SBIFF: A Glimpse Into Creativity in Action
WRITERS EAGER TO GLEAN NEW INSIGHT into both the artistry and the business of writing in Hollywood were as well informed by writers such as Joslyn Barnes (Nickel Boys) and Peter Straughan (Conclave) as they were entertained by Jesse Eisenberg (A Real Pain). Clint Bentley (Sing Sing), Mona Fastvold (The Brutalist), and Tim Fehlbaum (September 5) rounded out this year’s Writer’s Panel, one of the most popular events at the film festival. With IndieWire’s Anne Thompson, Editor-at-Large, as the moderator, the panel offered advice and anecdotes into the creative process, the art and craft of writing, and what makes an award-winning screenplay.
The most innovative screenplay of the year, Nickel Boys, was a challenge for Barnes, when her team decided to shoot the entire film from the POV (point of view) of the characters. They had to write while keeping in mind a “sentient camera…creating a way for inviting the viewer into the point of view of the two main characters in the film, it’s kind of treated as an extension of Consciousness, the way that the camera moves.”
Jesse Eisenberg spoke about finding what serves the story beyond just the truth, saying, “Maybe it sounds awful to say this but my fealty was always to fiction, it
was always to the story and so there are parts that come in and out that are kind of autobiographical but that was always like the lowest priority, my highest priority has always been writing the story.”
Straughan offered salient practical advice to the new writers in the room, saying
“When I finish for the day, I try and make sure that the thing I’m going to pick up on the next day—I’ve already slightly started, or I know at least what I’m going to do, ‘cause the hardest thing is to finish, and come back in the next morning, and just have a blank space in front of you.”
The questions, ranging from the abstract about creativity to the nuts and bolts of telling a story, gave the audience a glimpse into what makes a successful screenplay. The Q & A ended with the question of what’s next for these writers, and judging by the prolific output in the works for these creators, the panel gave inspiration and hope for the many writers in the room, dreaming of finding their own success one day.
