Special Features | Screen Playing: From Short Film to Feature
March 5 | 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Date & Time
Thursday, March 5, 2026 (6:30–8:30 p.m.)
This workshop guides filmmakers through the process of transforming a short film script into a feature-length screenplay. Focusing on character depth, narrative structure, and thematic expansion, students will explore how to grow a contained idea into a sustained, compelling story without losing its core. Through practical frameworks and development strategies, the session offers tools for reimagining scale, stakes, and arcs—helping writers envision their short film as the foundation for a feature.
Patrick Michael is an award-winning screenwriter and director based in Los Angeles. He studied pre-medicine at the University of Washington before turning to filmmaking, where he ultimately earned an MFA from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. Influenced by filmmakers such as Charles Burnett, Mike Leigh, and Lynne Ramsay, his work examines identity, memory, and transformation, crafting stories that blur the boundaries between the personal and the universal. His latest short film, Black Silk, screened in competition at major festivals including the Atlanta Film Festival and the Seattle International Film Festival, and received the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Short at Dances With Films LA. He most recently had two scripts selected at the Austin Film Festival Writers Conference, where his feature-length screenplay for Black Silk was awarded the Josephson Entertainment Fellowship Award.
Special Features is an art and film focused professional development workshop series curated by the Film, Video, Animation & New Genres department at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.