During the Cold War, an intelligence officer, haunted by the death of his wife, must confront a corrupt politician who plans to start a military dictatorship in Brazil.
Poseidon Adventure meets Night of the Dead. When the world’s largest cruise ship is over-run by thousands of shambling, groping, synthetically reanimated corpses, celebrity Vlogger Rozo and her Dad Ammy, the Chief Engineer, must help the last survivors off the ship – which is made all the more hellish when it capsizes, as these particular flesh-eaters can swim like demented sharks.
It’s about hedonism and heroism. Chief engineer Ammy tries to help his estranged kids Rozo and Bud off his upturned cruise liner when it’s overrun by swimming zombies
2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?
The genre is contemporary action horror.
2. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
This would make a cinematically exciting, at times amusing, and visually amazing movie. It satirises today’s obsessions with celebrity, entertainment and gambling and so on, but also ends on an ironic note of hope. Although there have been examples of zombies in water, this is the first with huge numbers of them swimming like demented sharks, as far as I know.
3. How would you describe this script in two words?
Grossly exciting. Just two words? Maybe “sea zombies”.
4. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
Blade Runner is the film I’ve probably seen the most times, but there have been a few since that might surpass that. The Matrix (the first one obviously) is one. Sean of the Dead might be another.
5. How long have you been working on this screenplay?
Off and on I’ve been working on this idea for about 18 months, but it came together as a complete script in about three months.
6. How many stories have you written?
I don’t know how many stories I’ve written, and I’ve destroyed a lot. I’m working on two other screenplays and building up a set of about ten short stories, as well as a mini-series which I can’t talk about which is basically a mash-up of the Matrix and a kind of Road-trip.
7. What motivated you to write this screenplay?
I love the way the zombie genre in films and literature explores and reveals human nature and deep fears, and wanted to apply it to what I see as the current western malaise. Consumerism has been done, so basically my targets are shallow hedonism, vanity and celebrity culture. Also I couldn’t resist the appeal of reanimated corpses infesting the deep.
8. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?
Two major obstacles: 1. fitting it in to a busy life, and 2. not rewriting it too many times for the sake of it. I am in the middle or a whole new draft though!
9. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
Architecture and philosophy, and I’m semi-addicted to chess. I also have a bee in my bonnet about Religion being the very thing Jesus of Nazareth cam to liberate humans from, but that’s going to be a book, not a film.
10. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?
I love the enthusiasm and creativity in festivals like this and in all kinds of meetups with people in all areas of film making. This one seemed right for this screenplay. The initial feedback showed a huge amount of understanding and intelligence and was incredibly helpful and well-written.
11. You entered your screenplay via FilmFreeway. What has been your experiences working with the submission platform site?
So far I’ve found the submission platform very smooth and user-friendly, and I’ll be using it a good deal more in the future.
Watch the OCTOBER 2017 Winning Feature Screenplay.
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Thriller, Horror
Two men fly a Cessna from California to New Mexico for an out of state camping trip. They encounter bad weather and are forced down in the desert with no means of communication. Their situation becomes worse when they run across escaped convicts hiding out and are taken prisoner in an abandoned trailer park. They soon find out there’s more horrors waiting for them.
CAST LIST:
Narrator: Elizabeth Rose Morriss
Jory: Sean Ballantyne
Robert: Connor Lyon
Mike: Shaun Mazoka
Travis: Dan Cristofori
Fulton: Brennan Clost
Char: Rachel Rain Packota
Leona: Julie C. Sheppard
Get to know the winning writer:
1. What is your screenplay about?
An isolated, deserted trailer park in the middle of the desert falls under control of escaped convicts. Two guys on a camping trip accidentally become prisoners in the park and their trip turns into a fight for survival.
2. What genres does your screenplay fall under?
Suspense/Thriller
3. Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
Plays on everyone’s fears of being isolated, controlled by another human and put in an inescapable situation.
4. How would you describe this script in two words?
Page turner
5. What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN
6. How long have you been working on this screenplay?
4 months
7. How many stories have you written?
10 specs
8. What motivated you to write this screenplay?
Driving across the desert between Arizona and California (Had a summer home in CA) Seeing abandoned buildings especially in the abandoned town of Desert Center, CA and the soon to be ghost towns around the Salton Sea, CA. A lot of visuals went into this script from these two locales.
9. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?
Building some of the motivation for a few of the characters while keeping the readers on their toes and curious.
10. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
Reading about writers (Bios) and photography.
11. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?
Read some reviews on your festival which were positive. Feedback was to say the least, educational. I learned a lot about character development and pacing. The feedback was very encouraging regarding my writing. Appreciated it very much!
11. You entered your screenplay via FilmFreeway. What has been your experiences working with the submission platform site?
Good porthole for entering contests. Always updating info on upcoming festivals. Just one miscommunication on the acceptance of a spec I did in one festival. A mass Email was sent to clarify the issue in a few weeks.
A former fighter pilot and a flight attendant stumble into various adventure filled conflicts dealing with terrorists, the CIA, and double crossings, in this non stop action/thriller.
Get to know the writer:
What is your screenplay about?
My screenplay is pure fiction where the conceptional idea was derived from the disappearance of flight #MH370 (Malaysia Airlines) in 2014. The script has a disappearing aircraft that is deliberately high jacked by terrorists and routed to North Korean. The passengers are dead on board due to a deliberate lack of Oxygen and after landing in North Korea are buried in a mass grave. Our two protagonists, (a Male and a Female) escape and witness all the brutal heartless activity. They establish there is a preplanned elaborate plot which is turning they aircraft into flying bomb destined for Israel. They go through several dangerous situations to get out of North Korea with this vital information and realize they are in the middle of a spy game and have to establish who they can really trust?
What genres does your screenplay fall under?
An Action/Adventure/ Thriller
Why should this screenplay be made into a movie?
This would make a thrilling action movie, albeit it does contain some disconcerting scenes that are pivotal to the story. It’s a never been done before story and it does not fall into the category of a usual copycat movie.
How would you describe this script in two words?
Death Flight.
What movie have you seen the most times in your life?
APPARITION (I Produced it)
How long have you been working on this screenplay?
Two years.
How many stories have you written?
Eight screenplays and three novels.
What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the most times in your life?)
Dark side of the Moon.
What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?
Establishing the facts as to how an aircraft can be hidden from radar.
Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
Making movies, assuming the funding can be raised which is always the difficult part.
What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?
I thought your festival had a different flair as if what one had written and was selected to be read, it would make am great promotional tool that may interest a production company with access to to a larger budget. I could so it myself but could not raise the budget that this production would require.
MIDNIGHT SIGNS, 4min, Italy, Thriller/Animation
Directed by Marino Guarnieri
In a small room overlooking the Bay of Naples, a young designer, suspended in time and in the night, faces the eternal struggle of the artist who tries to tame its instruments in order to use them as an extension of himself to express their imagination. In light of a magical moon, the conflict turns into a real battle, physical and symbolic.
Dream and reality mix with the black ink and the power of color, up to the realization that sign as a sign we approach more and more to become masters of our imagination.
In a dreamlike vision of enchanted moment in which today becomes tomorrow.
Project Title (Original Language):Mezzanotte di Segni
Film Type:Animation, Short
Genres:Sci-Fi, Fantasy
Runtime:3 minutes 40 seconds
Completion Date:May 29, 2015
Country of Origin:Italy
Shooting Format:Digital
Aspect Ratio:16:9
Film Color:Color
WATCH 2016 FILM FESTIVAL EVENTS and the FEEDBACK VIDEOS of EACH SELECTED FILM
RYKER, 4min., USA, Action/Drama
UNCANNY VALLEY, 4min., USA, Drama
FAN FICTION SHORT Screenplay – FALLEN: A STAR WARS STORY
SCI-FI SHORT Screenplay
MYSTERY 1st SCENE Screenplay – THE COLD SLEEPER
ANIMATION 1st SCENE Screenplay – MARIE’S JOURNEY
1st SCENE Screenplay – CHILDREN OF THE DUST
FANTASY 1st SCENE Screenplay – ENTANGLED
NOVEL Transcript Reading – ODE TO THE DARKEST DAYS
SHORT STORY Reading – KIEL
THE EARTH SURVIVAL CODE, 10min, China, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
1950 DA, 7min, France, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
SCI-FI SHORT Screenplay – THE VOLUNTEER
TV SPEC of SUPERNATURAL
NOVEL Transcript Reading – THE ASSIGNMENT
FEATURE Screenplay – NEMESIS
BABY AND GRANNY, 2min. USA, Animation/Comedy
BEST SCENE Screenplay – OBEDIENCE
FAN FICTION Screenplay – POPEYE “SPINACH RUN”
TV SPEC Screenplay – THE FLASH TV series
REVENGANT, 7min. Germany, Fan Fiction/Sci-Fi
QUESTIONS, 6min, USA, Fan Fiction/Action
1st SCENE Script – OCD
RED ROVER, 15min, Australia/USA, Fantasy/Action
FEATURE Screenplay: LUCIDAE
TV PILOT Screenplay – OYMPUS RISING
NOVEL Reading: HEARING THOUGHTS
SHORT Screenplay – WHAT IT FEELS LIKE
FAN FICTION Screenplay: VIGILANTE (TMNT)
SHORT Screenplay – JULIE & ROM
SHORT Screenplay – RAGING LOVE
SHORT Screenplay – BLAME GAME
SHORT Screenplay – TO KILL GANDHI