SPECIAL EVENTS

2nd Annual Screenwriting Competition

Awards Ceremony

The second annual Screenwriting Competition continues to affirm our belief that Arkansas screenwriters lack only the opportunities to advance their art, not the talent, desire, or motivation. Nine of this year's twelve entries came from Arkansas writers. We also received our first international entry, from a screenwriter in Australia.

Film producer Tim Jackson of Category One Entertainment will present the screenwriting awards and attending screenwriters will discuss their work. The Awards Ceremony is free and open to the public.

COMPETITION JUDGES:

Paul Schattel, screenwriter/producer/director

Ben Fry, UALR Department of Radio/TV/Film

COMPETITION SPONSOR~

Category One Entertainment

Panel Discussion: "Whither the Newspaper Movie Critic?"

The internet has made it possible for anyone to become a movie critic. Thousands of websites and blogs provide a round-the-clock stream of reviews, opinions, information, and MIS-information while the entertainment section of most newspapers keeps shrinking. As newspapers struggle to maintain their viability and profitability, what about their movie critics? Once the ultimate arbiter, has the newspaper critic become just another voice in the crowd? And what about the movies that newspapers no longer can afford the space to review?

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette movie critic Philip Martin will be joined by Noel Murray, who blogs for the online Onion A.V. Club, and Rob Grace of Arkansas Weekly to discuss the future of the newspaper movie critic and what it means for movies, movie lovers, and the movie business.

	Philip Martin is a columnist and feature writer at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock. His book The Shortstop's Son was published by the University of Arkansas Press in 1997. With Rex Nelson, he co-authored The Hillary Factor, a biography of the First Lady in 1993. Martin's work has appeared in The Oxford American, The Village Voice, Newsweek and other publications. He has been a guest on "Hardball" with Chris Matthews and on "Crosstalk" on MSNBC.
	Noel Murray is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The Nashville Scene, The Hollywood Reporter, The Los Angeles Times, Paste, and Performing Songwriter. His primary outlet for the past decade has been The A.V. Club, the straightforward pop culture news-and-reviews section of the satirical publication The Onion.
	Rob Grace is the president of W.R.D. Entertainment, a Batesville-based company that owns and operates radio stations Classic Rock 93 KZLE, Arkansas 103.3, Sky 99.5, KKIK 106.5/1130 AM, and ESPN 1340 AM, as well as Arkansas Weekly, a publication with a regional direct-mail circulation of over 21,000 households. Grace writes a column in Arkansas Weekly entitled "All Over the Map" that often focuses on film.

PANEL SPONSOR~

FNBC

FAUBOURG TREMÉ: THE UNTOLD STORY OF BLACK NEW ORLEANS

Lolis Eric Elie, a New Orleans newspaperman, takes us on a tour of the city - his city - in what becomes a reflection on the relevance of history folded into a love letter to the storied New Orleans neighborhood, Faubourg Tremé. Arguably the oldest black neighborhood in America and the birthplace of jazz, Faubourg Tremé was home to the largest community of free black people in the Deep South during slavery and a hotbed of political ferment. Here black and white, free and enslaved, rich and poor collaborated and clashed to create America's first Civil Rights movement and a unique American culture. FAUBOURG TREMÉ: THE UNTOLD STORY OF BLACK NEW ORLEANS is a riveting tale of heartbreak, hope, resiliency, and haunting historic parallels.

Writer and co-director Lolis Eric Elie will conduct a post-screening Q&A. He will be joined by New Orleans vocalist and passionate New Orleans advocate John Boutté, whose composition "Tremé Song" is featured in the film.

SCREENING SPONSOR~

FutureFuel Chemical Company

IN CONCERT!

New Orleans Vocalist John Boutté

Emerging as the voice of post-Katrina New Orleans, John Boutté's sense of mission to share the soul of his beleaguered and beloved hometown has expanded in the wake of the devastating failure of levees and bureaucrats in the 2005 storm. His vocal style and rapport with audiences have been compared to the greats: Nat King Cole, Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, and Jackie Wilson. As part of the New Orleans Social Club collaboration with Ivan Neville, Henry Butler, and members of the Meters, he has performed on Austin City Limits and his version of Annie Lennox's "Why" is included on the acclaimed Sing Me Back Home compilation.

"Walk down the tree-lined streets of New Orleans' Faubourg Marigny neighborhood on a hot sultry night, and chances are you'll hear John Boutté's voice floating out of one of the area's trendy nightspots. Perhaps he'll be singing soulful versions of Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come" or Annie Lennox's "Why," or maybe it'll be one of the bayou-blended tunes he's co-authored with Paul Sanchez, his pal from the alt-rock band Cowboy Mouth. Whatever the song, its soulfulness will stop you in your tracks, for Boutté lives and breathes the heart and soul of New Orleans." --Mary Houlihan, Chicago Sun-Times

CONCERT SPONSOR~

WRD Entertainment

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