City gives film-makers a double shot at action; Two big movie industry events head for Cardiff.

Byline: Sion Barry

CARDIFF'S reputation as a magnet for filmmakers is being cemented by two events being held in the city.

In November the city is to host a major European film conference.

The European Audio-Visual Entrepreneurs (EAVE) roadshow will be held in November - attracting more than 100 of Europe's film-making elite.

The week-long event will feature a series of high-profile workshops, networking, screenings and other events. It will give Welsh film-makers the opportunity to explore co-productions with producers from other countries and international film-making opportunities.

Due to be held at St David's Hotel, the event will climax in a series of industry pitching sessions, when Europe's leading film financiers will come face-to-face with some of Europe's most promising producers, including a contingency from Wales.

Chief executive of the Film Agency for Wales Pauline Burt said: "This is a prestigious event that represents an invaluable shop-window for Welsh production companies to establish and develop relationships in the European and international co-production market-place, affording them a unique opportunity to raise their profile and build upon their longer term business ambitions.

"We're delighted to have secured the prestigious event for Wales."

Meanwhile, key figures from the creative industries are to gather in Cardiff today to debate how scriptwriters can capitalise on new opportunities in Wales.

Doctor Who writer Helen Raynor, award-winning playwright Gary Owen and BBC arts and entertainment commissioning executive Ceri Sherlock are among the guest speakers.

Professor of theatre, film and TV at Glamorgan University Steve Blanford initiated the event, which will be hosted at the Atrium Building by the university's Cardiff School of Creative and Cultural Industries and the Skillset Screen Academy Wales.

He said: "With so many new opportunities for scriptwriters in Wales there has never been a more important time to consider where original work will come from.

"Within the British writing industry, there has been a perception that there are too few good scripts emerging from Wales, and those who teach writing for screen are used to a level of industry scepticism about the quality of work emerging from their courses.

"This event is designed to create a dialogue between those of us who work to bring on talented writers in Wales and to develop new ways of working together more constructively in order to build on the new opportunities that now exist."