Leading screenwriter and playwright Sir David Hare will give a keynote speech at this year's International Screenwriters Festival in July.


The writer - whose work includes the screenplays for The Hours, Plenty and Damage - will talk about the pressures his profession at the event in the UK town of Cheltenham (July 3-6)


The talk, called Input And Where To Put It will consider 'social demands on an anti-social profession.'

The contribution of Hare is a further coup for a festival that has become a major industry event in just two years.

Among the speakers already signed up are Diana Osana (Brokeback Mountain), Michael Goldenberg (Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix), Anthony Horowitz (Stormbreaker), Shawn Slovo and Robyn Slovo (To Catch A Fire) and Abi Morgan (Brick Lane).

The event covers every aspect of the screenwriting profession frombasic skills to the broader business. It also takes in a wide range ofgenres, offering expertise in many areas.

Sponsorship partners this year included SW Screen, Cheltenham Council, BBC Films, BAFTA, Skillset, LSC, ITV, David Lean Foundation & Indigenous Finance. The media Sponsor is Screen International.