Newcastle-based screenwriting conference Story Engine is planning a special theme this year, Scene Of The Crime.

The crime writing theme is tied into the 40th anniversary celebration of Mike Hodges’ Get Carter in Newcastle. The film will screen Friday with Hodges in attendance.

The next day, he will appear at Story Engine in a discussion with David Peace (author of The Red Riding Quartet and The Damned Utd) to talk about the importance of place within the crime genre, and the challenges of mixing fact and fiction.

Other speakers include novelist Denise Mina, Tony Grisoni (who adapted The Red Riding Trilogy) , BBC commissioner John Yorke, and novelist Ann Cleeves and screenwriter Paul Rutman.

In addition, script editor Eva Svenstedt Ward and writer Antonia Pyk will discuss their work for Swedish production company Yellow Bird, famed for Wallander and the Millennium trilogy as well as the new venture based on Liza Marklund’s crime novels.

The session on Saturday will end with a screening of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

The Story Engine: Scene Of The Crime takes place at the Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle on Friday and Saturday (Mar 11-12).  The conference was first set up in 2006 by filmmaker Ian Fenton in collaboration with New Writing North. This year’s event is delivered in partnership with Northern Film & Media and the Tyneside Cinema.

For more information, visit http://thestoryengine.com/