In celebration of all things writerly, the Austin Film Festival and Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference opens its eighth annual season October 11-18. The conference, which dominates the first weekend, brings together industry professionals to conduct in more than 70 panels, seminars, and roundtables devoted to the scriptwriting process. This year’s recipient of the Distinguished Screenwriter Award will be writer/director/producer Lawrence Kasdan (Body Heat, The Big Chill). Heart of Film also sponsors a nationally renowned screen- and teleplay competition.

The rest of the fest is divided into competition and non-competition screenings. A dozen features will contend for the top prizes (the real prize for hopefuls, of course, is to be picked up for distribution). The festival also will feature midnight shows and an Austin Filmmakers Showcase. Perhaps the biggest draw of the week will be the non-competition films, including Novocaine, a black comedy starring Steve Martin; Guillermo Del Toro’s Spanish-language, supernatural Devil’s Backbone; and Griffin Dunne’s latest, Lisa Picard Is Famous.

See next week’s Film Listings for a more complete schedule, or call 800/310-FEST.

This article appears in September 28 • 2001.

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A graduate of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas, Kimberley has written about film, books, and pop culture for The Austin Chronicle since 2000. She was named Editor of the Chronicle in 2016; she previously served as the paper’s Managing Editor, Screens Editor, Books Editor, and proofreader. Her work has been awarded by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for excellence in arts criticism, team reporting, and special section (Best of Austin). The Austin Alliance for Women...