Releases
San Francisco Film Society's Filmmaker360 "Off the Page" Program Provides Emerging Director with Opportunity to Workshop His Script with Actors
Director/Writer Mark Elijah Rosenberg Develops Script for 'Ad Inexplorata' with Producer Matt Parker, Actors Scott Shepherd and Christopher Upham
12/4/2012
In the latest edition of the newest initiative of the San Francisco Film Society’s Filmmaker360 program, the Off the Page script workshop series recently gave writer/director Mark Elijah Rosenberg the invaluable opportunity to develop his script for Ad Inexplorata—the story of a NASA pilot on a mission into the unknown—with actors Scott Shepherd and Christopher Upham. During this two-day workshop, which took place November 13–14 at the Film Society’s offices at the San Francisco Film Centre, Rosenberg and producer Matt Parker delved deeply into their screenplay and pushed it to the next level with the help of professional actors.
In its inaugural year, Off the Page has strengthened the partnership between the San Francisco Film Society and the Kenneth Rainin Foundation. Select writer/directors who have received an SFFS/KRF Filmmaking Grant and have completed at least one draft of their screenplay or filmmakers who are interested in applying for the grant may be invited to take part in Off the Page script workshopping at the Film Society’s offices at the Film Centre in San Francisco’s Presidio. With the assistance of Filmmaker360, the participating filmmakers are given the opportunity to work with actors who are interested in or being considered for their film.
Ad Inexplorata is the fictional story of astronaut Captain William D. Stanaforth and his one-way journey to Mars. Along the way, Stanaforth goes from good soldier to reluctant hero, on to radical idealist and to misunderstood rebel. The isolation of space haunts him, the physical discomfort torments him, and his greatest goal—the glory and miracle of discovering the unknown—proves elusive, ineffable and potentially unobtainable. Treated by the world as an almost-forgotten pawn, his courage, intelligence and dark sense of humor prevail, and if he finally lands on Mars he will prove himself a martyr to exploration.
"The Off the Page experience was really fantastic for me and my project,” said Rosenberg. “I got a chance to not only hear the script read out loud, but had the chance to workshop scenes and work through a lot of questions I had about whether the emotion was coming through, especially in the more technical sections of the film."
Parker agreed: "Off the Page is a really amazing and unique experience and one that I feel jumpstarted a lot of new and creative challenges and solutions for our project as well as invigorated some momentum for the project. What a great opportunity for Mark to work with an actor developing scenes, with them reacting to the written word and getting direct feedback. "
Actor Scott Shepherd enjoyed collaborating at such an early stage in the process, adding that "Usually, as an actor, you come to a screenplay in a finished state, you don't get a lot of opportunities to workshop a piece."
Writer/Director Mark Elijah Rosenberg is the founder and artistic director of Rooftop Films, a New York–based nonprofit organization whose mission is to engage diverse communities through the medium of film. He has served on grants panels for Cinereach, NYSCA, LMCC and Renew Media, and is on the Advisory Council for Fractured Atlas. As a curator and filmmaker, Rosenberg’s taste and work favor low budget, personal cinema, and he has programmed for festivals around the world, served on juries at numerous festivals including Sundance and SXSW, and produced and directed numerous short films. He recently coproduced and codirected Orbit(Film), an omnibus movie about our solar system. Rosenberg has received support for Ad Inexplorata from the Sundance Institute and Creative Capital.
Producer Matthew Parker was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee where his love of film began with his weekly Sunday trip to the movies with his father. He coproduced Beasts of the Southern Wild and Bachelorette, which were official selections at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Parker was also selected this year to attend the Producer's Lab at the IFFR. He is a producer on Ma George (currently in postproduction), Restless City, Higher Ground, and The Last Keepers, and coproducer on Peter and Vandy and Beware of the Gonzo.
Scott Shepherd has performed frequently on stage throughout the world as a leading member of the legendary Wooster Group theater company. Also a member of the Elevator Repair Service theater company, he starred in their 2010 production Gatz at the Public Theater as well as the West End. The New York Times’ Ben Brantley described Shepherd’s performance as “astonishing” and ranked the production as “the most remarkable achievement in theater not only of this year but also of this decade.” He has also been cited for his roles in The Wooster Group’s Vieux Carre, La Didone, Hamlet, and The Emperor Jones, and has won Bessie and Obie Awards for his performances.
Christopher Upham is an actor, writer and director living in San Francisco. On staff at the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, Upham has also taught at San Francisco State University, the San Francisco Film Society, and is an artist in residence at the MVLA Academy. Upham’s documentary about the effects of combat, Return to Dakto, won prestigious Pacific Pioneer and Fleishhacker grants and is currently finishing postproduction. His novel Distant Dream will be published concurrently with the film’s release. As an actor, he has appeared in over 50 films and been a story consultant for feature films and documentaries.
At the last Off the Page session in June, writer/director Mario de La Vega workshopped his script for The Undeniable Charm of Sloppy Unruh, the charming story of a rogue’s homecoming to West Texas, with actors Kyle Chandler, John Hawkes and Amy Ryan. De la Vega’s script won the screenplay section of the Tribeca All Access Connects program, and the project is currently being produced by Bona Fide Productions (Little Miss Sunshine, Election).
Previous Off the Page sessions have included writer/director Ryan Coogler workshopping his script for Fruitvale—the true story of Oscar Grant, who was fatally shot by a BART policeman in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day 2009—with his lead actors Michael B. Jordan and Melonie Diaz; and the series launched in March when actors Blake Bashoff, Alia Shawkat and Matt L. Jones came to San Francisco for a table reading of Carlton Evans and Matthew Lessner’s Ross, the story of a hardworking young man whose staid, well-established life is upended after he draws the attention of numerous secretive government agencies by posting an offhand comment to his Facebook profile.
Off the Page workshops will be scheduled several times a year. Participation is by invitation only. Some sessions will include filmmakers who are early in their writing process and are interested in workshopping specific scenes from their script in a closed environment. Other sessions will be for writer/directors who are close to a final draft and ready to present their work publicly through a traditional table read. Invited audiences may include producers, industry professionals and filmmaker peers as well as potential collaborators and funders.
For additional information visit sffs.org/filmmaker360.
San Francisco Film Society
Building on a legacy of more than 50 years of bringing the best in world cinema to the Bay Area, the San Francisco Film Society is a national leader in exhibition, education and filmmaker services. SFFS is headed by Executive Director Ted Hope with the programmatic leadership of Director of Programming Rachel Rosen, Director of Filmmaker360 Michele Turnure-Salleo and Director of Education Joanne Parsont.
The Film Society presents more than 100 days of exhibition each year, reaching a total audience of more than 100,000 people. Its acclaimed education program introduces international, independent and documentary cinema and media literacy to more than 10,000 teachers and students. Through Filmmaker360, the Film Society’s filmmaker services program, essential creative and business services, professional development classes, and funding totaling millions of dollars are provided to deserving filmmakers of all levels.
The Film Society seeks to elevate all aspects of film culture, offering a wide range of activities that engage emotions, inspire action, change perceptions and advance knowledge. A 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, it is largely donor and member supported. Patronage and membership provides discounted prices, access to grants and residencies, private events and a wealth of other benefits.
For more information visit sffs.org.
Kenneth Rainin Foundation is a private family foundation that is dedicated to enhancing quality of life by promoting equitable access to a baseline of literacy, championing and sustaining the arts, and supporting research that will lead to relief for those with chronic disease. The Foundation focuses our efforts on the San Francisco Bay Area and specific medical issues. It utilizes its networks, resources, and commitment to socially responsible practices to support innovation, collaboration and connection in the service of inspiring world-changing work. For more information visit krfoundation.org.
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In its inaugural year, Off the Page has strengthened the partnership between the San Francisco Film Society and the Kenneth Rainin Foundation. Select writer/directors who have received an SFFS/KRF Filmmaking Grant and have completed at least one draft of their screenplay or filmmakers who are interested in applying for the grant may be invited to take part in Off the Page script workshopping at the Film Society’s offices at the Film Centre in San Francisco’s Presidio. With the assistance of Filmmaker360, the participating filmmakers are given the opportunity to work with actors who are interested in or being considered for their film.
Ad Inexplorata is the fictional story of astronaut Captain William D. Stanaforth and his one-way journey to Mars. Along the way, Stanaforth goes from good soldier to reluctant hero, on to radical idealist and to misunderstood rebel. The isolation of space haunts him, the physical discomfort torments him, and his greatest goal—the glory and miracle of discovering the unknown—proves elusive, ineffable and potentially unobtainable. Treated by the world as an almost-forgotten pawn, his courage, intelligence and dark sense of humor prevail, and if he finally lands on Mars he will prove himself a martyr to exploration.
"The Off the Page experience was really fantastic for me and my project,” said Rosenberg. “I got a chance to not only hear the script read out loud, but had the chance to workshop scenes and work through a lot of questions I had about whether the emotion was coming through, especially in the more technical sections of the film."
Parker agreed: "Off the Page is a really amazing and unique experience and one that I feel jumpstarted a lot of new and creative challenges and solutions for our project as well as invigorated some momentum for the project. What a great opportunity for Mark to work with an actor developing scenes, with them reacting to the written word and getting direct feedback. "
Actor Scott Shepherd enjoyed collaborating at such an early stage in the process, adding that "Usually, as an actor, you come to a screenplay in a finished state, you don't get a lot of opportunities to workshop a piece."
Writer/Director Mark Elijah Rosenberg is the founder and artistic director of Rooftop Films, a New York–based nonprofit organization whose mission is to engage diverse communities through the medium of film. He has served on grants panels for Cinereach, NYSCA, LMCC and Renew Media, and is on the Advisory Council for Fractured Atlas. As a curator and filmmaker, Rosenberg’s taste and work favor low budget, personal cinema, and he has programmed for festivals around the world, served on juries at numerous festivals including Sundance and SXSW, and produced and directed numerous short films. He recently coproduced and codirected Orbit(Film), an omnibus movie about our solar system. Rosenberg has received support for Ad Inexplorata from the Sundance Institute and Creative Capital.
Producer Matthew Parker was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee where his love of film began with his weekly Sunday trip to the movies with his father. He coproduced Beasts of the Southern Wild and Bachelorette, which were official selections at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Parker was also selected this year to attend the Producer's Lab at the IFFR. He is a producer on Ma George (currently in postproduction), Restless City, Higher Ground, and The Last Keepers, and coproducer on Peter and Vandy and Beware of the Gonzo.
Scott Shepherd has performed frequently on stage throughout the world as a leading member of the legendary Wooster Group theater company. Also a member of the Elevator Repair Service theater company, he starred in their 2010 production Gatz at the Public Theater as well as the West End. The New York Times’ Ben Brantley described Shepherd’s performance as “astonishing” and ranked the production as “the most remarkable achievement in theater not only of this year but also of this decade.” He has also been cited for his roles in The Wooster Group’s Vieux Carre, La Didone, Hamlet, and The Emperor Jones, and has won Bessie and Obie Awards for his performances.
Christopher Upham is an actor, writer and director living in San Francisco. On staff at the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, Upham has also taught at San Francisco State University, the San Francisco Film Society, and is an artist in residence at the MVLA Academy. Upham’s documentary about the effects of combat, Return to Dakto, won prestigious Pacific Pioneer and Fleishhacker grants and is currently finishing postproduction. His novel Distant Dream will be published concurrently with the film’s release. As an actor, he has appeared in over 50 films and been a story consultant for feature films and documentaries.
At the last Off the Page session in June, writer/director Mario de La Vega workshopped his script for The Undeniable Charm of Sloppy Unruh, the charming story of a rogue’s homecoming to West Texas, with actors Kyle Chandler, John Hawkes and Amy Ryan. De la Vega’s script won the screenplay section of the Tribeca All Access Connects program, and the project is currently being produced by Bona Fide Productions (Little Miss Sunshine, Election).
Previous Off the Page sessions have included writer/director Ryan Coogler workshopping his script for Fruitvale—the true story of Oscar Grant, who was fatally shot by a BART policeman in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day 2009—with his lead actors Michael B. Jordan and Melonie Diaz; and the series launched in March when actors Blake Bashoff, Alia Shawkat and Matt L. Jones came to San Francisco for a table reading of Carlton Evans and Matthew Lessner’s Ross, the story of a hardworking young man whose staid, well-established life is upended after he draws the attention of numerous secretive government agencies by posting an offhand comment to his Facebook profile.
Off the Page workshops will be scheduled several times a year. Participation is by invitation only. Some sessions will include filmmakers who are early in their writing process and are interested in workshopping specific scenes from their script in a closed environment. Other sessions will be for writer/directors who are close to a final draft and ready to present their work publicly through a traditional table read. Invited audiences may include producers, industry professionals and filmmaker peers as well as potential collaborators and funders.
For additional information visit sffs.org/filmmaker360.
San Francisco Film Society
Building on a legacy of more than 50 years of bringing the best in world cinema to the Bay Area, the San Francisco Film Society is a national leader in exhibition, education and filmmaker services. SFFS is headed by Executive Director Ted Hope with the programmatic leadership of Director of Programming Rachel Rosen, Director of Filmmaker360 Michele Turnure-Salleo and Director of Education Joanne Parsont.
The Film Society presents more than 100 days of exhibition each year, reaching a total audience of more than 100,000 people. Its acclaimed education program introduces international, independent and documentary cinema and media literacy to more than 10,000 teachers and students. Through Filmmaker360, the Film Society’s filmmaker services program, essential creative and business services, professional development classes, and funding totaling millions of dollars are provided to deserving filmmakers of all levels.
The Film Society seeks to elevate all aspects of film culture, offering a wide range of activities that engage emotions, inspire action, change perceptions and advance knowledge. A 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, it is largely donor and member supported. Patronage and membership provides discounted prices, access to grants and residencies, private events and a wealth of other benefits.
For more information visit sffs.org.
Kenneth Rainin Foundation is a private family foundation that is dedicated to enhancing quality of life by promoting equitable access to a baseline of literacy, championing and sustaining the arts, and supporting research that will lead to relief for those with chronic disease. The Foundation focuses our efforts on the San Francisco Bay Area and specific medical issues. It utilizes its networks, resources, and commitment to socially responsible practices to support innovation, collaboration and connection in the service of inspiring world-changing work. For more information visit krfoundation.org.
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