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TELL YOUR OWN DAMN STORY.

AN INTRO TO AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SCREENWRTING

Has anyone ever told you that you should write a film about their life story? Have you ever experienced something and thought “this could be a film”? Are you tired of other people trying to tell your story? Ask any scriptwriter and most will tell you that the best stories from the screen are the ones that are personal to the filmmaker. But how can you translate reality into an engaging piece of cinema? In our workshop “Tell Your Own Damn Story.”, script-editor and film development specialist Mayar Hamdan will take you through the necessary steps of how to develop the stories from your own personal experiences and write them for the screen. In this workshop you will learn the basic skills for writing a film that is engaging and relatable, while still sticking to your own authentic voice as a filmmaker.

Dates & Duration:

6 Days

August 6th - 16th 2020

[5-9 PM GMT+3] [7-11 AM PDT]

 

Participants:

10 Participants will be selected.

Applications:

Application deadline: 27 July 2020

Applicants should submit an email to info@filmmena.com with the following materials:

Writer's bio, logline, synopsis, CV/resume & letter of intent as one .PDF file

Language of Instruction:

English 

 

Outcome: 

Participants will leave this workshop with a: logline, synopsis and a scene of their films-to-be 

 

Workshop Fee:

$100 per participant.

 

Location [Virtual]:

Private Zoom link to be shared.

Workshop Breakdown:

August 6th 2020: 

Intro Autobiographical Works & Screenwriting


August 8th 2020: 

If It's Fiction, It's Gotta Be Fictionalized


August 10th 2020:

How to Separate the Self from The Character


August 12th 2020:

Show, Don’t Tell 

 

August 14th 2020:

Tell Your Story

August 16th 2020:

Tell Your Story: CONT’D

Workshop Instructor:

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A Palestinian/ LA-based multimedia storyteller, filmmaker and visual artist, Mayar Hamdan has worked on a variety of projects, ranging from video games to video installations to independent films. Hamdan’s work is defined as the interdisciplinary exploration of Palestinian and feminist themes.​​​​​​​ Hamdan worked for multiple mobile gaming companies as an interactive story developer in Barcelona, Spain. Additionally, she worked on the Doha Film Institute's Film Training and Development team. During that time, she directed, art directed, wrote, script edited and produced several independent projects. She attained a BS in Media Industries and Technology at Northwestern University. Hamdan is currently pursuing an MFA in Art and Technology at CalArts and serves as Northwestern University's Studio20Q's Industry Advisor. 

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