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Ross Goes to Austin (Film Festival)!
Time for a Reset!
The Austin Film Festival is just the place.
Hello Friends, Family & Associates,
On Wednesday, October 22, 2025, after two years of reading screenplays and writing coverage for the Austin Film Festival, I finally decided to take the leap and attend the festival. By reading many scripts and earning points, I acquired a Conference Badge. That went a long way to being able to afford to go to Austin. One has to consider flights, hotels, and food.
Wednesday: I’m on a plane
Our flight had one stop in Phoenix, Arizona. There was a change of plans and planes when we landed. So, we had to go inside the Phoenix Airport to our gate. Phoenix is a very hot place. Imagine if the airport had NO AIR CONDITIONING? UGH! (Apparently, in Phoenix, they ruled out air conditioning because of the Freon being released into the air, messing with the environment. Oye.)
The hotels in Austin are very expensive. Even with the AFF discounts, the hotels were still too costly. I lucked into a loft situation with some fellow writers staying right in the heart of Downtown Austin and in the middle of all the AFF festivities.
The drive from the airport to the Littlefield Lofts was about 20 minutes. The Uber driver dropped me off in front of a building named Littlefield. Unfortunately, the building I was staying at, Littlefield Lofts, was across the street. It was 10:30pm. I knew there was a small black box on a wall beside the Gold’s Gym. After circling twice, I managed to locate the little black box. PHEW!
My goal the first night was to get my hands on my Conference Badge. Goal achieved!
I was so exhausted from my trip. I didn’t want to have to walk far to acquire my badge. I checked my Google Map app. Great! It was a 5-minute walk to the Omni Hotel.
As soon as I entered the registration area, feeling like a zombie, I heard someone call out, “Ross!” It was Paige Parker, the AFF Script Manager. It was a nice moment of recognition and very welcoming to connect with someone I knew through email and Zoom meetings.
Thursday:
Breakfast With Roadmap Writers
Roadmap Writers has been a huge indirect addition to the Austin Film Festival. They are a screenplay platform with resources on their website for rewrite clinics, pitching reps and Zoom meetings with industry insiders. Roadmap held numerous mixers throughout the week, often around food.
On Thursday, October 23, Roadmap hosted a breakfast at Halcyon Coffee. I knew that one member from each of my small writers groups would be attending. I invited them to this breakfast. Sarah Angell is from Canada. Troy Mann lived about an hour or so from Austin. It was surreal to meet them both in Austin.
It was also great meeting some of the Roadmap staff. I was familiar with some of them.
As time passed, the coffee shop filled up with writers. There were writers I knew from a monthly Zoom meetup, hosted by Collin, called #VHH or #VirtualHappyHour. Collin is also one of the guys I was staying with.
I also reunited with a mutual friend, Brandon Walter, from whom I hadn’t seen in over a decade.
It was the best way to kick off my AFF adventure! This was even before the first panel on AFF Opening Remarks.
That afternoon, I attended a panel called ‘Your Second Act: Breaking In Over 40.” There is some ageism in Hollywood, but really, it comes down to your screenplay.
From 4pm to 5pm, I was at the Reader Happy Hour at Higbie’s. I hung out with Paige Parker, the Script Manager, (Below) and finally met the Script Director, Grace Donaldson. I had known Grace for two years, but only online.
At the same mixer, I met Carolyn Carpenter (below) for the first time in person, too. Carolyn is an instructor for the Hollywood Gatekeepers, an online course I took on script reading.
It was early evening and I had not had lunch yet. You get caught up going from panel to panel and can be out of reach for food. Brittney Coon is both a reader and a screenwriter. We decided to grab some fast food, but took our time. Brittney (below) is from Phoenix and was on my plane, but we did not know each other until Austin.
Friday
My Friday, October 24th, started with a panel titled, ‘Meeting a Manager.’ It was all about seeking representation. It was great that Jason Lubin of First Story Entertainment was on this panel, as he was going to be doing a roundtable with Roadmap on Saturday that I was attending. I got a preview of what Jason was like.
A term was mentioned about meeting other writers in the same situation: Lateral Networking. That resonated and stuck with me the rest of the week.
The next panel I planned on attending was ‘Everything Everyone Else is Telling You is Wrong.’ I wasn’t going to make it so I pivoted to seeing Michael Ardnt’s panel about developing first acts. What if the panelists in ‘Everything Everyone Else is Telling You is Wrong’ would give wrong advice?
Michael Ardnt’s presentation at the Paramount Theater was sensational! It had visuals and great examples on the movie screen. I’ll have to check out his website, and so should you. If an attendee misses a panel, there are supposed to be replays available at some point.
Another night. Another Roadmap party. This one took place at the San Jac’s Saloon.
John August and Craig Mazen held a live podcast of Script Notes from 9pm to 11pm with special guests. It was a fun event.
I did take some pictures. Out of respect for AFF not wanting pictures taken of any of the panels, I’m saving those for myself.
Saturday:
A Day of Roundtables
On Saturday, October 25th, I decided to sleep late because I hardly slept the first two nights.
This is my day of roundtables. The first one was with literary manager Jason Lubin through Roadmap Writers. There were about twelve of us writers doing a quick pitch to introduce ourselves, our screenplays, and ask Jason a relevant question. About eight writers went before me and some of them had some crazy stories, some of them supernatural. I felt more comfortable about what I was going to pitch because my story is out there.
These days, I’m branding myself as a sci-fi feature screenwriter. It’s suggested that your personal statement relate to the genre and story you’re pitching.
If you didn’t already know, I saw a UFO when I was fifteen years old. 🛸
My pitch went well. My question at the end was about querying managers and producers. When you have 3 or 4 scripts close to being solid, should you query? Jason was adamant about having a solid script to query with.
Another panelist during the week suggested querying to create relationships.
I just have to keep rewriting until I have a SOLID screenplay. It’s been over 30 years. What’s another year? (I’m 55, people.) 🙄
After a nerve-racking time pitching a literary manager, it was time to stuff my face! I was craving BBQ, and Roadmap Writers were doing a get-together at Coopers Old Time BBQ. YUMMY!
Good food! I met more people. NEXT!
I had to race to the next panel. I didn’t think I was going to make it because people stress to be early if you want to get into a popular panel. My next panel was Christopher McQuarrie and Rian Johnson discussing time travel in movies. It’s the one panel I wanted to be at. I made it…barely. I must have used The Force.
Jon Concepcion, who got Rian to sign his “Last Jedi” Blu-ray, posted on one of the WhatsApp AFF groups that Johnson and McQuarrie were at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel. So, I left my loft and headed there. Just as I arrived, I spotted McQuarrie for a moment, and he soon vanished.
Rian was heading towards the stairs to leave. I was able to briefly say hello and shake his hand. It didn’t hurt that I was wearing my Skywalker Ranch tee shirt.
Below is a marketing stunt for the screening of the feature film, “Christy” starring Sydney Sweeney. Sweeney was awesome! I saw the film back in Los Angeles.
Round 2 As in Roundtable 2
I only signed up for one official roundtable with AFF. Andrew Kevin Walker (“Seven”) was one of the speakers and the reason I chose that roundtable. I arrived early and was first in line. I ran into Viki Solis whom I met days earlier. She, too, was excited to meet Andrew Kevin Walker.
There were probably 8 or 9 speakers for each roundtable. Upon entering the room, I did not see Walker. You never know if speakers have to cancel last minute.
So, I sat down at an empty table. My thought was whoever I got, I’d be happy with. Nadia Abass-Madden (“911”) sat at our table. I was thrilled as I’ve met Nadia before and am Facebook friends with her. It was a great way to reconnect.
Somehow, I sat at the perfect table because I noticed Mr. Walker finally entered and sat at the table behind us. This meant that when the first session ended, the panelists would get up and move clockwise to the next session and Walker would move to our table.
Andrew Kevin Walker did not disappoint. He answered some questions I had about his screenwriting process and approach to outlining. Walker was very down-to-earth and easy to talk to. Viki got Walker to sign her “Seven” script.
The third and last speaker was Virgil Williams (“Criminal Minds”). Virgil was intense. I asked him about the research done on the show and how he was able to write about dark topics involving sexually assaulted and murdered women and children. Virgil was very emotional. He reached his limit on the show and had to move on. He stressed that the work can affect your mental well-being.
Saturday night was simply a night to hang out at the Stephen F. Austin and Omni Hotels. Lots of people were partying at both places.
I hung out with some members of an old writers’ group, Deadline Junkies. I ran into Harim Sanchez, whom I first met earlier in the year at the Slamdance Film Festival. After going back and forth between these two hotels, I made the decision to remain at the Omni since the sky opened up and started raining.
Sunday: Last Day
Sunday morning started with donuts at Voo Doo Donuts. Fun place.
The first panel for me was The Writer Producer Relationship with Christine Vachon and filmmaker Celine Song (“Past Lives,” Materialists”). I ran into Taylor Coriell (above) who had a short film, “Ladylike” playing at AFF.
Song talked about how good the crew was to her about being a novice filmmaker. They helped Song feel comfortable, answering her questions.
What Song got from Vachon was no bullshit. If a scene was too much for the budget, Vachon would inform Song to think about other ways to tell her story.
Closing Remarks with Shane Black
Shane Black (“Predator,” “Lethal Weapon,” “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”) has been giving closing remarks for AFF for many years. After attending the panel, I can understand why.
Black was no-holds-barred and off the cuff. Black humbled himself and brought himself down a level to all of us struggling writers. Black shared how he had plenty of troubled times as a writer.
It was a very inspiring way to finish my first experience with the Austin Film Festival.
Goodbyes
Although this section is about goodbyes, I finally got a chance to meet up with fellow Deadline Junkie, Nate Russo at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel.
Sarah Angell met me there. Nate had to leave. Sarah and I went to grab a bite to eat. Then I returned to the Stephen F. Austin Hotel for more goodbyes.
Andrew Kevin Walker saw that I was standing with my little suitcase, as I had been rolling it around all day. He said goodbye and wished me a safe trip back.
My loft mates were awesome! Above are Dan Gorski, Collin Lieberg and me. Jim Wurst, not pictured, was in the roundtable I had with Jason Lubin.
A screenwriter doesn’t need a screenplay to place at AFF. You can get so much out of simply attending the conference.
Stay Weird, Austin! Until next time!
Below is a video I edited with more pictures and footage. Enjoy!
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Handling Film Then and Now 2
While working at Richard Photo Lab I felt very much like I was coming full circle since my film school, Columbia College-Hollywood, used to be a few doors down at 925 N. La Brea Ave. in Hollywood. Working in the film prep department was a great experience, but it was a temporary position. It was very nostalgic handling film again. I didn’t think I would get another chance to work with film directly again. After being out of work the first few months of 2015, I was starting to hit the streets with my resume…literally. It seemed like an outdated way of seeking work. I walked into Fotokem Film and Video Services and filled out an application even though the company wasn’t hiring then.
About ten days later I got a call regarding a film vault position. The pay is low, but there are opportunities to move into other positions there. In my last post, Handling Film Then and Now, I mentioned filming a short film, “The Turnaround” on 16mm at Columbia College-Hollywood. Well, I still have elements from some of my films, “The Turnaround” and feature film, “Rubbernecking“ vaulted in one of Fotokem’s vaults in Glendale. So I’m not only an employee, I’m also a client. “The Turnaround” was filmed in 1995 and some elements have been vaulted all this time.
Fotokem Reels
The film industry has changed so much in the last 20 years. Like Richard Photo Lab is for still film, Fotokem is one of the biggest remaining motion picture film labs remaining in the film industry. All the motion picture studios dropped their involvement with film and Fotokem picked up a lot of the film work and preservation projects.
Fotokem buildings in Burbank
There’s about 700 people that work at Fotokem. Beyond the main campus at Burbank are vaults and post production facilities in Glendale, Santa Monica and around the United States; New York, New Orleans and Atlanta. Some filmmakers are still shooting on film. At Fotokem, dailies get synced up. Older films still have work done as newer formats are being created. My job in the film vault is to pick up and/or drop off film elements or hard drives from one of the 3 buildings in Burbank to another building. The Burbank location has three buildings. The position involves a lot of walking. My feet were aching in my first month working there. My left foot was so bad I had to see my doctor. My doctor recommended getting insoles as he himself uses them. I found a store in Studio City called Road Runner that custom fits insoles to your feet. Road Runner has a machine right there in the store that molds insoles. I highly recommend this service. Costs about $70, but my left foot is worth it.
The job also requires some heavy lifting. Often we use dollies to move stacks of 16, 35 and 65 millimeter reels. The 65MM film cans are very heavy. Between the walking and heavy lifting film vault people get a great workout. The position involves preparing elements to be delivered, shipped or taken to will call. We box up items and print up receipts that give a written record of what’s in the boxes. Sometimes we get requests to destroy film elements. (My favorite task!)
There are full circles within the bigger full circle. I’ve come across films I’ve worked on such as “Wicked” and “Return of the Living Dead III.” Every day I handle big commercial films that are currently or recently in theaters. It’s exciting at times when you’ve got some of your favorite films in your hands; “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Reservoir Dogs,” “Schindler’s List.” Filmmakers and actors hold screenings at small theaters at Fotokem. Sometimes huge stars are there to attend a screening or screen dailies. Halle Berry was there one day. I didn’t get a chance to see her, but I walked right by Christopher Nolan one day. (Not as sexy, but total movie geekness!)
Julian (middle) says goodbye to film vault.
Julian, my 30 year-old trainer, was moving on to his new position at Fotokem, in the uploading files department. A group of us took him out for a goodbye lunch. The Glendale vault made him a graduation cap out of film trim boxes.
Most days are very busy, but they go quickly. It is a tough position. I hope to move into a different and better-paying position at the company. Because of landing this job I was able to move out of the house I was sharing with four people and have my own apartment again in North Hollywood. Fotokem is only a 10 minute drive. Recently, I started a new shift starting at 7am. My work day is over at 3:30pm. It gives me time to do other things; writing, doing laundry, or taking a nap on my brand new couch.
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3 Years in Vegas
DMZ border of North and South Korea
Wow! Has it been three years since I landed at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas? On July 12th, 2010, I was flying back from South Korea on an ESL teaching job. I only spent 7 weeks there instead of the one year I was supposed to put in. It was a major career turn as I’m constantly seeking ways to make a living. The film business may be easy for some people, but for the majority it’s very, very hard. I used to have larger-than-life dreams about the film industry, but that’s transitioned into making a living in film. And I keep coming back to film no matter how difficult it is. I may not be a master of any one particular job such as screenwriting, directing or video editing, but I love doing them. Sacrifice is a given in this business. For various reasons, I let my first love of screenwriting sit on a shelf for many years while trying to make a living as a video editor.
Ross Directs “The Octo Circus”
Ross Edits TV pilot
My thought was that I would edit film or TV by day and write at night. Directing seems to come with inspiration when I’m totally broke. In 2009, when I was struggling to make a living as an editor, I made a $400 short film, “The Octo Circus” inspired by the Octo Mom. I only entered a handful of film festivals as they’re expensive. The film did not get into any festivals, but has been getting a steady stream of You Tube hits.
At the end of 2009, I took a course in teaching ESL or English as a Second Language course. At the end of May 2009, I boarded a plane from Las Vegas (where my parents live) to Seoul, South Korea. When the director informed me after a few weeks that I wouldn’t be teaching for more than a month, I spent every weekend touring all over Seoul and taking in everything; museums, palaces, tourist traps, the DMZ. It was a great experience.
Viva Las Vegas!
Ross at Red Rock Cyn.
What am I going to do here? Re-Inventing myself was a topic I spoke on in 2012 at a Delivering Happiness Inspire event. I’m proud of the accomplishments I’ve made here in Las Vegas. Although work has not been consistent, I’ve had some opportunities I might not have had in LA.
Ross writes about Duran Duran for Vegas 7 Magazine.
- Wrote a first person article about my experience attending TribeFest, a gathering of Jewish Federations from all over North America for David Magazine
- Had a 4 page story about my career in David Magazine
- Became a RAW Artist as a filmmaker at first RAW event in Las Vegas with “The Octo Circus”
- Have written and still write concert reviews periodically for Vegas Seven Magazine; Scott Weiland, ZZ Top, Tesla, Matisyahu, Crosby and Nash
- Have been an active member of the LV Screenwriting Group
- Incorporated my production company, In Your Head Productions, LLC
- Founded and was the Festival Director for Social Media Film Festival that took place at The Mirage in 2012
- Interviewed on various radio stations including the Las Vegas Social Media Show
- Been involved with various TV pilots as an editor and other film and video projects
Rianne, Rayna & Ross at RAW
SMFF Crew @ Royal House
What’s next? Where will I be in the years to come?
Social Media Film Festival was a success, but not the type of success I was hoping for even in its first year. Some more sponsorship and money would be needed the next time around. I do hope to put SMFF on again some day. Currently, I’m teaching myself Avid Media Composer in hopes of making that technical skill and system how I make a living. Either I will find work on TV or film projects back in Los Angeles or some other skill will help me find more work here in Las Vegas. I’m prepping to soon direct a no-budget short film comedy about genetically modified foods. In addition, I am working on a new screenplay. It simply feels good to be writing again and working on a new idea instead of beating my head against the wall re-writing old screenplays.
There are some really cool people here in Las Vegas and I hope to stay in touch whether my work and/or career brings me back to LA or not. We are a little bit passed the half-way mark of 2013. I feel inspired and motivated to make things happen.
Ross Picalum Pose
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Displaced in Vegas
Wow! It’s been one year since I landed in Las Vegas after teaching English in South Korea for 7 whole weeks. What was supposed to be a back-up plan to my filmmaking career ended up being just another experience. I left Los Angeles after 18 years. I have had a love-hate relationship with my filmmaking career. I’m still struggling to make any kind of steady income. The film business is so hard if you don’t have that full-time position. And I know people whom would love to break into freelance work, but are a bit afraid to leave their full-time job. It’s not easy to give up a steady paycheck. So, I don’t officially have a back-up plan.
My back-up plans need back-up plans.
It’s not all bad! Since I realized I may be in Las Vegas for a while, I decided to make the best of it. It hasn’t been easy making friends in this town, but I’ve manged to make a few. A friend told me I could be like a big fish in a small pond. There’s a little truth to that. I’ve had some great opportunities here in Vegas. I edited a short film, “Come Together” about social media. That’s starting to get out there. In April, I wrote an article about TribeFest, a gathering in Vegas of all the Northern American Jewish Federations that was published in David, a local Vegas magazine. That article lead to a 4-page story about myself and my film experiences; screenwriting, directing and editing in David Magazine. That story coincided with a screening I had in June for an old feature film I produced, co-wrote and co-directed. And on July 28th I’ll be screening my short film, “The Octo Circus” as a part of RAW Artists with all sorts of artists; Art, Music, Fashion, Photography and Models.
So, it hasn’t been a great year, but there’s been some good things that have come out of living in Vegas.
‘Always look on the bright side of life.’
If you’d like to attend the RAW Artist event in Las Vegas July 28th click the following link. Make sure you use the drop-down menu to show my name [Ross H. Martin] when buying tickets which are only $10. http://www.rawartists.org/lasvegas/illuminare
In Your Head Productions 