I got the news yesterday, and I am incredibly grateful! The thing is, my rugby team is from San Francisco, that's why I submitted to the SF Int'l Screenwriting & Film Awards. Then I submitted to the Cannes Script Festival Summer Season because it's in France and my team and the sport of rugby have deep roots there. I am so honored that out of 410 submissions, Cannes selected my story because it brings this wild life I had full circle. On the 1967 Olympic Rugby Club tour to Ireland, England, Wales, and France, for which my dad was the athletic trainer, and my mom got to be a tourist, the rugby team literally broke apart from the Olympic Club in a hotel room in Paris and returned to San Francisco as two different teams—the former Olympic Club, and the one that raised me, The Bay Area Touring Side, B.AT.S. And I got to celebrate my 18th birthday in Paris in a most fitting way, under a full moon at a rugby match with a special man in my life who happened to be the coach of the team. LOL, but that's another story for another time. So wild that on the same day, two different countries that had an impact on my life, selected my story about rugby, found family and belonging, and it feels so good! Thanks to the Writer's Forge @David Stem , @Anna Fermin, @Chad Desrochers and everyone here for being so supportive as I share my first screenplay's awesome journey!

Today's business talk was awesome! Great participation, great discussions, and lots of inspiration. @Thia Markson shared what her talk with Melissa Verdugo, Operations Director at Women in Film LA, revealed to her. @Lena Lieuvin shared her recent pitching experience and what she learned and gained from it. We talked about pitching and strategies to getting our projects in front of the right eyes. @Jason Smith shared his pitch and the group gave their best insights, opinions, advice, and encouragement. @Chris Dyer is going to lead us in a talk NEXT WEEK about the psychology of WHY WE MATTER THE MOST in the BIG PICTURE as writers and creatives. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE else who was on the call today @Ameer Ahmed @Pia Crawford @Shauna G @Brijit Reed @Isaac Tut for jumping in and participating and sharing. It's always a pleasure to connect with this community and to know that we are all in this together, learning and growing. Cheers!

I used to be a hungry writer with ideas, instincts, and zero map. No industry access. No real feedback. No one who could tell me what was alive in my work. I once wrote a magazine piece I thought would be my big break. Got a form rejection. Cried in the shower because I felt like an idiot for believing it might happen. I knew what it felt like to be isolated, broke, scared, and creatively unsure. To write things that were funny but shapeless. To be told the work was clever while knowing you could feel the writer trying too hard on every page. Then I learned three things the hard way. Talent isn't enough. Silence only changes when you take action. And real story doesn't start with structure. It starts with what a character is avoiding. Those lessons carried me through a 30+ year career writing and rewriting for major studios. Shrek 2. Jimmy Neutron. Disenchanted. Walking red carpets. Watching movies premiere. And eventually building this groovy little place to help serious screenwriters get the process, courage, and professional direction I wish I'd had when I was starting out. Want the process I wish someone had handed me back then? Comment YES and I'll send you the details.

Hey Forgers! Sorry for the late notice, but I hope you'll join us TOMORROW, JULY 8, 10PST to talk about any and all things related to the business of screenwriting. LINK TO CALL: https://www.skool.com/live/xBHytwChwTt You choose what you want to talk about. Here are some topics: • Pitching • Query Letters • Loglines • AI Verticles • Shorts • Pitch Decks • IP • Festivals and Competitions For those of you who are new here and haven't been to a Wednesday Biz Talk, these sessions are opportunities for the community to get informed, schooled, workshopped, and practiced in the business of screenwriting. Every week we (usually) have a specific topic that is discussed, or sometimes a featured special guest/industry pro leading a talk or workshop. But this week, you'll get to choose what topic you want to discuss. Just a heads up, pitches will have a 5 minute time limit per member, and other topics, like workshopping your logline, will get a 10 minute time limit per member. This way everyone will hopefully have a chance at bat. See you there! LINK TO CALL: https://www.skool.com/live/xBHytwChwTt

I was so inspired by the talk given by @Melissa Verdugo at our Premium Business Wednesdays that I finished my screenplay to meet some submission deadlines, then kept researching Film Festivals for Screenplay entries and targeted the ones I thought would find my story, centered on a protagonist who is rarely given the lead in a feature film, interesting: A woman in her fifties. An elite massage therapist whose career abruptly ends. Someone whose journey is about reinterpreting decades of lived experience rather than finding first love or starting adulthood. And the results are so encouraging! So far, I have had one Film Festival Director and two Film Festival Managers find my project and read the synopsis and my bio on Film Freeway, then sent me an invitation to submit, and offered Discount Codes, which helped reduce the costs! I thanked them and gave a bit more detail about my rugby memorabilia collection being distributed to the New Zealand Rugby Museum, St. Helen's Archives in Wales, and most of all, my dad's rugby jacket, which, in its way, is a character in my story. Here's a response: Liverpool Indie Awards Thu, Jul 2, 9:37 PM (12 hours ago) to me Hi Thia, What brilliant news about the Oxford Script Awards Finalist selection, congratulations. Your script sounds genuinely special, and that connection to your dad's rugby jacket heading to the World Rugby Museum is exactly the kind of story we love to receive. Safe travels back to San Francisco, and we're looking forward to your submission whenever you get a chance to send it over. Cheers, James & Liverpool Indie Awards team Website | FilmFreeway | Instagram This is why I submitted to the LAISA on Film Freeway: "This is the only screenplay competition founded by a team of working Hollywood professionals with more than 1,000 produced credits and a century of collective industry experience. Our roster of Senior Judges includes multiple Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and WGA Award Winners."