After a huge number of submissions for London Lift-Off Film Festival 2019, here are the 4 screenplays officially selected to go forward onto the Network platform.
Congratulations all!
A KIND OF MARRIAGE – Charles Leipart
SYNOPSIS: Sometimes love takes three.
E.M. Forster, the great British novelist and champion of individual liberty and responsibility lives a homosexual life concealed from public awareness. By the summer of 1931, at the age of 52, Forster has taken as his male lover a young bisexual London policeman, Bob Buckingham. Into Forster’s love affair with Bob, enters a young nurse May Hockey. May and Bob begin a passionate love and sexual relationship. Forster, along with his own hidden homosexuality, must face the bisexual preferences of his new lover.
The Rhapsody of Margle Warth – Connor McCrory
SYNOPSIS: A Love Story.
What was the inspiration behind this screenplay?
‘Rhapsody’ is actually the second instalment I’ve written in a thematic trilogy about Love. They’re all narratively unconnected but link through the thematic exploration of the same emotion. With ‘Rhapsody’, I was always interested in telling a story of multiple genres dependant on who the protagonist was. For example: the story IS classed and appears upon a surface level to be a Horror piece, as it does have horrific elements to it. But at it’a core, it’s a love story. It is just told from the perspective of the cow in a movie about the success of McDonalds.
What are you looking for to take this project to the next stage?
I’ll predominantly be looking to fund this project, while bringing on a team of people who’ll be dedicated to making this the best it can appear on screen. I would like to direct the film myself, but I’m entirely open to a discussion with someone interested.
What advice has helped to get where you are now?
During writing, I didn’t receive much advice toward it as I wasn’t actively showing my work to anyone (something I’ve since changed). However something I was always actively aware of, was whether the plot was clear enough. When you write something with the view to also direct, I think there’s a danger that the two fields merge and things can become unclear. I was unsure throughout many drafts as to how much of the story should be given away on the page, and many of those drafts came out written like a watching experience. Ultimately, though you want to keep the secrets of story.. I believe it’s better to be overt over vague in your script as you want the reader to actually understand it!
Shut Down – Bayley Freer
SYNOPSIS: ‘Shut Down’ is a raw, emotional story exploring the legacy of abuse and the corrosive nature of family secrets. It challenges gender, racial and sexual stereotypes in the ever changing landscape of modern Britain.
What was the inspiration behind this script?
‘Shut Down’ was inspired initially by a wish to explore family dynamics and create a story about the possibility of reconciliation for those who have shared past trauma.
After losing my own Mother, my family unit completely fractured. It was this that prompted the question in me; if we could seek to understand the past through our now adult eyes, could we somehow forgive one another for the acts of children? This was my starting point, but the script developed beyond this, into a raw, emotional story, exploring through the characters the deep legacy of abuse and the corrosive nature of family secrets. Although fictional, this was inspired by real stories of abuse emerging in various situations and infiltrating at the highest levels of our society.
Having made London my home for nearly 20 years, the fast-paced vibe and melting pot of urban multi-culturalism also features very strongly in this story. Although the screenplay tackles tough subject matter head on, I am an eternal optimist, and aim, not to deliver answers, but provoke dialogue, and ultimately respect and understanding. This intimate story of family is a vehicle for exploring those bigger issues that would resonate with many. I am inspired to write characters that are multi-faceted, complex and a reflection of the world around us. ‘Shut Down’ challenges gender, racial and sexual stereotypes in the ever changing landscape of a metropolitan community.
What are you looking for to take this project to the next stage?
I am looking in the first instance to find an amazing Director, DOP and experienced Producer(s) interested in collaborating to develop this script into a feature length film.
‘Shut Down’ is an intimate story told through a small number of characters and locations. This fundamentally serves the pressurised, claustrophobic atmosphere whilst also allowing production costs to remain low. It will keep the focus for telling the story on the detail of character relationships, shot through a simple, powerfully evocative frame.
Although based in London, the story would translate well to any major city worldwide.
The strong, intricately drawn characters of this story provide huge scope, and the additional future opportunity of developing the script into a TV series.
Unsightly – John Bourke
SYNOPSIS: A 14-year-old girl uses her telepathic ability to help rescue a woman who has been kidnapped, which leads the police to use dishonest tactics in order to coerce the girl’s father to give his permission for her to help them with unsolved murder cases.
What was the inspiration behind this script?
This was my first attempt at writing a screenplay from scratch, rather than an adaptation from one of my novels. The original idea was to write a screenplay where a young male person with autism becomes involved in solving crimes, without the permission of his parents. Ideas changed as the screenplay evolved and Shelley, a young girl with telepathic abilities, came to mind.
What are you looking for to take this project to the next stage?
The next stage, for me, is to be offered a deal to sell one of my screenplays.
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