After a huge number of submissions for Amsterdam Lift-Off Film Festival, here are the 5 screenplays officially selected to go forward onto the Community platform. Congratulations all! In order to read the screenplays, sign up to the Lift-Off Community here: 
Mamali – Jeff Opdyke
SYNOPSIS: Based on a true story: A young girl from the the lowest caste of Indian society is sold by her mother to be a maidservant, and ends up a three-time runaway before ultimately living her dream of playing soccer (football) for India’s national team.
READ THE SCREENPLAY HERE
White Death -Brian Sachson
Therapy – Edward Reznik
SYNOPSIS: A psychologist in pre-war Berlin works with a young man, helping him to become more self-confident. Having gained the desired confidence, the young man becomes a member of the SS and a security guard in a concentration camp, where the psychologist turns out to be a prisoner. Now it is up to the psychologist to test the effectiveness of his skills on his patient in order to get out alive.
What was the inspiration behind this screenplay?
This script was inspired by my childhood, my impressions of living in Russia, Germany, Israel and the USA, and by 6 years of my psychology counselling practice in contemporary autocratic Russia. While practicing psychology I had the chance to see the clear tie between one’s childhood trauma and their suggestibility for fascist propaganda. The following books also were an incredible source of inspiration: “For Your Own Good” by Alice Miller, “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl, “Individual and Mass Behavior in Extreme Situations” by Bruno Bettelheim, “Banality of Evil” by Hannah Arendt, and “Sapiens. A brief History of Humankind” by Yuval Harari.
What are you looking for to take this project to the next stage?
I’m looking for reliable partners for producing this film – partners who are concerned with today’s world challenges and who – like me – are convinced that fascism cannot be defeated by purely military means. The clichéd words “victory over fascism” are not true in the 21st Century. Fascism has never been defeated, it has merely been stopped and it will get reborn time and time again until we fully understand its true nature.
What advice has helped you get where you are now?
It was the advice of my second self, which told me not to be afraid of taking the most risky path.
READ THE SCREENPLAY HERE
Girl Gone Greek – Rebecca Hall & James Collins
SYNOPSIS: Rachel Hill is single and in her thirties. Since her mother died, she has had an unstoppable wanderlust, ‘Dromomania’, her father, John, calls it. She is under pressure from Kirsty, her domineering older sister, to conform to Kirsty’s idea of family life. Rachel, however, knows her life will never be settled until she discovers what it really means to be Rachel.
READ THE SCREENPLAY HERE
Face Painters – Giovanni Sanseviero
SYNOPSIS: When a small-town clerk demands his father’s respect, days before emigrating to the New World, a seeming opportunity may come with a price — his family’s American dream.
What was the inspiration behind this screenplay?
I initially wrote the latter part of this duel-narrative, set in Brooklyn, 1963, as an outline for a stage play. While creating the backgrounds for the characters as a writing exercise, I realized I indeed recalled an actual family my grandfather once told me about long ago, embroiled in a tragic event in Italy, 1928. I subsequently traveled to his Tuscan village to research the event, and what I learned eventually became the former part of this duel-narrative, set in Monte Chiaro, 1928.
What are you looking for to take this project to the next stage?
Throughout the years of working Face Painters with friends, managers, and consultants, the names of the same well-known actors repeatedly came up as prime candidates for the principal roles. Today, I am evermore assured that these actors are perfect. Before pursuing production companies, introducing a polished screenplay to these very same actors should be foremost. I firmly believe they will commit to the project because of their long-proven appreciation for multilayered characters and the creative playground Face Painters offers. With this added support, producers will further see the potential in this sweeping screenplay: solid storytelling for the masses, who will gladly pay admission to be part of a cinematic experience on the order of the great epics of our past. Face Painters offers a boundless palette to work with, and with the right collaborators, will take a significant step forward on its path.
What advice has helped you get where you are now?
Drink heavily when creating, stay sober when proofing.