Conference 2022 Screenwriting Research Network

Call for Papers

 

  

14th Screenwriting Research Network International Conference:
 

Globalizing Screenwriting

 

22nd-24th September 2022

Department of Theatre, Film and Media Studies, University of Vienna, Austria

UZA II-Rotunde, Althanstraße 14, 1090 Wien

 

Film Academy Vienna,
 
Anton-von-Webern-Platz 1, 1030 Wien

 

 

Essential Information:

 

Deadline for abstracts: 15th December 2021

 

Shortlisting/notification of acceptance by: End of January 2022

Early-bird registration:                               From early March until end of May 2022

Regular registration by:                             Mid-July 2022

Late registration by:                                   End of August 2022

 

Submissions via email and contact: stephanie.schwarz@univie.ac.at

 

 

 

Call for Papers:

The SRN is comprised of scholars, writers, and practice-based researchers. Started in 2006, the network has achieved a substantial critical mass over the years – _currently counting 700 members from 50+ countries.

The aim of the annual International Conference is to continue, and expand, discussions around the screenplay and to strengthen a rapidly emerging, and global, research network. So far, they have taken place in Leeds (2008), Helsinki (2009), Copenhagen (2010), Brussels (2011), Sydney (2012), Madison-Wisconsin (2013), Potsdam-Babelsberg (2014), London (2015), Leeds (2016), Dunedin (2017), Milan (2018) and Porto (2019) and due to pandemic online, organized by Oxford Brookes in 2021.

For more Information, please visit our website: http://screenwritingresearch.com

 

 

Theme: Globalizing screenwriting

Throughout the long and troubled history of Europe, migration and immigration influenced the continent. European filmmakers began to leave for Hollywood. Their enduring impact on American cinema cannot be overrated and lingers to this day. Vice versa migration into Europe has had an enormous effect on European film production, both historically speaking and even more so in recent times. The specific mixture of storytelling modes in diasporic cinema, or what Hamid Naficy calls “accented cinema” is a major point of investigation for screenwriting studies.

Taking these simple facts as starting points the conference wants to discuss the conditions of screenwriting in a globalized world. The dominance of “western” paradigms as well as the influence of modes of narration from the Global South, both historically and recently are the main topics of the conference. These mutually influences should be discussed on personal, structural, theoretical and practical levels.

We are thus particularly interested in abstracts for presentations on (but not limited to) the following topics:

 

  • Is there a universality of screenwriting and storytelling?

  • How does Europe/Hollywood/the Global South tell (its) stories? Are there a different or similar way of screenwriting?

  • How does migrant filmmaking and screenwriting change the narrative structure of films?

  • Where can the influence of European screenwriters be detected beyond Hollywood? (India, North Africa, South America etc.)

  • How does Hollywood’s mode of storytelling repress other modes?

  • How toxic is the doxa? Paradigms of screenwriting and their global hegemony

  • Should screenwriting be de-colonized? What would that mean?

  • How does international public film funding influence modes of storytelling und screenwriting?

  • How does transnational cinema change screenwriting?

  • Diasporic cinema and its modes of screenwriting

  • Screenwriting teachers “gurus” and their influence around the globe

  • Multiple language screenplays

  • The influence of international festivals on the establishment of screenwriting conventions

  • Historical migration of screenwriters and screenwriting teachers

 

However, the above is not intended to be prescriptive and proposals for presentations beyond the theme of the conference are also welcome. The aim of the SRN being to foster research that rethinks the screenplay in relation to its histories, theories, values and creative practices, any proposal underpinned by such research will be considered.

 

Submission of abstracts/proposals

 

Proposals/Abstracts can be sent as either a Word or PDF document: please indicate yourname PROPOSALTYPE yourname (i.e. paper, panel, or videoessay; see below) clearly in the file title and in the subject heading of your submission.

 

Format of presentations/abstracts

 

After the cancelling of the 2020 conference and the online seminar series we are planning a face-to face conference, the first since Porto 2019.

 

All presentations, regardless of format, must therefore be delivered in person (i.e. no pre-recorded presentations), in English, and be underpinned by original research work being conducted by the presenter (i.e. no recycling/repetitions from previous SRN or other conferences). Multiple presenters (max. 2) for co-written papers are allowed.

 

We accept proposals for presentations in the following formats: 

 

Individual papers

 

Proposals for traditional 20-minute papers, followed by Q&A. They should include:

 

  • Title 

  • Author’s name

  • Affiliation (university, independent, practitioner, etc.)

  • Contact details

  • Abstract (max. 300 words)

  • 4-6 keywords

  • short bio (max 150 words), detailing your research activity, publications and/or screenwriting practice.

 

Pre-constituted panels

 

3 individual papers + Q&A (as per guidelines above) on a shared topic. Proposals for pre-constituted panels can be submitted by any of the presenters or the Chair of the panel and should include:

 

  • title of the panel

  • brief outline (100 words maximum) of the overall topic 

  • abstracts of all the presentations – no more than 3 papers.

 

Abstracts should follow the guidelines for individual papers as above and include short bios and contact details of both the speakers and the panel Chair. Wherever possible, the Chair should NOT be one of the presenters. If a proposal for a pre-constituted panel does not include a Chair, the Conference Committee will appoint one.

All proposals should indicate “Panel Proposal SRN 2022 in the file title and in the subject heading of the submission email.

 

Audiovisual essays

 

Proposals are invited to present an audiovisual essay of 15 minutes maximum, in which the presenter(s) express a position on one of the above topics. It should NOT be a recording of a traditional paper presentation nor an experimental film; rather, it is an audiovisual discourse on a theoretical position. Essays can be submitted both individually or in panels of 3 videos grouped thematically (see guidelines above). Note: the presence of the presenter at the conference is required.

 

 

Shortlisting

 

We warmly recommend that the abstracts be as well-drafted as possible with a well-defined research question, a clear focus, and a short summary of the intended content of the presentation at the time of submission.

We aim to notify acceptance/rejection of proposals by the end of January 2022.

 

 

Website and registration

 

The Website for the Vienna conference will include a wealth of useful information (e.g., registration, travel arrangements, accommodation options, Covid rules), as well as all the updates and the program leading up to the Conference.

Registration will have the usual phased deadlines (early-bird, regular, late-premium, student concession); the conference fee is expected to be in the region of 100 Euro

 

Contacts

 

Please address any query regarding abstracts, registration, program, etc. to

claus.tieber@univie.ac.at

stephanie.schwarz@univie.ac.at

 

Claus Tieber University of Vienna, FWF-Project (Organizer)

Stephanie Schwarz University of Vienna, FWF-Project (Co-Organizer)

Claudia Walkensteiner-Preschl, Film Academy Vienna (Co-Organizer)

 

Department of Theatre, Film and Media Studies, University of Vienna

UZA II-Rotunde, Althanstraße 14, 1090 Wien

 

Film Academy Vienna,
 
Anton-von-Webern-Platz 1, 1030 Wien