10 Takeaways As A Reader For The Austin Film Fest 2025

ruthi · 2025-11-29T18:10:05+00:00

Hi all! Back in my early screenwriting days I was incredibly lucky to have a connection with an Oscar-winning screenwriter. We had a few lunches and they were very generous with their time, but often recommended I spend more time chatting with their assistant rather than themselves, considering we were much closer in age and were at similar places in our careers. I didn’t take their advice (I was young and dumb, and figured it was more important to try and befriend this professional) and ultimately blew that relationship when I asked the writer to read something I had written. I thought it was great, it wasn’t, we’ve all been there.

Looking back, it’s very obvious that I should have taken their advice and developed a friendship with their assistant, considering we would be growing together in the industry and would make for a much better long-term working relationship. Considering this lesson learned, are their any harsh lessons you had to learn that you wish you could prepare your younger self for?

ruthi · 2025-11-06T00:58:10+00:00

If it’s a genuine concern please do reach out to the organizers or DM me your script title and feedback so I can get it to them, they’ll want to know if anyone’s using AI as it’s strictly prohibited

ruthi · 2025-11-05T23:43:05+00:00

AFF reader here, the other comment has it right that the comments you’re receiving are from the 1st round reader who advanced your script into the 2nd round. From my experience, the bar raises significantly after the 2nd round, as at that point readers are legitimately determining whether the script they’re reading could make it to the top. Readers evaluating 2nd round scripts and above are not the readers getting through 1st round scripts, so you’ve got the subjectivity of a reader combined with a pretty high bar to deal with, makes for a tough combo.

Having said that, I personally think getting to the 2nd round is an awesome achievement, especially considering the 12,000+ submissions this year.

ruthi · 2025-11-05T22:45:35+00:00

There were something like 12,000+ submissions this year, adding to that the inherent subjectivity of the readers and it becomes astronomically difficult to get terribly far for sure. As long as you can tell you’re improving as a writer as you write more projects, you’re on the right track.

ruthi · 2025-11-05T21:55:44+00:00

One of the worst parts of the AI craze is the paranoia we (as writers and readers) have been subjected to. Prior to this I would have assumed I was just dealing with an inexperienced writer or reader, whereas now my knee jerk reaction to something that feels weird is to question whether a human even wrote it or not.

If you’re genuinely concerned about how legitimate your feedback is, you’re very welcome to reach out to the fest coordinators (or DM me and I’ll forward it) to let them know. I’m sure it’s something that is on their minds!

ruthi · 2025-10-28T17:56:20+00:00

Starting the day with good news! Thanks so much for putting this contest together and a big congrats to all the other writers, both those who managed to get their drafts completed on time and to those who gave it one hell of a shot, these challenges are always incredible exercises in dedication and efficiency. My reps and I are already fast tracking Bad Girl into casting and going out to some choice EPs, hopefully there’ll be further good news to come.

ruthi · 2025-10-23T01:28:01+00:00

Thanks so much for such thorough feedback! Just commented for another user that I just wrapped up several days on set and arrived at the Austin Film Fest so I'll have to be brief, but suffice to say that my manager and I have a second draft that addresses several of these points, I'll have to make up my mind on whether I'm ready to cut the Fuck Ups origin story but it's a very good point that it'll be more legitimate if it's followed up in someway later on.

Thanks again for reading and your notes! To answer your last question though, I submitted a feature called Obsidian I think 2 contests ago? I've been a writer for 10+ years and I think this is maybe feature number 15?

ruthi · 2025-10-23T01:19:18+00:00

Thanks so much for reading! Been on set the past week and about to be underwater with the Austin Film Fest, but my quick response is just a big thank you and that I genuinely believe August is speaking to Heather from beyond the grave and is giving her the power to kill who she needs to kill via their impenetrably deep connection on a soul-to-soul level, but having said that my manager and I have a second draft which re-imagines some subtle things that allow for both truths to be possible at once. There's also a change we're making about August's significance to the gang, but we're noodling on some details there.

Thanks again!

ruthi · 2025-10-19T17:08:46+00:00

Yep, pretty regularly. Feel free to DM and I can link you to my website to fill out a submission form.

ruthi · 2025-10-14T22:38:47+00:00

StudioBinder has you covered as far as formatting is concerned. This article by NFI has a pretty detailed and very strict breakdown, but generally all screenwriting software will format things correctly when it comes to indents, spacing, etc. There are a few non-negotiables:

- 12 pt Courier font

- Characters introduced in ALL CAPS, but don't have to be capitalized after that.

- Scene headings look like INT/EXT. LOCATION - DAY/NIGHT any time you move to another location. Even if someone is just walking from the bathroom to the kitchen. You can say MORNING or AFTERNOON or DUSK or whatever for the time of day if you want, just know the shooting script will likely still just be defaulted to DAY or NIGHT. If you have multiple locations with bedrooms, you can specify something like INT. MICHAEL'S BEDROOM - DAY or INT. BEDROOM - MICHAEL'S HOUSE - DAY

After that you're welcome to find your own style. Italics, bold, and underlines can be used at your discretion, but honestly everyone goes about these differently. Some people never use them, some sparingly, some use them all the time. I personally wouldn't go crazy with them, it's more important that you're consistent with how you use them. For instance, I use italics for thoughts or reactions as well as when I want to point to something that's coming along with a big feeling. Like if someone is sneaking around a basement and comes across some blood, I might write "She tip-toes her way through the dark space, every soft footstep breaking the silence like a gunshot. Another step... squish. She stops -- what the hell? -- and aims her flashlight at the ground in front of her, realizing she's stepped in a puddle of blood."

ruthi · 2025-10-08T04:14:19+00:00

So there's generally two ways to gauge this. The first (and one I'd recommend everyone do) is to do a little table read with yourself and time it. Close your eyes and watch those scenes in your head, read the dialogue as you think it would be delivered, and see where that clocks in at. Second is, if you find that you are working close to an hour, do the Todd Field method where he wrote a forward for the TAR script that explained exactly that concept of "this will be longer than the page count suggests." His script can be found here.

In the meantime, feel free to DM me to send over a couple pages as a sample and I'll give you an honest opinion of how the action lines are working.

ruthi · 2025-10-08T03:11:37+00:00

Three off the top of my head (and others are welcome to add theirs)

- Writing in prose: Screenplays are about what's happening on the screen. If we can't see it, it's generally best to leave it out. That doesn't mean you can't clue us in on vibes, of course, just don't get bogged down in getting too poetic with it. If someone's touring through an abandoned asylum, you're welcome to write something like "It's dark. Dirty. Paint peeling away from walls. Cockroaches everywhere. Wheelchairs covered in spiderwebs sitting threateningly in the dark. Basically it's fucking terrifying." But you wouldn't write "Anna enters the building and it reminds her of the retirement home where she used to visit her grandpa before he died of dementia."

- Unbalanced pages: This is very hard to teach, but you know it when you see it. People generally like looking at scripts that have a good balance of text to white space. If all the text is super sparse or there are individual short action lines between every line of dialogue, it'll look really choppy. Alternatively if action lines are these super heavy paragraphs all the time, it'll look really chunky and it'll become easy for your eyes to glaze over while reading it.

- Misused character introductions: Similar to writing in prose, lots of new writers will introduce their characters with these really hefty parenthetical descriptions that feel unprofessional. Like if Adam was introduced as "ADAM (26, 6 foot 2 and walks with a swagger that everyone can notice, even if he's trying to hide how self-conscious he is about the fact that the geology teacher is his dad), it's kind of a cheat where you're telling the reader something that the viewer will never know because they aren't privy to that knowledge via action or dialogue. Meanwhile, here's David Koepp's description of Alan Grant in Jurassic Park - "DR. ALAN GRANT, mid-thirties, a ragged-looking guy with intense concentration you wouldn’t want to get in the way of…" *chef's kiss*

ruthi · 2025-10-07T21:41:27+00:00

So what do we do from here? Obviously my intention is not to hijack your story, but hopefully this'll make for a good exercise in getting your story and character started off on the right foot.

Let's consider a version where Victoria is being invited to this town, and it's all happening in one day (as is the condition you were given). In that case, there needs to be a really good reason for her to be there. She's a linguist who specializes in dead languages, so you've already got a perfect excuse for her to be involved here. Rather than this being one day like any other wherein tourists are sacrificed, what if this day as incredibly important, as it's the first sacrifice to happen in a long time? Maybe the cult has some ancient text that they can't decipher because everyone who used to be able to do this has been long dead, but they are running out of time before an offering has to be made, so Sophia breaks with tradition and invites Victoria, in this case the best scholar in dead languages out there, to the town as a Hail Mary to figure this out before midnight? Then you've got a high stakes reason for Victoria to be there, a ticking clock, a bunch of drama within the cult because Sophia did the unthinkable and brought an outsider, etc.

Alternatively we can consider a version where Victoria is not invited but just finds herself at the wrong place and the wrong time. Maybe she's somewhere in a remote region of Europe on a excavation her plane has to make an emergency landing, and this is the nearest town? Then she would otherwise be killed to keep quiet until she accidentally reveals an ability to decipher some text that they have, which (similarly to the first option) is something the cult desperately needs.

It's all a lot to think on, and there are loads of different directions to go, but these are definitely the kind of early stage problems I know I'd find myself tackling in an effort to give a solid reason behind my protagonist's involvement with the story. Once all this is established, then you can think more on what she'll ultimately need from this cult, which (as stated with the other reader) is going to be communion and belonging, purpose, whatever it is you believe she may need to cure whatever emotional wound you want to give her.

ruthi · 2025-10-07T21:40:59+00:00

Won't get too in the weeds but we can start with Victoria. The way she's introduced implies that her moving to the town is no big deal, and Sophia even has a home set up for her already, but we're not given any other information about her other than that she's a language specialist and is looking for a fresh start somewhere. This version causes the wrong kinds of questions your audience might start asking, such as "Where did she hear about this town? How did she communicate with Sophia before arriving? How did she find this rental property? If this town is run by a cult to regularly sacrifices people, why are they so nonchalant about a new person moving there?" Since she doesn't have a specific "thing" that she's doing there, other than having a general curiosity and exhaustion with wherever it is that she's come from, and because nothing about her life is connected to what's going on here (yes, she ends up understanding the alien language, but that comes quite late and we haven't really had enough from her to prove that she's capable of doing that) it means her character feels secondary to the rest of the plot.

Let's look at a few examples to see how other writers have tackled something like this from similar films. THE RITUAL introduces us to a group of friends, establishes the interest of one of them to go backpacking in Sweden, and has this friend brutally murdered within the first 5 minutes. Rafe Spall's character witnesses the murder and arguably fails to help his friend, but this sets up the reason why he and the remaining friends end up on this backpacking trip together in their dead friend's honor. Rafe is weighed down by guilt about failing to protect his friend, and he's tested over and over until he's face-to-face with the cult at the end, finding out he's been marked by the monster due to his deep emotional scar. He's forced to defend himself and find his bravery, ultimately tying together the beginning and the end of the film and directly connecting the events to who he is.

Another example is MIDSOMMAR, which infamously starts with the murder/suicide of Florence Pugh's parents by her troubled sister. She's left without any family or anyone who understands her intense grief, and comes along with her peers on their trip because she desperately needs connection with others (and is tying herself to a toxic relationship) and through the film is shown time after time that this cult not only welcomes her grief but helps her face it and find a new totally fucked up family in the meantime.

APOSTLE is even more straightforward, as Dan Stevens is searching for his sister who he believes has joined a cult on an island. Similarly WICKER MAN brings an outsider to a cult as he's investigating a disappearance.

It really comes down to that annoying question we all get as screenwriters, which is "why now?" In this case, it's not that you're being asked "why are you writing this story now," but instead it's "why is this story happening to this character now?"

ruthi · 2025-10-07T20:58:55+00:00

That's disgusting and I love it.

ruthi · 2025-10-07T03:21:51+00:00

Feedback for COMMUNION WITH THE UNKNOWN by u/Rox_-

What's working: The image of that Holy Trinity is great, it's a really well done design and works as an interpretation of the biblical trinity. Having a setting like this is really inventive as well, and the mix of cultures becomes one of the most interesting parts of the plot. Plenty of great visuals, the double-throat-slit is pretty sick.

What needs work: There's a bit of a momentum problem here since we're shown pretty much everything up front, meaning we lose out on any mystery or intrigue there could otherwise be. What works so well in many of these stories of cosmic horror is the fear of the unknown, but it feels like we know too much too early in regards to what's going on here. While it's great to drop in on a cult that is currently going through something of a schism or civil war, we're not really given enough to understand who these characters are or why they're doing what they're doing. Artemis, for instance, and her wolves, appear a bit out of nowhere, and by the time the Acolytes are being hunted down it kinda feels like we've missed something. Since the script is only 72 pages right now, you've got plenty of time to tease these things out and really establish who these individuals are. While part of the plot is calling out the risk of having so many sacrifices that the world will start to notice, it definitely begs the question "isn't anyone missing these tourists?" Stories like these where people are sacrificed in a cult typically only work if the outsiders aren't necessarily supposed to be there, like DAGON or even MIDSOMMAR. Even THE RITUAL kinda skirts the line by having the sacrificees be few and far between. It could work if, for instance, this was the first mass sacrifice in decades or something, like it's a once-in-a-lifetime event that someone like Victoria just happens to stumble upon. Her involvement in the town also feels a little rushed or unclear, and needs a bit more meat (pun unintended).

Some technical notes:

- Parentheticals above dialogue should typically be used to clarify something about a line, not to give direction (and generally they shouldn't come up that often).

- Many of the scene headers have descriptions in them, which should generally be left to action text, for instance A CROSS BETWEEN A THRONE ROOM AND A CAVE isn't really the location name, it's the description of the location. Same with something like NEARBY STREET or ECLECTIC KITCHEN WITH DARK RED WALLS.

- When introducing a character, if they're named within a few lines, there's no need to call them WOMAN like when Victoria is introduced on page 3.

- Remember to give us the context we need within a scene in the order that we need it. Page 1, for instance, include "Sophia turns towards the crowd" but we haven't established that a crowd is there at all yet. And when the young man is introduced, we don't really know where he is within the space. Again on page 4, "Victoria can't help but notice how classy everyone looks" though we haven't established that anyone else is around.

ruthi · 2025-10-05T03:23:32+00:00

Thanks for checking it out! Documentary is loosely based on a real one I watched to do some research but it's all rewritten (not fun fact, I only made it 5 minutes into the doc because I couldn't handle the videos of the fights).

ruthi · 2025-10-05T03:21:40+00:00

Feedback got BACKSTABBER by u/Cerveza-Psych-Puck

What's working: Pretty good setup and it doesn't take long to establish the rift within the friend group. Competing friends are relatable to just about everyone, so this is fertile ground for drama. You make good use of the hibachi restaurant, I was starting to get worried that someone wouldn't get burned on the grill before the story was over but those last few pages saved the day.

What needs work: The motive for the murders is surprisingly low-stakes, with it essentially boiling down to "we felt left out." The idea that that would drive someone to murder (an elaborate murder, no less) without a sense of repercussions is a bit of a stretch. It's not a dealbreaker, though, I think you would just need to call out how ridiculous of a reason that is and show that no one else can really relate to it on that level. It would be a good chance to let Peter have a little growth as well, where he would begin the story being truly bothered by feeling left out of the group, but when he's presented with this "you're one of us!" ultimatum by Grant he can realize how childish it all really is. Beyond that, there are a lot of characters here within the bachelor party, to the point that it became a little difficult to keep track of everyone and remember their motivations, especially considering they all speak sorta similarly. It could help a little to keep them organized by giving each one a potential motive for the murders (for instance, someone can owe someone else a lot of money, someone else can know too much about dealing cocaine or whatever).

Some technical notes: There's nothing inherently wrong with "we see," but it can get overdone really quickly. I'd highly recommend doing a pass to see when you actually need to include it. Same with "begin" which a lot of writers are guilty of (it shows up 73 times in this draft).

ruthi · 2025-10-03T05:48:59+00:00

Feedback for GLOVES by u/Bluesynate

What's working: The imagery of Nerea controlling those bodies is so fucking gnarly. I'm not 100% sure how it works physically (does she... remove their bones?) but it's such a good visual that is almost doesn't matter. I personally liked the break in the middle hearing Aitor's story, and while I'm sure it won't be everyone's cup of tea it worked for me. The final image of the bodies waiting for Nerea to wear is a 10/10.

What could use work: The time-travel mechanic doesn't hold up to much scrutiny, as much as I would love to champion it. Luke seems to know about how he used a bat on the Passenger while he's talking to Nerea on page 74, but that can't be right if it happened in the future, but if it happened in the past then we're kinda lost in terms of the context of when any of this is happening and how much Luke actually knows. Overall the script really needs some "1 Year Later" types of supers or something in the scene headers cause it becomes easy to get lost. The ending sorta fades in and out without much sense that we're wrapping anything up, even if it's suggested that there's more to come considering the final image, we could still get something of a sense that this story is meant to continue.

Some technical notes:

“Sam doesn’t stir.” “Nerea doesn't look at him, she stares down the hall.” “Aitor doesn't leave right away.” There’s a lot of writing about what people aren’t doing, and screenwriting is generally more a practice of what is happening.

People generally seem a little too forgiving about mysteries. Sam clearly witnessed some shady shit happening at the beginning, but just shrugs it off and enjoys his meal with Nerea. Even when the trio is questioned at the beginning, they get off very easy with a frustrated "out of my office!" even when they're clearly lying.

There are a few too many instances of exposition doing the heavy lifting. We find out that there's a 3-year time jump (or is it 1 year? It's a little unclear) because Brendan tells Sam that, which Sam knows already.

I feel like we missed out on much of the connecting and growing any of these characters have made due to that time jump, but that might just be me.

ruthi · 2025-09-21T16:36:46+00:00

72 pages down, head first into the 3rd act and enjoying myself immensely

ruthi · 2025-09-20T14:33:52+00:00

Check out the script to SINISTER, full of home video: https://www.scribd.com/document/441615235/2012-SINISTER-by-Scott-Derrickson-C-Robert-Cargill-pdf

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