Having grown up in Pittsburgh, Carl Kurlander went to Los Angeles in 1982 after winning the MCA-Universal Studios Scholar Award while attending Duke University. Carl subsequently worked in Hollywood for two decades as a screenwriter (St. Elmo's Fire) and television writer/producer (Saved By The Bell) before returning to his hometown for what he and his wife believed would be a one-year Hollywood sabbatical to teach at the University of Pittsburgh. That journey not only ended up landing Carl a guest spot on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” for of all things, moving to Pittsburgh, but led to a feature documentary, “My Tale of Two Cities” about Pittsburgh reinventing itself, which has played in twenty cities around the country. In addition to teaching at the University of Pittsburgh, Carl is the co-founder and executive producer of the Steeltown Entertainment Project, a non-profit which is working to develop a thriving entertainment industry in Western Pennsylvania. Steeltown has helped drive films to the region by bringing in Lionsgate producer John Dellaverson to advocate for new film tax credit laws; launched the Steeltown Film Factory which last year included workshops featuring Oscar-winning screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher (Precious) and “300” producer Bernie Goldmann and awarded $25,000 to the best Pittsburgh-related short films; and produced “The Shot Felt Round The World” about Jonas Salk and the Pittsburgh community pulling together to conquer the most feared disease in the twentieth century—polio which inspired a viral video contest which is launching next month along with the next year of the Steeltown Film Factory. (See www.steeltown.org for details.)