(Click here for a printable version of this challenge)
THE STORY:
Jacob was 17 years old. He wasn’t a bad kid, but he made some very bad choices, including dropping out of high school, drinking excessively, and hanging out with the wrong crowd. His father was an alcoholic who left when Jacob was young, but Jacob had a mother and a girlfriend who were very supportive of him and concerned about his future. Jacob continued down his wayward path until it eventually led him into a gang fight, where he was shot.
Luckily, Jacob survived, and the incident made him reevaluate his life. He changed his ways. He quit drinking. He went back to school and got his G.E.D. He enlisted in the Army. And on his way home from a farewell celebration with his best friend, he was killed in a car accident.
THERE ARE TWO ASSIGNMENTS FOR THIS PROJECT!
You can submit for one or both of them.
ASSIGNMENT #1: “Jacob’s Parents”
(Click here for a printable version of this assignment)
Your assignment is to create a short film between 10 and 30 minutes in length. Your characters are “Rose” and “Thomas”, Jacob’s divorced parents. They can be any race or ethnicity, but must be age-appropriate to have a 17 year-old son. Years ago, Thomas’s alcoholism broke up their marriage and family. Rose has always blamed Thomas for most of Jacob’s problems. Thomas attends A.A. meetings regularly and has been sober for several years. The passage of time has somewhat mellowed the tension between them.
It is right after Jacob’s funeral, and Thomas stops by Rose’s home on his way back out of town to drops off “some papers” which Rose needs to turn in to the hospital. She asks if he would like a cup of coffee, and he accepts. They are both very sad about the passage of their son, and they seem weary and tired. Slowly, they begin a dialogue. They may start with small talk about their current jobs, or relationships. Maybe Thomas has a new wife? They talk about Jacob’s life...his problems, his plans, his dream of becoming a soldier. Maybe they begin to argue about Thomas’s failure as a father. He probably feels very guilty, and angry at himself. The “papers” that Thomas drops off have to do with organ donation. At some point in the conversation, one of them should remark that “it was the right thing to do”. Maybe the conversation becomes very intense; the embodiment of the anguish Rose feels for her son, whose life was taken just as he was on the verge of success. They will probably talk about “Marie”, Jacob’s devoted girlfriend, and how sad and lost she looked at the funeral. Maybe they will discuss “Mark”, Jacob’s best friend, and how he might have been a bad influence on Jacob. Your challenge is to bring these characters and their stories to life through dialogue.
Near the end of your film, the phone should ring, and Rose should answer it. It is Marie calling (her voice should not be heard in your submission…she is a main character in Assignment #2). Rose should have a short conversation, and become quietly emotional. After she hangs up, she tells Thomas that Marie is pregnant, and that they are going to be grandparents. This should be an emotional moment for both of them.
IMPORTANT: Near (or at) the end of your submission, Rose and Thomas should hug each other. There should be an overall feeling of some sort of closure between them before he leaves. Maybe Thomas finally apologizes for everything he put his family through…if he did, would Rose accept his apology? Maybe they make a commitment to stay in touch…maybe they don’t. It’s up to you.
We want you to bring this story to life from your particular point of view. Be as creative as you want, but please try to avoid nudity or excessive profanity. Feel free to add any dialogue, sub-plots, props, etc. that you wish. Just be sure to include the “papers”, the hug, and the phone call from Marie (and for the sake of continuity, please don’t change the characters’ names).
VERY IMPORTANT: If your submission is selected, you will have to provide release forms for all the actors, music & locations in your film. We strongly recommend that you get these signed right away. Don’t wait to find out if you are a winner…people may move or become difficult to track down(or become famous and get “weird” about independent film projects), so get these done as you shoot!
Show us your best…we want you to win!
GOOD LUCK!
ASSIGNMENT #2: “Jacob’s Friends”
(Click here for a printable version of this assignment)
Your assignment is to create a short film between 10 and 30 minutes in length. Your characters are “Mark”, Jacob’s best friend, who was in the car with Jacob when they crashed, and “Marie”, Jacob’s girlfriend. They can be any race or ethnicity, but should both appear to be around the age of seventeen. It is right after Jacob’s funeral, and Mark stops by Marie’s home to drop off something that was in the car. It can be a piece of jewelry (maybe Jacob’s “broken heart” pendant, and Marie is wearing the other half?), a stuffed animal that Jacob won for Marie at an amusement park, or an article of clothing that belonged to Jacob…anything that might hold some sort of sentimental value (but it should NOT be a photo of Jacob…this would disrupt the continuity of the movie). Mark should be limping on a crutch or a cane on his left side (if you don’t have one and can’t borrow one, these can usually be found at Goodwill for about $5). Mark lingers for awhile. He is sad and depressed after losing his best friend. Marie is devastated after losing the love of her life. They both make sullen small talk at first.
They talk about Jacob; about how much they miss him, about good times and bad times. Marie talks about how tragic it is that Jacob had finally quit drinking and turned his life around, only to die in the car accident. Mark becomes more and more quiet, but Marie becomes more animated and intense. She begins to make remarks about how the bad influences in Jacob’s life destroyed him, and makes implications toward Mark, who just seems more and more depressed, and seems to feel guilty. She eventually comes to the subject of the accident itself, and how it happened. Mark says that he’d had a few drinks, but that Jacob was the one who was driving. Marie questions how Mark was injured on his right side instead of his left, if Jacob was driving the car…
…Does Mark admit to driving drunk and causing Jacob’s death? Does he break down in tears and confess, and ask for Marie’s forgiveness? Does he angrily refute her accusations? Does he simply remain silent? Or, is there more to the story? It’s up to you. Your challenge is to be creative and bring these characters to life. They may shout at each other, they may whisper…how you interpret this scene is entirely up to you.
Marie tells Mark that she is pregnant with Jacob’s child. This should be a turning point, which changes the mood of the conversation. Toward the end of the scene, there should be a feeling of some type of closure between the two characters. Before Mark leaves, they should hug each other. After he is gone, Marie should sit in silence for a moment, and then pick up the phone to call Rose.
We want you to bring this story to life from your particular point of view. Be as creative as you want, but please try to avoid nudity or excessive profanity. Feel free to add any dialogue, sub-plots, props, etc. that you wish. Just be sure to include the hug and the phone call at the end of the scene (and for the sake of continuity, please don’t change the characters’ names).
VERY IMPORTANT: If your submission is selected, you will have to provide release forms for all the actors, music & locations in your film. We strongly recommend that you get these signed right away. Don’t wait to find out if you are a winner…people may move or become difficult to track down(or become famous and get “weird” about independent film projects), so get these done as you shoot!
Show us your best…we want you to win!
GOOD LUCK!
After
Funeral
Life is
the most
precious
gift of all
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