The film industry is growing in Arizona and what better sign then a new conference, The Scottsdale Screenwriting Conference. Ken Rotcop, the founder of Pitchmart, will be leading the two day conference in Scottsdale on May 15 and 16. You can buy discounted tickets for $150.00 before April 15 and win the chance to attend PitchMart in LA.

Ken Rotcop, former creative head of four film studios (Embassy Pictures, Hanna-Barbera, Trans-World Productions, and Cannon Films), winner of the Writer’s Guild Award and the Neil Simon Award, founder of Pitchmart (as featured on Oprah), and author of the best-selling The Perfect Pitch, will lead this new two-day Scottsdale Screenwriting Conference.  Rotcop is one of Hollywood’s most successful screenwriters and screenwriting teachers and has been conducting these sessions since 1986.  He has supervised production for such celebrated films as The Graduate, Lion in Winter, Carnal Knowledge and Charlotte’s Web.

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This past quarter we have noticed a few more film festivals.  All of it works together to create synergy for the industry.

The AZ Film and Media Expo was put on this past January and I heard it was well attended. Also I heard that there is a new Desperado Gay and Lesbian Film Festival that started up.  Add this to the biggies locally, the Phoenix Film Festival which is celebrating it’s 10th year, The Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival which is heading into it’s 15th year, the Arizona International Film Festival, the Scottsdale International Film Festival, and the Sedona international Film Festival.

We have to work together to keep our tax incentives program alive. Right now the program will sunset in December 2010. Click here to learn more about what you can do to continue to grow our industry and our opportunities here in Arizona.