15/07/2014 - Multiple-award-winning screenwriters to share their experiences with the public

Leading screenwriters James Schamus, Emma Thompson and Steven Knight, who between them boast seven BAFTA and Oscar nominations and multiple awards for their screenplays, will feature in the annual The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and the BFI (British Film Institute) Screenwriters’ Lecture Series. 

Writer and producer James Schamus (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Ice Storm, Lust Caution, Brokeback Mountain) will start the season off on 18 September at BFI Southbank in London. Writer and actress Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility, Nanny McPhee [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) takes to the stage at BFI Southbank on 20 September, and writer and director Steven Knight (Dirty Pretty Things [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Eastern Promises [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Peaky Blinders, Locke [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]) will follow on 29 September at BAFTA Headquarters.

Screenwriter and BAFTA member Jeremy Brock (Mrs Brown, The Last King of Scotland [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), who programmed the season, said: “It is the screenwriter who creates the blueprint for what we eventually see and experience on screen. The complex relationship between screenplay and completed film comes under vivid scrutiny this year, as we invite an impressive line-up of speakers combining their screenwriting talents with equally successful pursuits in directing, producing and acting.” 

John Willis, deputy chairman of BAFTA, said: “Our initial trio of speakers boast credits across a range of genres – from action to romance, from thriller to family, and from original screenplays to adaptations. BAFTA is thrilled to welcome these brilliant screenwriters to share the benefit of their vast experience with a public audience.”