In 1999, Dana Myskowski left the Granite State to participate in UCLA's professional screenwriting program. Five years later, she's already written 15 feature-length scripts and a dozen short films, had a film produced, and won a number of awards.

Next Monday, Aug. 9, Myskowski will be supervising a screenwriting workshop at the Rhode Island International Film Festival, where she won first prize in 2002 for her screenplay, "Lemonade Stand," which was later produced by Double Midnight Productions in Manchester (the same outfit that's producing the NH Film Expo in Portsmouth, Oct. 15-17). For Myskowski, the RIIFF is a sort of homecoming. "They were so supportive of me," she says. "I'm really excited to go back and give back to the community that helped me out."

The RIIFF will be held Aug. 10-15-find out more at www.film-festival.org. And you can send in a script (or film) for the NH Film Expo 2004 awards (www.nhfx.com) through Aug. 15.

Myskowski's multimedia presentation, "Breathing Space," is currently in production and set to premiere Nov. 19 at the Christa Mcauliffe Planetarium in Concord. The presentation, aimed at junior high kids, deals with global warming and clean air issues, using "a lot of sarcasm," Myskowski says.

Mr. Rogers continues to deliver tales of the human spirit triumphing over adversity. That's Bill Rogers, of the Portsmouth-based Coruway Film Institute. He's currently working on three different documentary projects that will inspire and move viewers. The first is about Bode Miller. After successful viewings in Portsmouth and Telluride, Colo., Rogers is finishing up the final editing. "The responses have been really good," he says about the film. "Right now, we're just trying to make it better and stronger." The final cut should be ready by October, when the film will start making appearances at various film festivals.

Also in progress is a documentary about the Fernald State School, one of the first institutions for the mentally handicapped in the country. "I came up with the idea in '92," says Rogers. "I've been working on it actively for about three years." The film is being funded by PBS, and you can look for the documentary to make its television debut sometime this winter.

Next week, though, Rogers will be going to Decatur, Ill., to film Marshall Moore of Exeter as he takes part in the USATF Masters' Outdoor Track and Field championships. Moore, a 14-year veteran of Parkinson's disease at age 47, will be running in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter sprint races. Rogers, who just found out about the project recently, isn't exactly sure how he will handle the subject matter. "You have to let the content determine the form," he says, both of filming Moore and of the documentary style in general. "You have to allow for the reality of what's going on." The race is just the beginning of his project with Moore. "His story is remarkable," says Rogers. "How much this race is a part of his story remains to be seen."

For more information on Marshall Moore's progress, visit www.racingwithparkinsons.org.