MATTHEW WEINER TO RECEIVE “OUTSTANDING TELEVISION WRITER” AWARD AT 2014 AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL & SCREENWRITERS CONFERENCE
“The Writers Festival” announces Panelists for 21st Anniversary, featuring Neil LaBute, Terry George, Cary Fukunaga, William Broyles, Whit Stillman, Michelle Ashford, and more
AFF Film and Screenplay Competitions to include jurors hailing from AMC, Darkwoods Productions, The Black List, The Weinstein Company, FilmBuff, P.O.V., Sundance Institute, and Oscilloscope
Austin, TX – Austin Film Festival (AFF), the premier film festival that recognizes the writers’ and filmmakers’ impact on film, television, and new media, is thrilled to announce accomplished creator, Executive Producer, writer and director of Mad Men, Matthew Weiner,as the 2014 recipient of the “Outstanding Television Writer” Award. In addition to his television credits, Weiner has written and directed the feature film, Are You Here, which will be open in theaters later this summer. Starring Owen Wilson, Zach Galifianakis and Amy Poehler, the film is an unexpected story about friendship and the people who keep us afloat while facing the compromises of life. The film will open in theaters on Friday, August 22.
Weiner has been nominated for a total of 11 Emmys for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. He won the award for the series pilot, as well as for the Second Season episode, “Meditations in an Emergency,” with Kater Gordon, and for the Third Season episode, “Shut the Door. Have a Seat.” with Erin Levy. Most recently, Weiner won the WGA Award for Best Episodic for the Season Five episode, “The Other Woman,” with Semi Chellas. He also received Directors Guild nominations for his efforts behind the camera on “Meditations in an Emergency” in Season Two and the Season Three finale, “Shut the Door. Have a Seat.” Weiner’s additional credits include serving as an Executive Producer and writer on The Sopranos, and writer on various television comedy series including The Naked Truth, Becker, and Andy Richter Controls the Universe.
Austin Film Festival annually recognizes an Outstanding Television Writer for their collective body of work that has elevated and heavily contributed to the culture of television. Previous Award recipients include Vince Gilligan, David Simon, Chris Carter, David Milch, Mike Judge, Garry Shandling, David Chase, and Mitch Hurwitz, among others.
Weiner joins Distinguished Screenwriter honoree, Jim Sheridan, along with a strong roundup of Panelists confirmed to speak at the 21st annual Austin Film Festival & Screenwriters Conference such as Neil LaBute (writer/director The Shape of Things), Terry George (writer/director Hotel Rwanda), Whit Stillman (writer/director Metropolitan), Richard Kelly (writer/director Donnie Darko), Emma Tillinger Koskoff (President of Production at Sikelia Productions), Cary Fukunaga (director True Detective), screenwriters behind American Hustle, The Fault in Their Stars,Saving Mr. Banks, and the creators of Fargo, Masters of Sex, Halt and Catch Fire, TURN, and Better Call Saul.
Additional Conference participants will include select jurors hailing from AFF’s Film, Screenplay, and Teleplay Competitions. Jurors include representatives from Mad Men’s home network AMC, The Weinstein Company, Sundance Institute, FilmBuff, Oscilloscope, The Black List, Gravitas Ventures, POV, and Frank Darabont’s production company, Darkwoods Productions.
For a list of confirmed 2014 AFF Panelists, visit www.austinfilmfestval.com. Join them at the 21st Annual Austin Film Festival and Conference, taking place October 23rd through 30th, 2014. Badges and Passes are available for purchase online 24 hours a day at www.austinfilmfestival.com or at 1-800-310-FEST from 10am to 6pm CST.