Introducing our Sci-Fi and Fantasy Award winner: DISTANT STARS by Illimani Ferreira!

Introducing our Sci-Fi and Fantasy Award winner: DISTANT STARS by Illimani Ferreira!

distant starsOver the coming weeks and months, we’ll be showcasing our many award winners from 2022 as we pitch them to successful producers and studios.

First is our Sci-Fi and Fantasy Award winner, a vivid portrait of a future family finding peace and happiness together in a deep-space setting, only to be torn apart by wars and social conflict as they try to reunite.

When a sentimental miner moves to a safer planet ahead of his studious husband and their daughter, an interplanetary class war threatens to divide the family forever.

To express an interest in producing or optioning this script, contact talent@atalentscout.com now!

About the writer:

Illimani Ferreira

Illimani Ferreira is a Brazilian writer currently living in the United States, more precisely in Coastal Oregon, where he is trying to figure out if, as a person who grew up in Brazil’s central savannas, he is a beach person or not.
Before moving to the United States, Illimani Ferreira had the chance to live in different countries such as Brazil, France, and Canada, and work in different fields, from Social Housing policy consulting to scrubbing toilet bowls at 3 am in a shelter for homeless persons living with the HIV. As an immigrant himself, Illimani cares deeply for matters related to immigrant rights.
Illimani’s writing is focused on a broad range of Science Fiction that can go from a grimdark noir to the zaniest of comedies. He likes to think that there is a bittersweet signature in everything he writes and, although his Latinx identity doesn’t steer his writing, it does illuminate his perspective. The same applies to the fact that he is a gay man.

Industry Diary, January 2023: latest industry interviews, plus how scripts foreshadow news stories!

Industry Diary, January 2023: latest industry interviews, plus how scripts foreshadow news stories!

A glimpse under the hood at how we’re developing our winners, forging industry links and pitching.

Developing scripts with our winners, and readying them for the right time to pitch, is a unique pleasure of our position in the industry. We’ve been working intensively with many of our recent winners in January and we’re looking forward to introducing you to them and their work over the coming months – always looking for that perfect moment when their script is best placed to capitalize on its potential, or even on renewed topical interest in its themes and subject matter. We’ve got a fascinating slate right now and we can’t wait to share it with you.

It takes a lot of long-term relationship-building behind the scenes to make this kind of thing possible. Not just with our writers, but of course with producers and industry talents as well. Those relationships and connections take many forms. Our founder Alex Ross has completed his groundbreaking book BLOCKBUSTED on the evolution of Hollywood’s calculated blockbuster, packed with interviews and industry insights. And he’s already completed lots of interviews with the team behind one iconic cult movie, for his next book, which will be all about that film. We’ll reveal all about it soon and tell you the fascinating people he’s been meeting to gain never-before revelations about some of its most famous questions!

So often, writers are thinkers. They tell stories by engaging with the issues and dilemmas of their times, and playing those issues and conflicts out through characters and their choices and challenges. It gets strangely prescient sometimes watching news stories unfold when you know that one of your writer clients or friends already wrote a script about that very issue, and totally nailed why these things happen in the world. It comes from working with talented writers over many years, that often, major news stories don’t come as a surprise at all. Sometimes writers serve as the conscience of their times, and as the early warning of the dangers and mistakes ahead of us if we don’t make the right choices now. Sometimes it’s all these things at once. That’s what I’ve been thinking in response to a major news story this week. As it unfolded, I was remembering how much of it exactly mirrored a different true story that was adapted years ago by one industry professional we speak to regularly. That story foreshadowed – sadly almost fully – many of the exact same situations and issues which have now happened again and have once again become a massive news story. Sometimes, the more things change, the more they stay the same!
 

2023 is shaping up to be an exciting and fascinating year for us, and we’ll continue to blog about it whenever we can.

Sign up to our newsletter BELOW to come along for the ride!

Industry Diary, January 2023: latest industry interviews, plus how scripts foreshadow news stories!

WriteMovies in 2023: Alex Ross announcements and online courses, and winners focus!

We’re pausing our contests to focus on a big year for our founder and recent winners.

Like many people and businesses, 2022 was a challenging year for us, with unexpected staffing changes and resultant delivery challenges. This left us with a bigger backlog of work than we anticipated, but coming into 2023 we’re ready and refocused for an exciting year for us, our founder Alex Ross, and our winners. Here are a few headlines of what to expect in 2023!

We’re pausing our contests while we focus on Alex’s news and on delivering great results in the industry for our 2022 winners and existing clients. You can still submit for our “Anytime Entry” to get a 10-page Analysis of your script and a free submission of your redraft to the next relevant WriteMovies contest. We will work personally with any existing submissions to help them get the most out of their entry.

write movies in 2023

Our consultancy services are now delivered directly by Alex Ross – literally the world’s most qualified person in why films succeed and fail! They still also come with a free contest entry. Check out the many packages and prices available here!

We have big announcements to make about Alex’s work and publications in 2023, including book news which all screenwriters will want to know about – watch this space in the coming weeks!

We’ll also be working with our winning writers and clients behind the scenes – and will be pitching them to industry soon! We’ll introduce them and their scripts on our website and newsletters for you soon.

We’ll also be turning Alex’s, and our own, lectures and insights into snappy online videos and online courses!

 

We’re really looking forward to this year – hope you are too!

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