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SCREENWRITERS’ COMMENTS* ABOUT
THE MOONDANCE FILM FESTIVAL IN YEARS PAST:

  • This was the most positive, beautifully run contest and film festival I have ever attended. Unbelievably fun and illuminating. Elizabeth English, who created and runs the festival, is a master of organization and has a great ability to pull talented people together. I believe the Moondance Festival will grow greatly in its influence and prestige in the years to come. – Leslie King
  • For…one which focuses on promoting and encouraging women writers and filmmakers, I think the festival was great! – DonnaMarie Vaughan
  • I entered Moondance for the first time in 2001 and did not place. I worked on my script, re-entered and placed as Finalist in 2002. This year in 2004, I won one of the prizes for Best Short Story (despite being a children’s story it placed in the Adult story category). I have attended two festivals and each has been a wonderful experience, lots of networking, supportive help, and fine quality of work makes placing on any level a worthy thing. Elizabeth English and her staff were truly gracious and professional, plus the festival was great fun. I intend to continue to compete and attend. – Lola Martin Balaguer
  • I attended the 2005 Moondance International Film Festival in Boulder and was surprised and delighted to receive the Spirit of Moondance Award for my first feature script, A RECIPE TO DIE FOR. I found the workshops very informative and well presented and the films that were screened continuously, all day long, of the highest quality. I especially benefited from the Pitch Sessions, held by some wonderful presenters, mostly from L.A. Best of all, I met an WGA agent, who loved my script and later called me to sign on with him. Overall, the festival and contest was very professional and helped my career tremendously. I highly recommend the contest to any aspiring artist! As a Short Screenplay Finalist in 2002, not only did I receive a request to read my script, but with Elizabeth’s guidance and encouragement, I gained the confidence to tackle the writing of a feature length screenplay. It’s been an amazing ride. I’ve had dozens of requests for my script. – Bonnie Maffei
  • At a time when too many movies glamorize or trivialize violence, Moondance stands out by awarding the Columbine award to scripts and movies with a good story about exceptional and compelling characters who want to make the world better, against seemingly impossible odds, and who employ a variety of nonviolent means to do so– using the power of law, humor, public exposure, ingenuity or just plain guts. I was thrilled to have my screenplay which was inspired by a true story, win this highly coveted award in 2005. “One! The Garry Davis Story” is based on the dramatic life of the first official world citizen. The forthcoming movie, described at www.onefilms.com, received a major boost by winning in this important international contest — which is for men and women and people of all ages. – Arthur Kanegis
  • When I wrote my first screenplay, I was bold enough to send it to the Moondance Film Festival, without having had it read or critiqued by anyone. Needless to say it was full of weak spots and format errors. The readers at Moondance felt the story had promise and kept it alive till the finals. Elizabeth English called my home on more than one occasion to talk to me about it. I can’t tell you what that did for my confidence as a new writer. I think it’s great that there is a film festival and writing competition that encourages strong female roles and genres other than sci-fi, action/adventure and horror flicks. So, I am all for Elizabeth’s quest to bring about some change. Moondance promotes some wonderful films. I attended the festival in 2002, 2004 and will again this fall. (By-the-way, I have since placed in the finals for 13 contests, placed third in three and have won two. Moondance is where I got started.) Thank you Eliazbeth for that boost of confidence back in 2002! – CarrieAnn Lee
  • I submitted (my) script…right before the deadline — and some time in May the director of Moondance, Elizabeth English, called to say she’d just read my script, loved it, and thought it should be a movie. In addition to the phone conversation I had with Elizabeth, I also attended several panels at the Moondance Film Festival, where I received feedback on my pitch and logline. I met a producer who’s taking a look at it, and I have had quite a few requests to read the script. The whole Moondance experience has been wonderful. – Amy Quick Parrish
  • We were thrilled with everyone at Moondance including its founder, Elizabeth English. We flew to LA to attend the festival at Raleigh Studios. We received our awards and framed them. We were able to hand the script to a WGA agent at Moondance. Our script was requested by a production company who will be co-producing a handful of films for a well-known distributor. We have the script with a management company and some other production companies. Everything was superb. Great time, great memories! – Colleen McQuaide
  • I entered my script in the Moondance competition because they…make an effort to help find an agent, get it sold and/or optioned. This is what made it a very enticing competition to enter. In my opinion, a grand prize like this is far better than winning some cash, especially if one obtains representation and/or sells their screenplay. I was extremely satisfied. Being one of the Moondance Columbine Best Feature Screenplay winners has provided me with a little more clout. Acknowledgement like that definitely encourages one to keep on pursuing the dream. Elizabeth English did wonderful job with the administration of the festival. The folks working the festival were friendly and very attentive. All deadlines were met accordingly. – John Alarid

* These comments are from Moondance’s “Report Card” & Interviews at: www.moviebytes.com