation in Children's Literature

Section 3: Pitch and Acquisitions

Saturday, April 20: Adapt This! will wrap with a full day of networking opportunities consisting of individual meetings scheduled between attending writers, literary agents, publishers and producers. Writers will have the opportunity to pitch to literary agents while producers discuss potential acquisition deals.

10:00am–12:00pm - Writers Meet with the Literary Agents
12:00pm–1:00pm - Networking Lunch
1:00pm–3:00pm - Producers Meet with the Literary Agents

Link to application: http://www.tfaforms.com/274891