Austin Film Festival Adds First Panels for 2024

They may call it the Austin Film Festival, but the first wave of panels announced for the writer-centric gathering looks at screens big and small, with the creative forces behind TV hits like The Simpsons and The Last of Us discussing their work alongside the writers of Inside Out 2 and The Bikeriders.

This year's AFF (Oct. 24-31) has already announced several big-name attendees, all of whom have experience keeping an established IP fresh: Disney-era Star Wars mastermind Kathleen Kennedy, who'll be honored with the Polly Platt Award for producing alongside 2024 Outstanding Television Writer Award recipient Ronald D. Moore (best known for reviving Battlestar Galactica) and UT alum Rachel Kondo and her husband Justin Marks, the couple behind the new adaptation of James Clavell's Shōgun for FX.

This opening selection of panels includes special looks at several individual films and TV shows, from iconic classics to beloved underdogs that deserve a reappraisal, with insights from their creators and, in one case, a Hollywood superfan.

• On The Last of Us: A Conversation with Craig Mazin The Emmy-winning showrunner discusses shifting the post-apocalyptic story from critically acclaimed blockbuster video game to critically acclaimed blockbuster TV series.

• On Vida: A Conversation with Tanya Saracho Looking back with the series creator at the Starz show that introduced many audiences to Melissa Barrera.

• On The Simpsons: A Conversation with Matt Selman Remember when everyone’s favorite cartoon family mocked their longevity with a song called “They’ll Never Stop the Simpsons”? Now consider this: That song is 21 years old. Emmy-winning showrunner Selman will look back on the greatest run in animated TV history and how they try to keep the show fresh.

• Deconstructing Dirty Harry with Shane Black The greatest cop drama of all time? Maybe. The most influential? Almost definitely. The creator of Lethal Weapon gets to gush about a movie he calls “the template for everything I’ve ever written.”

With such an incredible pool of talent in Austin for the festival, AFF looks beyond individual shows and takes deep dives into the careers of individual writers, showrunners, and producers.

• A Conversation with Meg LeFauve The writer of Inside Out has another smash on her hands with Inside Out 2, so it’s a perfect time to look back on her career.

• The World of YA: A Conversation with Julie Plec The co-creator of The Vampire Diaries discusses one of the most complex and often oversaturated market segments and how she turned one success into a whole franchise.

• A Conversation with Marissa Jo Cerar The Emmy-nominated writer-producer looks at the inspirations behind her work in The Handmaid’s Tale’s writing team and her own original shows, Black Cake and Women of the Movement.

Of course, the conference is also a place for industry professionals to meet, swap war stories, and discuss strategies for the next stage in their careers and their next projects.

• Get the Greenlight: Financing Your Film Moviemaking is easy … at least, compared to paying for them. FilmNation CEO Glen Basner sits down with The Bikeriders writer-director Jeff Nichols to discuss how financiers think and how to win them over to your project.

• Navigating the Great Contraction Verve Talent & Literary Agency partner David Boxerbaum, writer Pamela Ribon (Nimona), and Karl Hartman, co-owner and producer of Big Indie Pictures (Daisy Jones & the Six, Swarm, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Manchester by the Sea), head into the ever-choppier waters of the modern media business.

• Inside the Development Process: Television HBO executive Cela Sutton, Amazon Studios executive Michael McDonald, and 20th Television executive Jade Addon-Hall discuss the brighter side of the industry and what studios are looking for right now.

The 31st annual Austin Film Festival runs Oct. 24-31. Tickets and passes at austinfilmfestival.com.
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