Mission and Board of Advisors

The Austin Film Festival, Inc., is dedicated to furthering the art, craft, and business of screenwriting and filmmaking by providing unique, year-round cultural events and services, enhancing public awareness and participation, and encouraging dynamic and long-lasting community partnerships.

The Austin Film Festival is a not for profit 501c3 corporation. 

Board of Advisors

DOUG BELGRAD
Columbia Pictures
Doug Belgrad is a President of Production at Columbia Pictures, currently supervising several films in development, production and post-production. Among the films that Doug has supervised are MEN IN BLACK II, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, DEEDS, starring Adam Sandler, and NATIONAL SECURITY with Martin Lawrence. He is currently overseeing 8 Crazy Nights, an animated feature produced by, and starring the voice of Adam Sandler. Doug has also supervised such blockbuster films as BIG DADDY, MEN IN BLACK, HOLLOW MAN and 8 CRAZY NIGHTS.

SHANE BLACK
A screenwriter frequently working in the adventure genre--he detests the label, "action films"-- Shane Black has been responsible for creating a number of box office blockbusters, including the first two installments of the LETHAL WEAPON series and 1991's THE LAST BOY SCOUT, starring Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans. He also wrote the lesser-known feature film, THE MONSTER SQUAD. In 1996, Shane sold his espionage script THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT to New Line Entertainment for a record sum of money. He went on to produce the film with director Renny Harlin and the film's star, Geena Davis.

WILLIAM BROYLES, JR.
After attending Rice and then Oxford University, William Broyles, Jr. worked in the civil rights movement, served as a Marine infantry lieutenant in Vietnam, and held positions at Texas Monthly and Newsweek as founding editor and editor-in-chief respectively. After co-creating the television series "China Beach," he teamed with Al Reinert to write the highly praised film APOLLO 13. His credits include ENTRAPMENT, CAST AWAY, PLANET OF THE APES and UNFAITHFUL.

JIM DAUTERIVE
A native Texan, Jim Dauterive was one of the original writers on the Emmy® award-winning comedy "King of the Hill." Last year, he wrote a television pilot for Fox with Mike Judge called "Monsignor Martinez" about a Mexican priest who kills drug lords. Turns out, priests are a touchy subject. The pilot was not picked up. Never one to learn from its mistakes, Fox has hired Jim to write another pilot this year. Jim has also recently completed a feature script about bull semen.

ROBERT DRAPER
A contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and National Geographic as well as a correspondent for GQ, Robert Draper is the author of several works of fiction and nonfiction, including the New York Times bestselling biography "Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush." A former Austinite and senior editor for Texas Monthly, he now lives in Washington D.C.

MATTHEW GROSS
Gross recently resigned his position as President of Production for Kopelson Entertainment to head up his own production company Gross Entertainment. He has exclusive deals with Touchstone Television for TV and a first look feature deal with John Davis and 20th Century Fox. While Matt was at Kopelson, they produced THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE, A PERFECT MURDER, U.S. MARSHALS, MAD CITY, MURDER AT 1600 DON'T SAY A WORD AND JOE SOMEBODY.

BARRY JOSEPHSON
Josephson Entertainment
Barry Josephson is a film and television producer. His distinguished career ranges from personal management to key roles in music, television and film productions, including ENCHANTED, LIKE MIKE, THE LADY KILLERS and THE LAST BOYSCOUT. Mr. Josephson was formerly President of Worldwide Production for Columbia Pictures and is a founding member of Comic Relief.

PETER KANG
FOX 2000
Peter Kang turned his internship with 20th Century Fox into a full-time position, eventually rising to his current position as Vice President of Production at Fox 2000. A 1996 alumnus of the Peter Stark Producing Program, Kang was recently named one of the “Next Generation” of executives by the Hollywood Reporter.

LAWRENCE KASDAN
Kasdan Pictures
Lawrence Kasdan has written, directed or produced twenty-one motion pictures, including BODY HEAT, THE BIG CHILL, SILVERADO, THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST and GRAND CANYON. Among them, he has written or co-written four of the most successful films in motion picture history -- RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, RETURN OF THE JEDI and THE BODYGUARD. Kasdan has been nominated for four Academy Awards and six Writer’s Guild Awards. In 2006, The Writers Guild of America honored him with its Laurel Award for advancing the literature of motion pictures.

LYLE LOVETT
Singer-songwriter, guitarist and sometime film actor and composer, Lyle Lovett won a 1989 Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. His albums, the first of which was released in 1986, incorporated elements of country, Western, folk, swing, jazz, bebop, blues and gospel music. He graduated from Texas A&M with degrees in German and journalism.

CHRIS MCQUARRIE
After an abysmal showing as assistant teacher at a West Australian boarding school, Christopher McQuarrie returned to his home state of New Jersey, where he worked for four years at his uncle’s detective agency. His first produced screenplay became the utterly abysmal PUBLIC ACCESS – inexplicable co-winner of the 1993 Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize. Shortly thereafter, McQuarrie was at work on THE USUAL SUSPECTS. He has been working for the last six years on an untitled project for director Ed Zwick. It had better be good.

RICK PAPPAS
Pappas is an entertainment attorney specializing in motion pictures, publishing, new media and theatre. In 1991 he conceived and produced red hot + blue, a charity recording/film project that generated more than $5 million for aids research and relief.

POLLY PLATT
As a highly distinguished production designer, costume designer and then producer, Polly Platt has worked on a wealth of marvelous films, including THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, WHAT'S UP DOC?, PAPER MOON, TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, BROADCAST NEWS, THE WAR OF THE ROSES, SAY ANYTHING..., and BOTTLE ROCKET. Her writing credits include TARGETS, PRETTY BABY and MAP OF THE WORLD. Currently, Polly is working with producer Alan Bloomquist on a feature, TWO HARBORS, which she will direct.

ANNE RAPP
After fifteen years of working as a script supervisor, Anne Rapp began her screenwriting career when one of her short stories attracted the attention of Robert Altman. She went on to write a one-hour episode of his ABC-TV series, "Gun," and two movies that he directed, COOKIE'S FORTUNE and DR. T AND THE WOMEN. Three years later, after her Altman contract was completed, she entered the special world of “development.” The next year and a half produced a screenplay called MERCY, a book adaptation that still floats aimlessly out there in the bowels of Tinseltown purgatory. She has written another original spec script called DOUBLE WIDE that she is dead solid certain will turn “the-show-business” on its head, resulting in her next year’s film festival bio not even having room for any of the above. So memorize it now.

RANDALL WALLACE
Last summer, Randall Wallace directed his second feature film, WE WERE SOLDIERS, starring Mel Gibson, Sam Elliott, Madeleine Stowe and Greg Kinnear. He also wrote, produced and directed the 1998 blockbuster, THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK, based on the classic Alexander Dumas novel. His screenplays include PEARL HARBOR and BRAVEHEART, for which he earned the WGA Award for Best Original Screenplay of 1995 as well as Golden Globe and Academy Award® nominations. Mr. Wallace is also an accomplished novelist and has worked as a television Writer/Producer and co-creator of two network series.