Very well organized and well attended. We received valuable feedback from the diverse audience. The moderator was great and jump started their participation. I definitely recommend it for all creators and filmmakers!
A conflicted professor desperate to hide her lifestyle from her Jehovah’s Witness family faces her fears when she begins proceedings to gain custody of her bi-racial brother and sister, emotionally abused by her mother. With outrageous musical numbers, Big Love Meets Community…all based on real events.
It’s year 2437. 3000 meters under the icy crust of earth, the last remaining pocket of humanity struggles to answer the question: Is life for the sake of living any life at all?Extinction is the rule. Survival, the exception.
What happens inside and outside Station Galápagos is a harsh examination of the things we don’t understand and the things we refuse to understand; the leaps of faith we take; the tough choices we are forced to make; and the fine points that can make our existence worthwhile.
It tries to answer the question: is hope for good or for bad?
2. Why should this screenplay be made into a TV show?
This show contains a darkness I have not yet seen on TV. This will not be about sfx and pretty people, but real conflicts and characters in extreme situations. Galápagos would be able to shine a light on a future that could very well become a reality.
3. How would you describe this script in two words?
Dark. Uncompromising.
4. What TV show do you keep watching over and over again?
I don’t watch much TV, but i did enjoy Black Mirror.
5. How long have you been working on this screenplay?
This was originally a screenplay I wrote 5 years ago. Took me a year. The toughest script to date I have written. I always felt it would make a great TV show, and so adapted parts of the screenplay into a TV pilot to learn the format better. The pilot adaptation took another 4 months.
6. How many stories have you written?
I have written 6 screenplays (4 of which I’m really happy with), 2 short screenplays (both made into succesful short films – “Into the Dark” and “The Son, the Father…”), and TV pilot.
7. What is your favorite song? (Or, what song have you listened to the most times in your life?)
“One More Kiss, Dear” from Blade Runner
8. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?
Not having written for TV before – spending a lot of time understanding the structure of a feature film screenplay – I had to adapt my format and technique to fit a different medium. I learned a lot about the differences in the media.
9. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
Staying present, being kind, standing up for myself, owning my strengths and weaknesses, fighting injustice, highlighting ignorance, questioning manmade religion.
10. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?
I had been fortunate enough to have won before with a different script, and really enjoyed watching the reading (via youtube link). I knew it would be helpful to me. The positive feedback was extremely welcome at a time when i was doubting the strength of my material.
11. You entered your screenplay via FilmFreeway. What has been your experiences working with the submission platform site?
FilmFreeway is great. User friendly and easy.
12. Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers?
Locate writers who are better than you, and get feedback. Rewrites are essential. Don’t be afraid of sharing your work. The most common mistake I see with films out there on the festival circuit is that the script wasn’t ready. It was not fully developed/thought through. Never think your script can’t improve.
Watch the August 2016 Winning TV PILOT screenplay.
RICK & MORTY “The Rickgotiator” by David Cryan
SYNOPSIS:
Genre: Comedy, Animation
When Morty accidentally gets his family kidnapped while trying to stop an alien war, he and Rick must execute an elaborate plan to rescue their family and trick the aliens into calling a truce.
What is your Rick & Morty TV SPEC screenplay about?
My Spec is about Rick learning where he can get some Chromosome Infinity, an elusive and rare substance he’s been after for a while. Rick finds out that it is located in the neutral zone, and if he tries to get it, it could spark an alien war, but he’s selfish. Meanwhile, Jerry tries to get a job and deals with his overall lack of confidence.
How does this screenplay fit into the context of the TV show?
It fits well into the context of the show because it has the big high concept sci-fi A story and a low key down to earth B story that collide at the halfway point.
How would you describe this script in two words?
I wouldn’t.
What TV show do you keep watching over and over again?
Oh boy, one? I have an obnoxiously long list including: The Simpsons, Arrested Development, The Larry Sanders Show, Seinfeld, 30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Veep, Futurama, The Critic, Frasier, Community, The Wire, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, and of course Rick and Morty. That’s me cutting my list short. Like I said it’s obnoxiously long.
How long have you been working on this screenplay?
I spent roughly two weeks on the outline, another two weeks on a first draft, and then did periodic rewrites over the course of a couple months.
How many stories have you written?
I have written lots of sketches. Two pilots, one of which goes in drawer marked as a learning experience and is to never see the light of day. As well as three specs of existing shows, including Veep, Rick and Morty and an Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt which I just finished a first draft of and am beginning to rewrite.
What motivated you to write this screenplay?
Fear of failure.
What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?
Also fear of failure.
Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
Personal privacy.
What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?
I’m at a point where I have enough writing samples that I’m happy with. So I’ve begun actively trying to get my stuff read, be that by submitting to agencies or entering contests. As far as the feedback, some of it I agreed with some of it I didn’t, but it definitely helped make my next draft stronger.
Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers?
Watch the TV Pilot Screenplay Winner for July 2016:
The Spectral City by Arthur Vincie
SYNOPSIS:
Genre: Sci-Fi, War, Supernatural
Three refugees, thrown together by chance, flee a modern-day civil war set in an unspecified country. Evading the army, rebels, bandits, gods, and demons, they head to the one place no one dares go to the Haunted City at the heart of the country. There they seek out the White Witch, who rules the City and who’s either their ticket out or their worst nightmare.
“The Spectral City” is a war/supernatural story, about six refugees trying to flee a modern-day civil war. Thrown together by chance, and pursued by the army, rebels, bandits, monsters, and gods, they head for the one place no one dares go – the Haunted City in the heart of the country. Will it be the key to their salvation, or the beginning of an even worse fate?
2. Why should this screenplay be made into a TV show?
“The Spectral City” is about the people who are usually left out of war stories – the civilians. By focusing on their struggles for survival, redemption, and healing, we can avoid the usual war story cliches. It’s about ordinary people finding extraordinary grit in the face of adversity. By combining the war and supernatural/horror genres, the story brings out the inner as well as outer conflicts of the characters. This keeps the scale human-sized while also delivering an epic tale. The story aims to humanize refugees and those who are caught in the gears of war.
3. How would you describe this script in two words?
Surviving warfare
4. What TV show do you keep watching over and over again?
“Firefly” for its imaginative use of dialog, its balance of humor, and its blending of genres.
5. How long have you been working on this screenplay?
Two years.
6. How many stories have you written?
In addition to “Spectral City,” I’ve written several spec scripts, and wrote and directed two features, “Caleb’s Door” and “Found In Time.” I’m currently writing and directing a webseries, “Three Trembling Cities.”
7. What motivated you to write this screenplay?
I was interested in exploring the stories of people who’ve been caught up in civil wars. I was “inspired” by the stories of the child soldiers who were conscripted into both sides of the Sierra Leone civil war. Later I read up on the civilians who fled or who are currently fleeing the wars in Mali, Sudan, Libya, Georgia, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Syria, the border wars in Assam (India), and other recent (and in some cases ongoing) conflicts.
I also wanted to write something a little more grounded in “reality” (my last project was a sci-fi film, “Found In Time.”)
8. What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?
Finding the right balance between natural and supernatural elements. The supernatural part of the story reflects how people fall back into superstition when confronted with extreme chaos (soldiers are extremely superstitious). I also wanted the country depicted in the story to be a “blend” of real-world places and cultures, so that it felt alive and complex; but I didn’t want the reader to pin the country to a specific location.
9. Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
Directing, still photography, reading. I’m a science and history nerd. I’m a closet drummer.
10. What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?
I thought the festival was a good fit for the material, and I was excited at the prospect of having the project read aloud. I thought the initial feedback was terrific and it helped me quite a bit.
11. Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers?
Your first script (and maybe the one after that) is probably going to suck, but that’s okay – you have to learn to crawl before you can walk. It’s all about practice, and developing a discipline of some kind, so that you’re always writing, rewriting, researching, or recharging (so you can write again).
Don’t get too bogged down in details that you can work out later. Don’t get obsessed with perfection. Those are great ways to keep from ever finishing a draft.
It’s good to get a basic grasp of screenplay formatting and structure, and outlining is helpful, but memorable characters make or break the script. Don’t be afraid of not knowing where a scene is going – sometimes the best stuff comes up when you’re in a corner and you don’t know what you’re supposed to write next.
Jealousy, anxiety, dissatisfaction, and outrage can be your best friends as long as they don’t cripple you. Those “negative” emotions can keep you at the keyboard typing away or rewriting.
Find creative partnerships (with actors, producers, directors, other writers) – it’s too hard to go it alone in this field. These folks can give you honest feedback, help you get things off the ground, support you when you’re down. And you’ll do the same for them.
****
Director/Producer: Matthew Toffolo http://www.matthewtoffolo.com
Casting Director: Sean Ballantyne
Editor: John Johnson
The six-part miniseries traces the parallel lives of Beethoven and Napoleon, their formative years, their loves, their interrelationships via music and their passages to their final years.
Matthew Toffolo: What is your TV Pilot screenplay about?
Paul: The six-part miniseries traces the parallel lives of Beethoven and Napoleon, their formative years, their loves, their interrelationships via music and their passages to their final years.
Matthew: Why should this screenplay be made into a TV show?
Paul: The two lives have been the subject of many feature films and TV productions. This is the first six-part series that attempts to link their lives in a dramatic fashion. It is also the first to show the genius of the two men, their flaws and their attempts to deal with love and adversity.
Matthew: This story has a lot going for it. How would you describe this script in two words?
Paul: Scrutinising greatness.
Matthew: What TV show do you keep watching over and over again?
Paul: House of Cards
Matthew: This is a very tight, emotionally engaging and fun screenplay. How long have you been working on this screenplay?
Paul: Two years
Matthew: How many stories have you written?
Paul: Four books, one feature screenplay, one TV miniseries, one thriller.
Matthew: What motivated you to write this screenplay?
Paul: The music of a flawed genius, the flaws of a powerful ruler and the possibility that they might have met and liked one another fleetingly.
Matthew: What obstacles did you face to finish this screenplay?
Paul: Converting dry accounts of two histories into a drama that reveals motivations, passions and tragedies.
Matthew: Apart from writing, what else are you passionate about?
Paul: Classical music
Matthew: What influenced you to enter the festival? What were your feelings on the initial feedback you received?
Paul: I like competition and I am very happy with all feedback, particularly negatives that I can turn into a better script.
The feedback in this festival was valid and had the desired impact as the revised script is now short-listed in four festivals or competitions
Matthew: Any advice or tips you’d like to pass on to other writers?
Paul: Scriptwriting is hard, even when you love it.
Stepping back from many beloved drafts and ditching them is the price of acceptance by those who read them.
—
Producer/Director – Matthew Toffolo
Casting Director – Sean Ballantyne
Editor – John Johnson
TV PILOT SCREENPLAY: DEAL SHEETS, by Stephen Love
TV SPEC SCREENPLAY: TRANSPARENT, by Horton Emory
TV SPEC SCREENPLAY: THE OFFICE, by Vanessa Shealy
TV BEST SCENE SCREENPLAY: THE EMERGENCE, by James Greasley
TV BEST SCENE SCREENPLAY: THE UPSIDE DOWNINGS, by Sean Sullivan
TV SPEC Screenplay of RICK & MORTY TV Show
TV SPEC Screenplay of the show TRANSPARENT
TV FAN FICTION PILOT: SCOOBY DOO: AGE OF AQUARIUS
JOHN Q TV Best Scene Screenplay
ESC(APE) ONLINE TV Best Scene Screenplay
DRAGONS AND WOLVES – TV Best Scene Screenplay
GLOBAL FUND – TV Best Scene Screenplay
LGBT TV PILOT – FAUK MY LIFE
TV SPEC of SUPERNATURAL
TV BEST Scene – INFINITY’S EDGE
