Film fest hosts writing classes

SANDPOINT — Before getting their start in Hollywood, a cadre of notable filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola and Rob Reiner cut their teeth at the world-renowned UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.

Local aspiring filmmakers will get a chance to sit in on a quasi-UCLA class Friday when film professor and accomplished screenwriter Paul Castro presents two screenwriting workshops as part of the Schweitzer Lakedance Film Festival.

Castro, who is credited with writing the 2007 film “August Rush,” will lead two workshops at the Panida Theater based on both the art of writing and the business of making movies.

The first workshop, called “Screenwriting Essentials,” dives into the importance of writing film openings, dialogue, three-dimensional characters, scene development, and the artist’s responsibility in creating visual and visceral stories. The second workshop, called “Trading Daydreams for Dollars,” focuses on the business side of professional screenwriting.

Although Castro spent years honing his craft, he does not want people to be intimidated by the idea of professional writing.

“What’s interesting about screenwriting is that it’s not nerve reconstruction,” Castro said. “I wish what I did was extraordinarily difficult and you needed to be fairly intelligent to succeed at it, but the truth of the matter is you don’t have to be. You have to have some decent life experiences and have a strong, clear story.”

Castro said his classes are meant to both teach the fundamentals of screenwriting and show students that the dream of becoming a professional writer is attainable.

“If you’ve never had any screenwriting experience but you have a story to tell, this is definitely the seminar for you,” Castro said. “It’s going to show people that hey, you do have a story that could be translated to the big screen, and this is how you do it.”

Having vacationed in Sandpoint before, Castro said he enjoyed the people and environment of North Idaho and would love to maintain a relationship with the film festival, which festival director Trevor Greenfield said he would welcome.

“There’s more things we could do in the future, but we really need to see if North Idaho wants to have this type of thing. If they do, we can think of doing some really big things in the future,” Greenfield said.

Tickets to the 10 a.m. “Screenwriting Essentials” workshop are $25, the “Trading Daydreams for Dollars” workshop begins at 2:30 p.m. and costs $45, and a package that includes tickets to both workshops and Friday’s film blocks costs $70.

For more information on the workshops or to purchase tickets, visit www.lakedance.com.