NewEnglandFilm.com

I am a 28-year-old South African male who has huge aspirations for becoming a successful screenwriter for Hollywood. I have recently submitted my most recent screenplay to the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship Contest in the hope of getting some coverage and, dare I say, recognition.

– Ashley

Dear Ashley,

Great to hear from South Africa!

Let’s take a quick look at the Nicholl competition first (for those not familiar with the Nicholl competition, here is their link: http://www.oscars.org/awards/nicholl/index.html).

You state that you hope to receive coverage from them, but in reading through their site, I do not think this is something that they offer. (Coverage is a story report, an evaluation of your script.) Certainly, placing as a top finalist or winning would be a huge boost to your career, but it is known as one of the most competitive screenwriting competitions out there. Regardless of the outcome (and I wish you great success), you still have to do the legwork and promote yourself and your project.

You also mention that your “attempt to communicate with agents has shown no results.” Perhaps your queries are not doing their job so please consider a few points:

1. Are your query letters attention-grabbing? Perhaps your query is just not a good representation of your project.
2. Are you querying agents with a form letter or personalizing each letter? The latter is the correct way to go.
3. Are you querying agents who are the right fit for your project?

To read more about query letters, you can find more information in my June 2010 ‘Ask the Screenplay Doctor: How to (and Not to) Submit a Query Letter’ column and to learn more about how to find an agent, please visit my previous monthly columns in this publication. Additional information about these topics can also be found in my book The Savvy Screenwriter: How to Sell Your Screenplay (and Yourself) Without Selling Out! which also includes successful and unsuccessful logline examples, and query letter samples and templates, and information about where and how to submit queries.

And now the answer to your big question: ‘Do you think my ambitions of becoming a Hollywood screenwriter are realistically achievable, given the fact that I reside in South Africa?’ If you want to write for Hollywood then certainly living in Los Angeles will offer more opportunities for you; this is the city where most of the deals are made. Given that you are living on another continent, this presents more obvious challenges. I suggest networking at film festivals and script conferences in your area if this is available to you and possible; meeting producers and directors; and establishing these new working relationships to open doors for you.

If it is possible for you to spend some time in Los Angeles, this is something that you should include in your queries. Once you’ve established these personal connections, you can work from anywhere in the world if you are willing and able to jump on a plane when the call comes in to meet.

Breaking into the film industry means writing successful query letters and submitting them to the agents and agencies who are a good fit, networking with other filmmakers, having a brilliant script that you are passionate about and that you can pitch, and above all — perseverance!

Related Article: Ask the Screenplay Doctor: How to (and Not to) Submit a Query Letter