In the Leaders Training Center of Zamalek, esteemed American screenwriting coach Syd Field met the Egyptian press for the first time last Thursday to discuss his much-touted workshops in Egypt. "What we will be doing in the following two weeks is hopefully the start of a revolution; a cinematic revolution, said Field. Field, an established screenwriter and writing instructor, has authored bestselling books on screenwriting such as "Screenplay, "The Screenwriter's Workbook and "The Screenwriter's Problem Solver. Field chaired the academic liaison committee at The Writer's Guild of America, is currently on faculty at the USC Master's of Professional Writing Program, has taught at Harvard, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA and the AFI. He has been a special script consultant to 20th Century Fox, Universal and the Disney Studios. He has collaborated with such noted filmmakers as Alphonso Cuaron ("Y Tu Mama Tambien ), James L. Brooks ("As Good As It Gets ) and Tony Kaye ("American History X ). Field's two week visit is organized by The Film Clinic and sponsored by Rotana. The first course, priced at LE 500, is an open seminar with an audience of over 100 participants. The course is designed for everyone involved in the movie-making business interested in gaining an insight into the craft of screenwriting. The tools and techniques of screenwriting will be discussed in length to help writers understand the essential requirements of the trade and teach directors and producers how to identify a good screenplay. The second is an intensive 10-day workshop attended by a selected group of 16 professional writers, free of charge. They will develop their own script, complete writing the first act and outline the second act by the end of the workshop. While participating in the workshop is limited to the 16 professionals, there will be a possibility for 15 other amateur or starting writers to silently observe the workshop. The workshops are part of the efforts exerted by The Film Clinic to develop screenwriting in Egypt, and Rotana Studios in expanding Egyptian films to reach an international audience. The press conference was attended by scriptwriter Mohamed Hefzy, director of The Film Clinic, Ayman Halawani, head of production at Rotana's film division and Frederic Sichler, president of Rotana Studios. Prior to the press conference, Field had managed to watch only three Egyptian movies: Atef El-Tayeb's "The Getaway, "Alexandria Prive and "The Yacoubian Building. His objective is to teach new writers to produce great scripts that have the potential to travel internationally. "Screenwriting is an international language, it's a craft that can be learned, and some people have the talent to do it better than others, Field said. "But the craft of visual storytelling is part of the requirement for communication internationally in today's ages . The craft can be learned and translated into any culture and any language in any cinematic images you so desire. This emphasis on screenwriting as a craft could possibly be the key to the cinematic revolution Field heralded. Local filmmakers have complained for years about the lack of great scripts, a serious quandary that drove most producers in the first half of this decade to make quick, cheap comedies. Nevertheless, truly remarkable films are always emerging, even more so recently. Sichler expressed optimism for the film industry. "Look at the top five box office movies of this year, Sischler told Daily News Egypt, citing "Hena Maysara, "El-Gezira, "Heya Fawda, "Cabaret and "El-Rayes Omar Harb. "How many of these are comedies? I think things are getting a little better. But how far can cinema go with the presence of censorship? "I think censorship is part of a writer's world in this region, it's just something a writer has to deal with, Sichler said. "There is always pressure anyway when it comes to the movie business, the pressure to make money, so censorship will just be something else that moviemakers have to deal with. Sichler regards Field's visit as an opportunity to improve moviemaking in Egypt to meet international standards. "I wouldn't have come here if I didn't think things have a possibility of getting better, he commented. Field added, "At the end of the day it is a craft that can be taught. Just because you don't have a lot of talent doesn t mean you can't produce a great script. Both Sichler and Field refuse to pigeonhole scripts into the commercial and the artsy. "After 30-something years, I came to the conclusion . that I don't know how to define [artistic films and commercial films]. To cite only two examples, 'American Beauty' and 'Bourne Supremacy,' do you think these are commercial films or artistic films? asked Sichler. Rotana promises to assist the best scripts produced from this workshop to see the light of day by presenting them to the various producers they work with. The course does not include an evaluation of the participant. However, Rotana will discuss with Field his evaluations of writers and their scripts in order to move forward. Syd Field encourages all writers to write what excites them and draw subjects from personal experiences. When asked about the genre he's personally most fond of, Field told Daily News Egypt that it was Action/Adventure and sci-fi because of how fulfilling it is to see his vision come to the big screen. Field enjoys consulting, teaching and writing and has just finished writing a sci-fi screenplay entitled "Afterlife which he has not handed to his agent as yet.
