Screenplaying

From Shakespeare to a multiverse, the vision of a writer for screen or stage is meant to be brought to life and transformed by actors. In this episode of Screenplaying from the Screenwriting MFA at the Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western and The Crested Butte Film Festival, actor and GPCW Performance Coach Andrew Sellon and special guest, actor Tim Sheahan go in-depth on the topic of h...

Folks from the Screenwriting MFA at Western Colorado University's Graduate Program in Creative Writing and folks from The Crested Butte Film Festival come together in this episode to exchange ideas about Debra Granik's powerful indie film Leave No Trace , starring Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzie. The story of a traumatized veteran living off the grid and unhoused with his devoted teenage daughter...

In this episode, the Screenwriting MFA in Western's Graduate Program in Creative Writing and The Crested Butte Film Festival take great joy in sharing Griffin in Summer , a remarkable film that screened at the CBFF in 2024 and deserves a much wider audience. So, "Underseen Indies" may well be the first in a series!  Enjoy the back and forth as we (almost entirely) praise this marvel of scriptwriti...

Movies show us therapeutic processes and give us a therapeutic process, too. In this episode, Tim Sheahan, licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist and frequent guest of our podcast with The Crested Butte Film Festival, talks with James Napoli from the Screenwriting MFA at The Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western about the many ways in which therapy finds its way into cinematic...

What is it like to film in a war zone? Documentary filmmakers Jordan Campbell ( Ukraine Under Fire) and Ashley Matkowsky ( Why We Went) offer riveting and heartfelt commentary on their role as filmmakers capturing images, triumphs and tragedies from the war in Ukraine. Moderated by documentarian T.C. Johnstone ( Rising from the Ashes ) at the 15th annual Crested Butte Film Festival, this unflinchi...

This episode, Screenwriting Director James Napoli from The Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western Colorado University interviews  Lilly Lion , whose award-winning short film "You & Me & Chaz & Rodney" premiered at the 15th Annual Crested Butte Film Festival . The film's story? -- "After making a plan to hook up with boys for the first time, two curious teens must instead confront their ow...

A fascinating duality among the folks at the MFA in Screenwriting at Western Colorado University's Graudate Program in Creative Writing and the Crested Butte Film Festival as they discuss (debate?) the classic 1971 offbeat romance "Harold and Maude." What does the passage of time do to our experience of art? Is there a universal message in a story that can cut across generations? These are just so...

What's it like to direct a short film and take it on the festival circuit? This episode of Screenplaying features Screenwriting Director James Napoli from Western Colorado University's Graduate Program in Creative Writing in conversation with Writer/Director Ellen Ancui, whose terrific film SAVERIO was screened at The Crested Butte Film Festival and uses a seriocomic approach to look at the issue...

Live in the moment with Western Colorado University's MFA in Screenwriting and The Crested Butte FIlm Festival, as this episode of our podcast takes an incredibly deep dive into Perfect Days, Wim Wenders' remarkable story of a Japanese restroom janitor whose inner life transcends his occupation in surprising ways. Contemplatively paced, yet packed with all the emotional explosions of an action mov...

This episode features Screenwriting Director James Napoli from Western Colorado University's Graduate Program in Creative Writing in conversation with Noah Amir Arjomand, whose short "Pretend I'm Not Here" had its Colorado premiere at The Crested Butte Film Festival.  In a far-reaching interview, Noah talks his remarkable film (which you can view in its entirety here! ), and quite a bit more, as t...

"When movies are the most interesting is when something is not only seeming to happen for the first time, but, indeed is."  The Crested Butte Film Festival and the Screenwriting MFA at Western Colorado University's Graduate Program in Creative Writing are proud to present this conversation with legendary filmmaker Ed Zwick, recipient of the 15th Annual Crested Butte Film Festival's Lifetime Achiev...

In this episode, the folks from Western Colorado University's Screenwriting MFA Program and the Crested Butte Film Festival regroup after this year's festival to talk about some of our favorite movies and reflect on the CBFF 15th Anniversary Year! Films mentioned in this podcast: Lost Wolves of Yellowstone Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight Little Trouble Girls What Marielle Knows Crede USA Prime...

In this episode, the folks from  Western Colorado University's Screenwriting MFA Program  and  The Crested Butte Film Festival explore Sarah Polley's fascinating documentary about life, family secrets and the mutability of memory. We get lost in a mind-bending discussion about what's real and what's not! Plus, our hosts share their own favorite movies about family dysfunction, adding even more fil...

In our premiere episode, folks from Western Colorado University's Screenwriting MFA Program and The Crested Butte Film Festival take a deep dive into the French New Wave and its origins as we have a fascinating conversation about Francois Truffaut's landmark, semi-autobiographical coming-of-age film,  The 400 Blows .  We are grateful to the amazing Nerdwriter Video Channel for its cogent explanati...