Thursday, February 13

• 5:30 p.m.: CIX Talk
• 6:30 p.m.: Industry Networking Mixer at Adamus at The Silversmith Hotel
• 7 p.m.: Free screening of Mudbound, followed by Q&A with screenwriter Virgil Williams. Requires advance registration

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Register for Masterclass

Join award-winning screenwriter and playwright Virgil Williams (The Piano Lesson, Mudbound) in a Master Class on writing for film and television. The talk will be moderated by screenwriter Tracey Scott Wilson (The Americans, Respect), followed by a film screening of Mudbound and a Q&A with Willians, moderated by Tyra Martin, WGN TV Entertainment Producer and AAFCA member.

A veteran television writer and producer, Williams’ extensive credits include last year’s critically acclaimed adaptation of The Piano Lesson. Other credits include ground-breaking dramas ER and 24, as well as six seasons of CBS’s long-running procedural drama Criminal Minds. In November of 2017, Williams celebrated the release of his feature film debut, Mudbound. He also served as Executive Producer and originally adapted the script from the novel by Hilary Jordan. The critically acclaimed film was named the ‘Best Film of 2017’ by the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post and has earned numerous awards and accolades, including an Academy Award Nomination for Williams and cowriter/director Dee Rees for Best Adapted Screenplay. He also adapted Pulitzer Prize-winner Dana Canedy’s bestselling memoir A Journal for Jordan for director Denzel Washington and starring Michael B. Jordan. Williams was born and raised in Chicago, and his scripts often draw from his experiences growing up as a bi-racial kid in a city with a long history of racial tension.