Academy Award nominee with local ties offers screenwriting workshop at UH

The former Punahou School student was nominated for "Letters from Iwo Jima".

Hawaii Independent Staff

HONOLULU — In her upcoming UH Outreach College/Pacific New Media workshop, The Business of Screenwriting, Academy Award nominee Iris Yamashita discusses the process of selling a finished screenplay: getting a foot in the door in Hollywood, finding an agent, and everything else required of a screenwriter until the film is “green-lit.” Day Two includes individual and group exercises and an opportunity to workshop existing story ideas or come up with new ideas in a pitch-able format.

Born in Missouri, then raised in Hawai‘i (attending Punahou School), Iris Yamashita is the screenwriter for Clint Eastwood’s film, Letters from Iwo Jima, which was nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Sound Editing (winning for Best Sound Editing).

Two of Yamashita’s short stories have been published in All Nippon Airway’s inflight magazine, Wingspan, after twice winning first place in their international short fiction contest. One of her screenplays won first place honors in the Big Bear Lake Screenwriting Competition. There, she was approached by Cathy Tarr at CAA, who was a presiding judge for the competition and who now represents her.

Call 956-8400 to register or visit www.outreach.hawaii.edu/pnm


Sat-Sun, June 4-5
9:00am-4:00pm
UH Manoa Krauss Hall (012)
$200