Wisconsin Screenwriters' Symposium

2024 Isthmus Pick: If the Wisconsin Film Festival inspired you to create films of your own, this new collaboration by the UW Department of Communication Arts and the International Screenwriters' Association is certainly providentially timed. Workshops take place at 3 and 4:30 p.m., April 12-13, on the basics of screenwriting, breaking into the film industry, making a pitch, and the overall process of taking a screenplay to a film. It’s free and no registration is needed; find more info below, and updates at commarts.wisc.edu.

media release: The second annual Wisconsin Screenwriters’ Symposium (WSS), is Friday, April 4 through Sunday, April 6, 2025 on the University of Wisconsin - Madison campus.

In partnership with the UW Madison Department of Communication Arts, the Symposium will be hosting industry experts to discuss the art and craft of screenwriting and how writers can break into the ever-changing entertainment industry.

The Symposium will include a Pitch Event for writers to pitch story ideas live to a panel of working producers as well as a live table read by professional actors of the winning screenplay from this year’s inaugural Wisconsin’s Own Screenplay Competition. 

Guest speakers include:

·      Deirdre Brenner; Animation Producer, Screenwriter and Nicholl Semifinalist. Credits include Rick & Morty

·      Kelly Jo Brick; Screenwriter, Sundance Fellow and Vice Chair of the Writers Guild of America (West) Genre Committee. Credits include Momentum Of Life

·      Jason Rothenburg; Showrunner, Producer & Screenwriter, Credits include The 100

·      Michael Graf; Screenwriter, Director, Emmy Award winner and Nicholl Semifinalist. Credits include Green & Gold

·      Jeffrey Kurz; Producer, Writer, Educator and former Development Executive with Miramax Films. Credits include Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers

·      Ken Miyamoto; Producer and Screenwriter. Credits include Hunter’s Creed

·      Max Timm; Author, Screenwriter & Director of Education for the International Screenwriters Association. Credits include The Wishkeeper

·      John Mossman; Actor, Director & Writer. Credits include Good Guy With A Gun

·      Angie Gaffney; Producer & Co-founder of 521 Films. Credits include Monuments

Aaron Greer, Associate Professor of Film and Media Production at UW-Madison and cofounder of the Symposium says, “In the spirit of the Wisconsin Idea and our goal of supporting the growth of storytellers and stories, the Department of Communication Arts is excited to host the symposium for the second time.”

Greer developed WSS along with Michael Graf, Emmy Award winning filmmaker and a screenwriter of Green and Gold, starring Craig T. Nelson. Graf says, “We want to support, educate and champion Wisconsin and midwestern screenwriters, regardless of where they are in their career. We hope to expand, elevate and celebrate these new voices - something desperately needed in the industry.” 

For a full list of biographies, program offerings and registration, visit screenwriters.commarts.wisc.edu. Click here for the schedule.