Another Win for A Rugby Trainer's Daughter Screenplay

I was so inspired by the talk given by

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."

This is the response:

LA Screenplay Awards <info@lascreenplayawards.com>

Thu, Jul 2, 7:00 AM (1 day ago)

Congratulations! Your script was placed as a Quarter-Finalist in the Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards Diversity XV Competition!

All entries have been thoroughly read and carefully scored.

You can now find all results posted on our website here (under Diversity XV).

As a Quarter Finalist this round, you've shown considerable discipline and talent in taking on the challenge of writing a script--a very difficult writing form--and deserve our congratulations for that effort.

Quarter Finalists have shown serious professional potential, and we hope you'll continue writing and submitting your material to The Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards as well as to the other reputable contests out there...because doing well in competitions like this one is the surest path to professional recognition.

You'll find your Laurel attached to this email. We hope you'll use it on your script cover and in your social media postings to let the world know what you've achieved!

Wishing you great continued success with your writing,

Carter McCann

Senior Administrator

L.A. International Screenplay Awards

(I need to get a PDF of the Laurel in a white or grey background so you can see the colors better. LOL! )

So take

@Melissa Verdugo

advice, submit, submit, submit!!!

Thanks so much for this amazing group of supportive writers and builders of amazing worlds! The Writer's Forge is where we build the fire to get our stories done and release them into the wide world in any way possible!

16 comments

Another Win for A Rugby Trainer's Daughter Screenplay