NetworkNews

Manchester Lift-Off Officially Selected Screenplays

Posted admin

After a huge number of submissions for Manchester Lift-Off Film Festival, here are the 3 screenplays officially selected to go forward onto the Network platform. Congratulations all!

True Destiny – Joe Leone

SYNOPSIS:  It is 2024 – with the aid of a mysterious, shadow organization, a dynamic woman is mere days away from an upset victory in the US Presidential General Election. However, this same organization is conspiring with the VP candidate to take her out,
and overthrow the country.

What was the inspiration behind this script?  
This is a fresh rewrite of a project that I developed over 20 years ago. However, I centered the story around the uncertainty concerning the current political environment in the United States.

 What are you looking for to take this project to the next stage? 

At this point, I am primarily seeking further collaborative story development with an interested Producer, Director, then seek out Production and Distribution Funding.

What advice has helped you get where you are now?
Persistence, focus on story/character development. I have continued to refine aspects of the story that were originally unclear. Several key elements, that were recently added, more clearly explain the origins and ultimate mission of the mysterious, shadow organization, known as the Phantom Council .

READ THE SCREENPLAY HERE

Don – Alberto Battistutti

SYNOPSIS:  Inspired by the true story of my grandfather – A railway worker having already done his service, is forced back into the Italian Alpine Troops and sent on the icy Russian front, where he fights to make it home to his loved one.

What was the inspiration behind this screenplay?

My father spent a great part of his life searching for the truth about his missing father, and when he also passed away, I decided to carry on his work with a deeper research. It took me years to put together all the pieces, but when I finished, I said to myself: “This could be a great story for a film, so why not to try writing a screenplay?”

What are you looking for to take this project to the next stage? 

I’m currently looking for a producer willing to invest in turning my script into a film.

What advice has helped you get where you are now? 

I improved my script in my free time, day after day, with several coverage sessions an reviews. But the best advice came from other screenwriters I exchanged information with: “Keep writing!”

READ THE SCREENPLAY HERE

iMemory -Jeffry Kazanjian

SYNOPSIS: With the increasing burden Jeremy’s brain damage is having on his family, a device to capture his short term memories is installed in his brain. Despite it’s attempt to ameliorate his symptoms, this new device proves itself to be an object of malevolence.
What was the inspiration behind this screenplay?
I was originally inspired to write this script by watching the show “black mirror”. What inspires me about black mirror is it is personal as well as objective in dealing with the insidious nature of the modern world in a visceral and relatable way.
On the personal side, I was inspired to write this particular story by my personal realization that the presence of technology in my life drives me away from my internal thoughts and feelings. One component of technology is that it controls our consciousness and I feel it is that component that ironically makes us unconscious.
What are you looking for to take this project to the next stage? 
I would love to turn this into a film or at the very least get an agent who can put me in touch with someone who can help develop this project further.
What advice has helped you get where you are now? 
To be fearless. With every script, I try to reveal more and more of who I am, peeling back the layers of my ego until what’s on the page is the most authentic part of myself.

READ THE SCREENPLAY HERE