by Carolyn Noel, intern, UMass ’19
PITTSFIELD – It is no longer a necessity to live in Los Angeles or New York to produce films, television shows, or award-winning novels. There are plenty of opportunities here in our own area of Western Massachusetts, and the Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative is working to help people understand and take action on this.
Pilar Allesandra, Hollywood based script supervisor and director of the screenwriting and TV writing program, On the Page, will be the featured speaker and presenter at this year’s Film and Media Exchange hosted by the Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative. (Photo courtesy Pilar Allesandra)
On October 20, the Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative will be hosting their 5th annual Western Massachusetts Film and Media Exchange in Springfield, Massachusetts. The event will run from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Monarch place and will focus on Screenwriting and Pitching.
Special guest, renowned Hollywood screenplay consultant and pitch expert, Pilar Allesandra will be conducting two seminars on screenwriting, Character & Dialogue Development and, “Pitching Your Project.” Plus, a session on the legal aspects of selling your project.
Yes, there will be an opportunity for attendees to pitch their screenplay idea to Pilar!
Allesandra is the host of the On the Page podcast, the director of the screenwriting and TV writing program On the Page®, author of top-selling book The Coffee Break Screenwriter, and also teacher of many classes focused on helping aspiring screenwriters and producers.
This event is open to any writer, film-maker, or producer who would like to learn more about pitching their projects and getting started in the media world.
The Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative is a Western Massachusetts non-profit working to grow the film and media industry in Western Mass.. They offer many education courses, workforce development courses, and they help filmmakers get projects done in the area.
Along with this Film and Media Exchange, they also do three to four networking events throughout the year and offer certain courses to educate the public.
Diane Pearlman is the Executive Director of the Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative and has worked diligently on putting together this year’s Film and Media Exchange.
“I’m very excited that Pilar is coming out and offering her skills and expertise to our community in Western Mass,” Pearlman said.
“I think that we do have a lot of professionals here. You don’t need to be in this profession and live in New York or LA or London… You can live here and participate in this industry. I think that writing and good content is always needed, and with the proliferation of the different outlets like Netflix and Hulu, they need content. There’s no reason people from Western Mass can’t give them that content. This exchange will give them the tools to understand how to go ahead and be a part of the business.”
Reservations by October 15 to this unique event can be purchased for $129. Any tickets purchased after October 15th are $159. More information can be found online at www.berkshirefilm.com or by calling 413-528-4223 or via e-mail at [email protected]
