When minority children start going missing in a small Southern town, two exceptional FBI agents—one Black, one Pakistani-American—with colliding worldviews are called in to investigate. What they uncover reveals the heart of hatred in America and a vast, sinister conspiracy.
Playing the long game
As any serious writer knows, writing is a long game. Whether it’s a screenplay, TV pilot, play or novel (even if it’s a short story sometimes), you’re running a marathon. With H8, it’s been around seven years for my partner, Erica, and I: two and a half writing drafts and submitting to contests, and another five before that gestating the characters and story. (Our journey from first draft to finalists has been covered before here.)
Considering the state of the nation under Trump, I think it’s safe to say the issues explored in our pilot—from race and religion to hate crimes, corrupt authorities and good ol’ boy collusion—will continue to resonate with readers and, hopefully, one day viewers. Admittedly, it’s been a slog, but a look back at the recognition we’ve received, especially this past year, speaks volumes about the script’s relevance and is, for us, immensely encouraging:
• Finalist, Sundance Episodic Lab (2018)
• Finalist, Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition (2018)
• Finalist, WeScreenplay Diverse Voices Screenwriting Lab (2018)
• Finalist, The Film Empire’s Diversity Screenwriting Contest (2018)
• Finalist, MACRO Episodic Lab (2018)
• Semifinalist, Louisville Int’l Film Festival Screenplay Competition (2018)
• Quarterfinalist, CineStory Fellowship Competition (2018)
• Consistently ranked among the top 10 scripts on Coverfly’s The Red List (since Nov. 2017)
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• Semifinalist, ScreenCraft Pilot Launch TV Script Contest (2017)
• Quarterfinalist, Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting Contest (2017)
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•Finalist, Industry Insider TV Pilot Contest (2016)
Second Place Winner
After so many close-but-no-cigar moments as finalists, things began to pay off in a bigger way this past fall.
One of the competitions we applied to in 2018 was WeScreenplay’s Television Pilot Screenwriting Contest. Founded by Mark Stasensko, a writer on the Netflix show American Vandal (and an all-around great guy), the competition’s mission is, essentially, to discover new screenwriters and help open doors for them in the entertainment industry.
In November, WeScreenplay announced its winners and, for the first time, we were at the top of the heap at second place. That’s number two out of more than a thousand submissions. As far as we can see, we’re moving up, building on each success, and breaking new ground.
May 2019 be a breakout year—for all of us trying to make it in creative fields.
