Steeltown Film Factory Kickoff Event "Where Do Good Ideas, Great Scripts, and Talented Filmmakers Come From?"

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Excerpts from the kickoff event of Steeltown Entertainment Project's Film Factory on Saturday, November 7th 2009 at Melwood Screening Room, Pittsburgh PA.

The panel discussion was moderated by Steeltown Entertainment Project's Executive Producer Carl Kurlander (Screenwriter, "St. Elmo's Fire). Panelists for the kickoff event included, Geoffrey Fletcher (screenwriter "Precious"), Lauren Elmer (Sony Pictures Classics), Rob Leiber (screenwriter "Septimus Heap: Magyk"), Stephanie Lord (Winner, Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting), and Janyce Lapore (Winner, Best Screenplay, Female Eye Film Festival)

Steeltown Film Factory (SFF) is a yearlong filmmaking competition, supported by a series of public workshops, panel discussions and staged readings, designed to engage aspiring filmmakers to create projects with Pittsburgh-inspired content. The competition will provide emerging talent with an opportunity to learn from internationally renowned film and television professionals about the entertainment industry. A successful SFF will lead to the training and employment of the local workforce, the incubation of talent and intellectual property, and the nurturing and development of future projects that can be spun off into commercially viable entities. These entities will create jobs, investment opportunities, and products that will be exported by our region. By bringing together local and expatriate resources in Southwestern Pennsylvania (SWPA), the SFF will help to transform this region's non-profit "Arts Sector" into a thriving "Entertainment Economy."